The study is being conducted to insure that pay levels are consistently and fairly set across classifications and to realign the City’s pay structure with the external market.
The Segal Company consulting firm will complete the Classification and Compensation Study. It was founded in 1939 and consults in the areas of employee benefits, compensation and human resources. Their work will involve a review and restructuring of the City’s classification structure, conducting a salary and benefits study, and developing a performance management study.
This depends on both the results of the survey and the financial strength of the City. If the survey results show that a particular classification is behind the market the consultant will make appropriate recommendations to adjust salaries accordingly. However, increases are dependent on the availability of funds. We cannot guarantee that anyone’s salary will be increased.
No employee’s current pay rate will be reduced.
Yes, the new pay structure will have pay grade maximums. An employee whose pay is at or above their pay grade maximum will receive their base increase to the extent it does not exceed the pay grade maximum, any remaining amount of increase will be paid by lump sum bonus. The consultant will make compensation policy recommendations as part of its study.
Generally speaking, departments consider the relative pay equity of their staff when making offers to candidates. There may be occasions when a candidate offers experience and/or education that may be in short supply. Such conditions may require offering the candidate a higher rate than a current employee.
There is no anticipated change in pay associated with the implementation of the new compensation plan with the exception of those affected by the market adjustments. Market adjustments are for employees found to be below the pay grade minimum in the new pay structure. The consult will make recommendations regarding market.
The City’s goal is to be competitive in the external market. If an employee’s pay is not competitive, they are more likely to leave City employment for a better paying job. It is also important in the hiring process; job offers without competitive salaries are usually rejected. Market competitiveness is important to the City. It requires the exercise of fiscal responsibility which includes not overpaying for particular jobs or skill sets.
Market rates are averages. The City’s goal is to pay at the middle of the market. The middle refers to the median. There will be as many employers paying less for a comparable job as there will be paying more for a comparable job. The City believes that this pay philosophy is fair to employees while being responsible to tax payers.
The improvement will include:
A pay structure that is connected to the market
A classification plan that is modernized and more fitting to the work employees do
A classification plan that has consistency and fairness built in for salary equity across the City
The consultant typically selects organizations that are similar in size and services provided by the City; and have the same or very similar type jobs as the City.
Yes. First, employees will be involved by completing a JAQ (Job Analysis Questionnaire). Second, some employees will participate in either interviews or in a CRC (Classification Review Committee). And third, employees will have the opportunity to review their recommended job title and classification. If they disagree with the recommendation, they will have the right to appeal.
It is an occupational panel of employees from within their job family, for example, clerical, financial or labor/trades. These panels of employees are then drawn on to help the consultant create and define the new classification structure for that job family.
The JAQ (Job Analysis Questionnaire) will be reviewed by the immediate supervisor, then by the next managerial level and finally by the department head. This is done to provide the necessary checks and balances to ensure the information the consultant receives is complete and accurate. Supervisors cannot change anything an employee writes. They may comment on what the employee wrote. If a supervisor or manager disagrees with an employee’s comments, those comments are shown to the employee. The employee may either agree or disagree with the supervisor’s or manager’s comments.
It is important to realize that not all employees will receive an interview. Dependent on the size of the job family, one employee, or a representative sample, will be selected from the job classifications under study. Employees may be selected for a couple of reasons. First, an interview may be initiated because clarification is needed on their questionnaire. Second, representatives are selected who have been in the job more than one year and have good knowledge of the duties and level of responsibility required. In conducting CRC panels, the participants are generally selected based on the second criteria.
In many cases, job descriptions are written much more broadly than the employee is used to seeing. Employees are often used to thinking about what their specific duties are for their job. In cases where the organization is moving to fewer titles, the job (class) descriptions are written to reflect the level and type of work by illustrating representative duties. Class descriptions are not intended to reflect every duty that an employee might be expected to perform at some point in their job.
Quantity of work is not a factor in classification. The duties performed by the employee should be consistent with the type and level of work as described in the new job description. Because a number of jobs may be revised, the new title may appear to be a downgrade but in fact is not; it is simply different.
Employee placement in the new classification structure is recommended by the consultant based on the information employees provide in their JAQ (Job Analysis Questionnaire). Final placement is determined by the City.
In the long run, employees and the City will be better off by conducting a study. The consultants contracted to complete the Classification and Compensation Study for a sum of $190,000. With approximately 2,300 employees, the City is spending roughly $82.60 per employee to conduct the study. That one-time sum is very minimal in comparison with what some employees may receive with a new classification and pay structure.
There is no one-to-one relationship between pay grades on the current general schedule plan and the proposed general schedule plan. The current plan has 50 grades and the proposed plan has 35 grades.
No determination has been made as to how comp time for exempt employees will be handled with a new pay system. For now, you will continue to be eligible for comp time based on your current status. The comp time ordinance sections will be reviewed after implementation and modified as needed.
The Segal consultant has recommended the City adopt close to four hundred classifications as representing the type, skill and level of work performed by City employees. It was impossible to include all the jobs in the salary survey. To insure a response to a salary survey, the surveys are conducted with a representative selection of jobs that have large number of incumbents, cross job families, departments, pay grades and skill levels. The selected jobs are the benchmarks used to gather salary data. Jobs, such as yours, that were not surveyed were placed in the pay plan based on the consultant’s job evaluation system.
