One of Liquidity Services’ Core Values is “Shared Success,” when we take pride in each others’ accomplishments. So, we’re proud to support our business family – whether that’s our external partners or our internal employees – and others take notice.
In November 2019, our VP of HR Operations Novelette Murray was recognized by the Department of Defense with the Service Member Patriot Award for her outstanding support of currently serving employees.
What is the Service Member Patriot Award?
The Service Member Patriot Award is offered by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a DoD program dedicated to promoting “cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers.”
In turn, the Patriot Award is given to nominated civilians in order to “reflect the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide-range of measures – including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence if needed.”
The award can only be granted to individuals, not to a company or a whole staff. Thus, while everyone at Liquidity Services supports our serving men and women, it was Novelette who was nominated for special recognition.
“Her support provides me peace of mind.”
Novelette’s nomination came from HR team member – and Army Reserve Unit Commander – Wai Yu:
“I mentioned to Novelette during the interview process that I will be leaving for three months on Active Duty orders, which she was very understanding and accommodating. Novelette ensured that my responsibilities were covered while away, and assured me that I could transition back into the same role upon return – especially given that I was only with Liquidity Services for six months before leaving!
“Because of Novelette’s support, I could focus on my military training and did not worry about having a job when I returned from Active Duty.
“On January 2019, I was appointed as the Commander of my unit. That’s a full-time job in itself. As a result of the appointment, there have been and will be occasions in which I had to take time off from work to attend to planning conferences, meetings, and courses.
“Novelette has always been very flexible and accommodating when it came to my Army obligations, as well as my Commander responsibilities. In turn, this support allows me to be fully engaged with my Unit and Chain of Command. She understands that when I am called for duty, I have to be able to go at a moment’s notice.
“Without Novelette’s continued support, I would not be able to simultaneously do the two things that I enjoy the most: Working for Liquidity Services in Human Resources, as well as being a Commander of my unit.
“Her support provides me the peace of mind that my military obligations are not a burden to the operations at Liquidity Services, and I am proud to have Novelette’s full support – as well as Liquidity Services’.”
Supporting Liquidity Service Employees Is Just “The Right Thing to Do”
For her part, Novelette sees the support she offered Wai as simply “the right thing to do.”
She remembers Wai bringing up his service during his initial interviews, but it had no bearing on his candidacy. If anything, she recalls his service having a positive impact on his nomination, demonstrating his work ethic and personal morals.
Novelette admits it “can be tricky” to accommodate the leaves of absence military service requires, but the process is like how she’d otherwise accommodate employees who were ill, caring for a loved one, or taking care of a new child.
As Novelette put it, “When you have someone like Wai who performs so exceptionally and responds so flexibly to everything we’ve thrown at him, how could you not support an employee like that?”
She went on to describe exactly what happens when an employee goes on a leave like Wai’s. “I figure out what can either be done in advance or can wait until he gets back. For longer absences – like when Wai was gone for a few months for training – I split the duties across the department, and hire a temporary worker to keep anything from falling through the cracks.”
She added, “It helps that Wai is so thorough! He did a fantastic job of creating step-by-step documentation for his more complicated processes.
It’s not the first time Liquidity Services supported active military personnel. A former employee was deployed to the war in Iraq for years. His job was waiting for him when he returned.
“Supportive attitudes really come from the top,” Novelette said. “Both Bill [Angrick, CEO and Co-Founder] and Mike [Lutz, Vice President of Human Resources] accepted and arranged for whatever we needed to make sure everything went smoothly while Wai was gone.”
We’re proud to count both Wai and Novelette as Liquidity Services employees. We will continue to support our entire staff as they seek to serve their country while growing their professional careers here at Liquidity Services.
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