Employer of Choice Town Hall Discussion of Classification and Compensation Project
As part of the university’s 150 Forward strategic planning process and campuswide town hall series, U of A leaders recently discussed the classification and compensation project in support of the the employer of choice strategic priority. At the meeting, chief people officer Michelle Hargis Wolfe said pay and career paths often arise as determinants of whether or not someone chooses to come to and stay at the university.
“Getting our compensation and classification right is critical to being an employer of choice,” Hargis Wolfe said. “We’re using data to create a consistent structure that ensures we are market competitive across the board.”
Subject matter experts were selected from every unit to work together to define work performed by staff roles across campus and group them into job families, as well as corresponding subfamilies. The classification and compensation project team intends to provide monthly training and updates about what terms like job architecture, job profiles and compensation philosophy mean, and the U of A's approach to establishing them.
Even though the classification and compensation project is specific to staff roles, provost Terry Martin shared that evaluating salaries for faculty roles at the departmental level is coming “on the heels” of the staff project.
While panelists stated the importance of compensation being consistent across campus and competitive by sector and region, chancellor Charles Robinson mentioned the U of A also has an obligation to keep education as affordable and accessible for students as possible. Robinson and other leaders also said that pay should be considered alongside factors the university is uniquely positioned to offer – such as a clear mission, accomplishing impactful work in a family-like environment, stability and other benefits.