Classification and Compensation Study

Next Steps in Classification Study

Now that the position description questionnaires are done, what happens with the information? The task force has been working hard to help the University develop the next parts of the process. 

We have finalized the Job Value Factors.  Job value factors are the criteria used to evaluate a position for comparison among  positions for placement into a salary structure (or grades).  The broad categories include knowledge and skills, scope of responsibility and range of impact.

Job Families (e.g. academic affairs, facilities, athletics, student services etc.) are a group of jobs in which the work performed is of a similar nature.  Although job families can be fairly broad, the intent is to have them represent common roles, responsibilities and skills.  They can also help illuminate a career progression for many types of jobs.  It is not unusual to create a few new job families during the evaluation process, if there is an additional logical grouping.  Positions within a job family can be at many different levels or grades.

Job Levels (e.g vice president, director, manager, specialist, coordinator, administrative support, skilled trades etc.) reflect the organizational responsibility, accountability and competency requirements identified from the PDQs.  Job levels are an additional tool to help the consultants and ultimately the University group positions into certain broad categories.  These are still in the development stage, but a draft can be found  on the website.  It is important to note that it is possible to have jobs within a job level be in two or three different grades.

You can find the job value factors, job families, job levels and the project timeline on HR’s website under Classification and Compensation Study under Resources. http://www.uidaho.edu/human-resources/classification-and-compensation-study 

Between Sibson and our senior leadership, the labor markets for the survey have been established.  In short, the markets are on a national level for director-level positions and above, regional for exempt staff below the director level and local/statewide for classified staff.  Sibson will identify “benchmark” positions to use in the surveys.  When identifying benchmark positions, Sibson looks for positions from all the job families and job levels.  Positions need to be good “matches” with other institutions and published surveys to get accurate data.

Benchmark positions should also include at least 50% of incumbents involved in the study (about 750 of our 1500).

The PDQs are designed to request information specific to classifying positions.  In April, HR will use the information collected to start building updated job descriptions.  You will have the opportunity to participate and further develop the job descriptions.  We understand that you may include more detail in the job descriptions than in the PDQs.  We often see the duties and the preferred qualifications (a.k.a desired qualifications) sections expanded when job descriptions are developed and worked on by employees and their supervisors.  This is perfectly fine and it will not affect the classification levels.  It will give departments a more thorough understanding of the specific duties of that position.

What is the Purpose of the Classification Study?

The ability to recruit and retain quality talent requires a competitive and equitable compensation program that reflects the culture and work environment at the University of Idaho. That’s why a compensation program should be externally competitive, internally equitable, regularly updated, better understood and financially responsible. However, this requires a review of current practices.

There are excellent reasons to conduct a review or "study" of current practices.

These include but are not limited to the following:

• Providing the information necessary to make policies and processes more equitable and understandable.
• Creating a classification system that will group positions performing work at similar levels. This will allow us to fairly evaluate our compensation levels compared to relevant labor markets and put a plan in place to make adjustments and improvements in the coming years with respect to both external and internal equity. Our current system is largely unmanageable because there are too many individual job classifications and the system for exempt staff no longer exists.
• Producing updated job descriptions that better reflect the work performed, and in some cases, creating a logical career path within a particular type of work.
• Improving our ability to recruit and retain professional talent.

How will the Classification Study be Conducted?

After completing a review of proposals and extensive interviews with several professional consulting firms, the University of Idaho engaged Sibson Consulting (a nationally recognized human resources consulting firm specializing in higher education) to assist with the project.

Sibson Consulting will begin their work with the Classification and Compensation Task Force September 20, 2012.

Throughout the process, Human Resources will communicate and provide project status updates and additional information through multiple communication channels. Human Resources will also continue to update Faculty Senate and Staff Affairs. Anticipated implementation of the new classification and compensation systems is expected by July 1, 2013.