Semester Start – HR Actions & Timelines

The following resources help Recruiters, HR Partners, Compensation Partners, and AFOs to plan their hiring and related onboarding activities around the start of each semester.

Table of Contents

Typical Hiring Flow & Timelines

Recruiting & Pre-Hire

The Timelines & Metrics page shares detailed HRS processing times for recruiting and pre-hire activities, including:

  • 5 business days for a new CS position in OPDRS
  • 15 business days for a new AP position in OPDRS

Go to the Recruitment Toolkit for guidance on recruiting different employee types.

Sexual Misconduct Statement

To ensure WSU complies with Washington State Law, it is critical that departments receive official confirmation from HRS that the SMS process is completed before making an offer of employment to the final applicant.

Review the SMS information in the Critical Considerations During the Recruit and Hire Processes section in the I want to hire someone, what do I need to know? reference guide.

Hiring Process in Workday

On average, the hire process takes five days to get to the I-9 step from initiation. Different employee types and unit structures will affect this timeline. Please account for your unit structure as well as the employee type when negotiating start dates with new hires.

Review the Hire Events in Workday and associated security roles flowchart in the I want to hire someone, what do I need to know? reference guide for a visual of the steps and roles involved in the hiring process.

Form I-9 for New Hires

The I-9 Section 1 must be completed by the new employee on or before their start date and Section 2 must be completed by the I-9 Coordinator by the third business day.

For instructions on completing Section 2, review the Complete Section 2 of Form I-9 (I-9 Coordinator) portion of the New Hire Onboarding Workday reference guide.

Post-Hire Access to Employee Training

Access to Percipio for employee training and new employee orientation is managed through Workday and is available the day after the employee’s hire or rehire date. This allows for all hiring actions to be processed and approved, and ensures the employee is officailly hired before undertaking orientation and onboarding activities.

If access doesn’t appear the day after the hire date, it may be due to pending hiring actions such as Form I-9 completion.

Review the Who Has Access to Percipio and When page for details.

New Employee Onboarding

New employees must take action on the onboarding items in their Workday My Tasks inbox. These actions include items such as completing their I-9 Section 1 and Federal Withholding and Payment Elections forms.

Review the New Employee Onboarding Guide for more information and links to instructions.

New employees are also encouraged to take their New Employee Orientation training through Percipio. The onboarding course contains background on the university and leadership, Workday, Benefits, policies, and university assigned training. This training is assigned automatically.

January Staffing and Compensation Blackout Dates

To accommodate the processing of the Minimum Wage and Overtime eligible salary threshold increases, Workday has blackout dates in the second week of January for select staffing actions and employee types.

Refer to the January Blackout Dates reference guide for the specific HR actions, dates, and employee types impacted by the blackout dates.

Examples of HRS communications include the 2026 HRS news post for general information about the increases, eligibility, and where to go for questions.

When applicable, Workday has blackout dates in July for the Civil Service Mass Salary Increase, and in October for the Administrative Professional, Faculty, and Graduate Assistants Mass Salary Increase.

Student/Non-student Employee Type Switch

Near the start of Spring and Fall semesters, Modernization reviews the temporary hourly positions to ensure that student employees are in the right employee type based on their class credits for the semester.

Modernization sends a separate communication about the Student/Non-student employee type switch with instructions and relevant spreadsheets for HR Partners to review.

Important Resources

Illustration of two people, one at a desk, the other on a computer screen talking to each other.

Contact

There are two ways to get help:

  • Workday specific questions should be submitted via the Workday Service Desk.
  • For specific employee or process questions, contact your HR Consultant. Find them on the HRS Service Teams page (log in with your WSU credentials).
Illustration of a man connecting 4, different colored jigsaw pieces together to form a square.

Quick Links

Return to the Departmental Personnel Admins Essentials section page, or open the panel below for more pages.