The ice age is over, at least for those looking for a job at BYU.
In January 2009, the LDS Church announced it was putting into effect a hiring freeze. BYU was included in this freeze, which stopped the hiring of all employees, except a few student and auxiliary positions.
In December 2010, the hiring freeze came to its final melting point, allowing for a refreshing start to the new year.
Joe Hadfield, media relations manager from University Communications, said things are finally heating up, nice and slowly.
“When the hiring freeze was lifted, it was expected that returning to the full complement of faculty and staff would be a multi-year process,” Hadfield said in an email. “So far that has proven true.”
Hadfield said Human Resources didn’t see any one area rush to fill all of its vacancies. However, this might have had something to do with the Church asking them to be careful in who they hire during the next few years.
“The deans and department chairs have been particularly careful and patient in identifying the most talented candidates for faculty positions,” Hadfield said.
According to John Young, manager of the Staff and Administrative Employment Office, the two-year hiring freeze had both a positive and negative effect on the university.
“Anytime you have a hiring freeze, it requires employees and department managers to consider their operations and if they are being done the most efficient way possible,” Young said. “It gave departments the opportunity to really look and say, ‘Are we doing this correctly, are there other ways we can accomplish this work?’ ”
However, having less people doing the same amount of work can get a bit stressful for the employees.
“It did put a lot of pressure on current employees,” Young said. “Many are doing work that had been done by two to three people, which equals busy and stressed employees trying to keep the university going.”
Ever since the freeze ended, departments have been able to carefully select qualified individuals to help with the university’s success. The student and auxiliary employment was affected to a small degree, but not as much as the administrative and staff employment.
“Since last fall, campus student employment reached an all-time high and has remained at about the same level,” Hadfield said.
Whitney Kelly, 23, a JSB Copy Center employee from Skillman, N.J., said she was glad to have been able to work for the university.
“This has been one of the best opportunities I have ever had,” Kelly said. “I am so grateful to have had this job. It is flexible with my schedule, and I get all school holidays off as well.”
