Status Updates

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.

Staff Members Need to Complete PDQ

To accurately complete the Classification Study, we need non-faculty exempt and classified staff in board-appointed positions to complete your position description questionnaires before Nov. 14. These positions include board-appointed “temporary” positions that are ongoing but may have temporary funding.  Irregular help (or temporary help) positions are not included in the study.

The PDQ can be accessed with this online form.

This is your opportunity to describe your job responsibilities and duties, required skills, decision-making and the impact of your job to the University community. The PDQ information is used to classify jobs, price them against the external markets, identify proper classification titles (sometimes called Banner titles) and ultimately to determine which salary range the position will reside in. In mid-spring, HR will draft updated job descriptions based on the PDQ information provided for your review and approval. So, many pieces of these studies rely on this very important next step.

This study and the outcomes will be implemented in July 2013 and will be a great step forward in improving a few of our key internal administrative systems, including classifications and non-faculty pay practices.

To learn more about the study, visit the other webpages in this section of the HR website.

This site includes the following elements:

• An explanation of the study’s purpose
• Supervisor tips for reviewing and approving PDQs
• A list of open PDQ training sessions (October 31 and November 7)
• Questions and answers including a section on PDQs which is updated every few days
• A feedback form for additional questions or suggestions that will go directly to me.

HR will offer additional smaller training sessions within specific departments. Many are already set up and the list is changing by the hour, so please check with you Affirmative Action Coordinator to see if one is already arranged for your department. Your AACs had their own special training session and may be able to answer many of the questions you may have, including what to do about off-site staff, vacant positions, positions that have multiple supervisors or departments that want a review process beyond just the immediate supervisor.

Thank you for your help!

Greg Walters
Executive Director, Human Resources

The non-faculty classification study is underway. Sibson Consulting was on campus September 20 and 21 providing a general orientation to the classification study to a variety of groups including the Staff Affairs executive committee, Classification and Compensation Task Force, President’s Executive Leadership group, Provost Council, DFA leadership, Affirmative Action Coordinators and the Council of UI Business Officers.

Sibson also used this opportunity to gather feedback about our current classification and compensation systems and recruitment and retention challenges. The next step is for Sibson to conduct a few more individual interviews and help the University work on a compensation philosophy. Sibson, HR and the Task Force are starting to develop the online Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ) and subsequent training materials and program.