The Division of Human Resources is moving forward with new tools and services to provide a better experience for faculty and staff.

The division has launched four new systems in three years in addition to enhancing processes and services to attract, retain, and develop Virginia Tech faculty and staff:

  •  A new recruiting and onboarding system from PageUp, launched in 2019, provides an improved application and onboarding experience for job applicants and internal users. Since the launch, the division has continued to enhance and hone its recruiting processes to bring the best talent to Virginia Tech.
  • Since its launch in March 2020, the Virtual Learning Center has offered 77 learning activities, with 3,433 completed learning activities by 984 unique users. Over the past year, the learning activities have had a 77 percent successful completion rate.
  • The learning management system, launched in October 2020 with new hire and compliance training courses, has an ever-growing catalog of training and development activities for supervisors, supervisors in training, and all employees. 
  • A new offboarding program, launched in April, smooths transitions between an employee and a department when an employee transfers to another position or departs Virginia Tech. One centralized website, the Offboarding and Employee Transfers website, houses resources for supervisors and employees.
  • Human Resources is conducting a pilot program and supporting supervisors and employees on how Virginia Tech can incorporate new employment best practices, such as how, where, and when we work, into our workplace.

“Human Resources is leading initiatives to help Virginia Tech adapt and evolve with today’s changing workplace environment and improve employee’s experience with the university,” said Bryan Garey, vice president for Human Resources.

Two key additions were made to the senior leadership team this year.

Sandee Cheynet has returned to Virginia Tech in the role of assistant vice president of talent for Human Resources on June 1. She worked for Virginia Tech as division director to the Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer from December 2018 to October 2019. She also served as the interim executive director for the Office of the President from July to October 2019. She most recently served as an executive vice president and chief administration officer in the logistics industry. Cheynet brings with her 25 years of human resources leadership from several Fortune 500 and 100 companies.

In her new role, Cheynet will lead Human Resources’ Talent Team, which are the areas of the division that support the entire life cycle of an employee at Virginia Tech. These areas include compensation, employee relations, Hokie Wellness for employees, talent acquisition/recruiting, and talent development.

“Sandee’s experience as a consultative partner to senior leadership as well as her extensive background in all areas of human resources are a valuable addition to the division as we continue to focus on creating, building, and refining the services we provide to the university,” said Garey.

“Our goal is to attract and retain high-quality employees, develop their skills, and continuously work to support them to be their best," Cheynet said. "Employers and managers should know that we are committed to staying on top of industry trends to remain competitive and innovative.”

Also joining the team is Evans Lusuli, who joined Virginia Tech in the role of compensation director on April 19. Lusuli has 20 years of experience in compensation-related solutions, including 11 years in higher education.

He served as director of compensation and human resources operations at Saint Mary’s College of California since 2019. Previously, he served as a senior compensation and classification analyst for the University of California, Merced from 2017 to 2019 and as a compensation and classification manager and analyst at Kennesaw State University in Georgia from 2010 to 2016.

“Evans brings valuable experience from the higher education industry to Virginia Tech,” said Cheynet. “In a short amount of time, he and his team have made a great impact providing consulting support to various senior management areas, and his work is just starting. Evans will lead efforts to review our compensation practices to ensure Virginia Tech adheres to best practices and provides competitive pay for all university employees.”

“The addition of these two new team members is representative of our commitment to supporting our valuable faculty and staff as we look at managing our talent and compensating people fairly and equitably," Garey said. "The efforts of the Talent Team and Human Resources as a whole support Virginia Tech’s mission and long-term vision.”

Written by Jill Weaver

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