Q. Why are these changes being made?
A. Feedback from the Focus Groups and the Survey sent to staff and faculty who manage staff in FY07 indicated that a strong majority of employees were interested in larger salary increases for employees who were considered strong performers. Additionally, over 95% of our SCHEV peers offer some portion of pay linked to performance.
Q. What would change for university staff?
A. The primary change for University staff is that managers would be able to differentiate salary increases based on an employee’s performance rating (Model Performance, Strong Performance, Developing Performance or Unacceptable Performance). So, instead of all employees receiving the same increase (with the exception of employees rated “Below Contributor” who would not be eligible for any increase), an employee’s increase could vary depending on their performance.
Q. Would any university staff receive a smaller salary increases than classified staff?
A. Each senior management area will have a salary increase budget allotted to them for all staff. The manager has the choice to give all staff the same increase (both classified and university staff). Or, they can choose to rate some university employees as “Model Performance” and provide them an increase greater than the increase given to classified staff. If they choose this option, and want to provide university staff with a “Strong Performance” rating the same increase as provided to classified staff, they will have to rate some university employees as “Developing Performance”. These employees will receive a smaller salary increase than classified staff. If they do not do this they will not have sufficient money in the budget to pay the increases allotted.
Q. What criteria constitutes a rating of “Model Performance”?
A. This will be based on the new performance management process to be introduced in Fall 2008.
Q. Is the additional increase for Model Performance the same for all rated as Model Performance?
A. No. All university staff rated as model performance will be eligible for a minimum increase (which will depend on the state salary increase budget). However, there will be a range depending on budget that will allow for variations based on position relative to market and the manager’s discretion.
Q. What is the timeline for implementation?
A. The new performance management system will be introduced in August 2008 and will replace the current system beginning in October 2008. The first payout (assuming budget allows) under the new system will be paid out in November 2009.
Q. Will University staff receive salary increases at the same time as classified staff?
A. Yes.
Q. Is there a minimum amount I can expect to receive as a “Model Performer”? A maximum?
A. There will be a minimum and a maximum but the amount will depend on the state budget. Provided the state budget is greater than 2.5%, the guideline is for the top performers to receive 1.5 times the budget. So if the budget is 3% the minimum increase for a top performer would be 4.5%.
Q. What is the main point of control – 1) the number of employees receiving a “Model Performance” rating – or 2) the budget dollars available to distribute to the top performers? If #2, what happens if a dept./Sr. Mgt. area goes over/under the budget? What happens if there is a surplus?
A. The budget will be the controlling factor. Each Senior Management area will have the latitude to decide how performance ratings are distributed. Performance ratings will be reviewed at the senior management level and, should there be insufficient budget to pay the associated salary increases, senior management will work with managers to redistribute the ratings to fit the budget available. Should there be a surplus, senior management may either go back to management or hold the surplus for use in in-band adjustments/hiring salaries for University staff.
Q. Who has overall oversight and budgetary management authority over the salary increase budget?
A. The Dean/VP and the CFO.
Q. What is to stop departments from using other sources (as they currently do) to fund additional in-bands?
A. The in band salary adjustment or bonus process will continue to be administered as in the past. The focus will be to use funding from sources such as salary savings to address equity issues, changes in job duties, new skills and retention.
Q. Wouldn’t having varying amounts of increases for “Model Performers” still create a “have’s vs. have not’s” scenario where departments with deeper pockets are able to fund in-bands over and above the pool set aside from the state money?
A. No because the budget for increases in November will be limited to what the state provides. For instance if the state allotted increase budget is 3% for classified staff, university staff will be limited to a total allocation of 3% as well.
Q. Will salary increases for top performers be higher even in years where the budget is very low, e.g., 0% or 1%?
A. The university will make every effort to provide something additional to the employees with a model performance rating. In years where there is no budget this may only be a bonus as opposed to a salary increase or compensable time off but there will still be differentiation if at all possible.
Q. How do we differentiate top performers for classified staff?
A. Employees who are rated as top performers will be eligible for an in-band adjustment if the departmental budget allows.