Currently, American University does not have plans to freeze hiring completely. However, due to the uncertainty around the future and the need to be fiscally responsible during this period, AU will implement a “hiring cool” until further notice. Leaders will review whether a delay in hiring for any current openings will have a significant impact on critical university functions, and if so, whether existing employees at the university could be redeployed to support the function.

The hiring cool will take effect on March 30, 2020 and will continue until further notice.

All full- and part-time staff positions in all units (including RCM units, contractors, and staffing through temporary employment services) are covered by the hiring cool. Hiring for existing and future vacancies, internal promotions, reclassifications, title changes with no change in salary, and additional duty stipends are also included in the hiring cool.

Positions where an offer was extended prior to the effective date of the hiring cool will proceed through the hiring process. Lateral transfers, position downgrades, and demotions are not covered by the hiring cool; however, if you are considering any of these actions please contact Employee Relations to discuss further. Redeploying student workers or existing staff into temporary employment opportunities are also not covered by the hiring cool.

Decisions regarding pending actions will be reviewed and decided by cabinet members. Hiring managers should review any pending actions and work with their unit’s HR Representative to make a recommendation to move forward, postpone, or deploy a pending action for hiring, promotion, reclassification, title changes with no change in salary, or stipend. The hiring managers’ review should include consideration of the following parameters for identifying whether a position is critical:

• Does the vacancy or action support a function identified as critical to AU operations and for which there is no internal resources available to redeploy currently underutilized staff?
• Would the vacancy or lack of action severely impact the student experience, student enrollment, student retention, or critical research functions?
• Will the incumbent in the position generate revenue for the university (reasonable amount in a reasonable amount of time)?
• Does the position work in the areas of the personal health or campus safety?
• Is the position needed to ensure compliance obligations are met at the federal or DC levels, or support accreditation requirements?
• Are there sufficient training capabilities and virtual resources available to effectively orient and on-board the newly hired or promoted staff member?

Staff redeployment is a great opportunity for staff whose regular position is not suitable for full telework to work in a new department temporarily and potentially learn new skills.

First, each department will review their active full- and part-time employee rosters and assess the current capacity of their talent. Employees identified as having duties or alternate duties in their home unit that are suitable for partial telework or as having duties not suitable for remote work are eligible for redeployment.

Second, positions which have been identified through cabinet review as suitable for temporary internal redeployment will be posted onto the internal career portal within AsuccessfulU and will include the header “Temporary – Internal Position” so that they are easily identified.

Third, the Human Resources Redeployment Team will contact individuals identified by their units as able to be partially or fully redeployed, and will assist them in submitting a talent profile within AsuccessfulU for a temporary internal position as needed. The Human Resources Redeployment Team will work with managers of the temporary vacancy to source from the existing internal talent pool.

To create a talent profile the employee will click “My Candidate Profile”, check the “hear more about career opportunities” box, and fill in the profile fields. A resume and cover letter is not required to be uploaded to create a profile. When a match is made between a redeployed employee and a temporary opportunity, Human Resources will assist the staff member and manager in on-boarding including providing training resources and support.

Employees who are temporarily redeployed to another position will maintain their base compensation. They will continue to be paid by their home department during the temporary redeployment. An e-action will not be required to hire the employee into the temporary position.