COMPENSATION PERSPECTIVES

Compensation Reform Survey Results

Last November, agency human resource directors had an opportunity to participate in an online survey of the compensation system. The survey was designed to solicit opinions about the various components of the system and suggestions for improvement. Fifty-three directors participated.

A clear majority (> 55%) of participants indicated that the current system:

• Improves an agency’s ability to attract, retain and motivate its work force.
• Provides for person-based rather than position-based compensation decisions.
• Provides relevant salary data to agencies making it easier to assess competitive pay rates and make salary determinations.
• Bases employee compensation on management-driven decisions rather than rule-driven requirements.
• Does not provide a stable funding mechanism for salary administration.
• Provides agencies with tools that improve their ability to attract, retain, motivate and reward employees.
• Allows for flexibility in the administration of employee pay.
• Provides effective support for recruitment, employment, layoff, and related policy decisions.
• Helps relieve salary compression and salary alignment issues.
• Provides flexible Job and Salary Structures that enable a more cost-effective expenditure of salary dollars.
• Provides greater consistency in salaries assigned to the same or similar work.
• Simplifies the process of position classification and job evaluation.
• Provides opportunities for career growth without having to change positions.
• Helps target salary increase dollars to specific employees where labor market competitiveness is critical.
• Helps managers identify individual and/or team objectives and measures that are linked to the agency’s mission and strategic objectives.
• Promotes employee and career development by creating an environment of learning and quality improvement through training, coaching, counseling and mentoring.
• Provides for open and honest periodic evaluations of employees’ performance.

Members of the Implementation Management Team (IMT) will review survey results over the next several weeks to identify priorities for making adjustments or fine-tuning the program.

Human Resource Directors can obtain a complete copy of the survey results from their assigned AHRS consultant.