News & Announcements

Iowa State in Motion

Following are recent and upcoming university initiatives that will affect a variety of ISU employee populations. Please take a look to see if you or any of your employees may be impacted. Click in the boxes to learn more. This page will be updated and additional initiatives added as they occur. Please check this page regularly to stay up to date on these important developments.

UHR Business Hours

University Human Resources regular academic year office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday. The UHR Service Center team is available to assist with general HR questions such as employee onboarding (Form I-9), benefits, Workday, and payroll sign-up. Please contact us if you need any HR support.

Email: hrshelp@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-4800
In-Person: 3810 Beardshear Hall

You may also check out the HR Portal for a variety of self-service HR topics, available anytime. We look forward to serving you!

ISU Again Earns Best Place for Working Parents Designation

For the second consecutive year, Iowa State has earned the Best Place for Working Parents® designation in recognition of the university's commitment to supporting working parents through family-friendly policies and practices. Congratulations and thank you to UHR's Child Care and Family Services team for the work they do to ensure parents have adequate resources and support!

ISU Alerts Updates Move to Workday

Iowa State employees wishing to verify and/or make changes to their contact information for ISU Alerts should now do so in Workday rather than in AccessPlus. ISU students, faculty and staff with “active” status are eligible to receive alerts from ISU Department of Public Safety via a phone call (cell or landline), text message, and email. The contact information you provide is never shared or used for anything other than the ISU Alert notification system.

This is a perfect opportunity for employees to confirm that their desired contact information for ISU Alerts is accurate and up to date. If you need to sign up for or make additions or changes to your current ISU Alert information, please search for “ISU Alert” in Workday and select the ISU Alert Custom Task. In the pop-up window, enter or update your mobile phone and other (non-ISU) email, then click “OK.”

New Name Pronunciation Feature in Workday

Workday has a new feature that allows ISU employees to specify the pronunciation of their names, helping colleagues and managers address them correctly. Ensuring that your name is pronounced correctly is essential for fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace environment. Check out the Change My Name Pronunciation how-to article for step-by-step instructions.

Payroll Direct Deposit Update

Employees can now allocate their net pay to up to three different bank accounts. This is a change from the previous option of having only one bank account on file for direct deposit.

For information on how to add, update, and view direct deposit information, please reference the Knowledge Base Article.

Workday Learning Implementation Team Earns CYtation Award

Congratulations to the ISU Workday Learning Implementation team for receiving a 2023 Professional and Scientific (P&S) Council CYtation team award. The CYtation awards annually recognize P&S employees and teams who go above and beyond the call of duty, do something extraordinarily well, and act in such a way as to make a real difference in the institution. More information about the recipients is on the council's website.

Through an ongoing plan crafted by the implementation team, the Workday Learning system continuously evolves to match the university's needs. This team has provided learners a uniform experience when utilizing Workday Learning, which encourages them to return for essential compliance training and explore additional learning opportunities.

Kudos to team members Steve Couchman, Mindi Balmer, Raji Sivasubramanian, Autumn Schwartze, John Twitchell, Kelly Walker, Melody Rudolph, Nathan Hannover, Ruth Schlotfeldt, and Tom Connolly for their efforts and contributions.

ISU Earns Platinum Bell Seal Award from Mental Health America

Iowa State University has been awarded a 2024 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America (MHA). The Bell Seal is a first-of-its-kind workplace mental health certification recognizing employers striving to create mentally healthy workplaces for their employees.

The Bell Seal recognizes employer advances in workplace mental health by awarding Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum recognition levels. Only one in four employers meet the standards for Bell Seal certification. Iowa State underwent a rigorous evaluation of its policies and practices in four areas: workplace culture, benefits, compliance, and wellness programs.

The university’s work in the following areas served to determine our Platinum certification, which is the highest designation awarded by MHA:

Our expansive employee growth opportunities.
Our competitive and mental health-friendly benefits packages.
Our emphasis on, and commitment to, work-life balance and employee well-being.

“Thank you for all your guidance and partnership on our workforce planning. I feel confident in our plans as we move forward, as well as proud of the work that's been completed to date. The collaboration with your team has been vital in accomplishing our goals.”

“Replies were quick, detailed and helpful, and the follow-up details made the eventual answer more applicable and tailored to my needs."

“Thank you so much for your quick help on a question that I was having such a hard time figuring out for myself! It was so appreciated, and it’s great to know we have this resource to help us get our work done!”

"The information provided was just what I needed and easy to understand ... You guys are the best!"

"I received very prompt and helpful guidance, and my problem was solved quickly and courteously."

"Our HR department is the best of any place I've ever worked. Plus, they get back to you right away!"

News & Announcements