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By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
The university’s Human Resources Division has begun a study that will lead to an overhaul of the 20-year-old system that sets job classifications and salary ranges for non-faculty employees at UGA.
The study will assess the university’s current classification and pay structure, review similar structures at other universities and compare UGA salaries with salaries in private and non-profit sectors. The result will be recommendations to help UGA remain competitive in a tight job market, says Duane Ritter, a human resources administrator who is directing the project.
“It’s getting harder and harder to fill positions and keep employees because the job market is so competitive,” says Ritter, director of organizational design and compensation services in human resources. “The existing classification and pay structure has been in place for more than 20 years, and many changes have taken place since it was created.“We need to have a classification and pay system that reflects the way we work today.”
Ritter says two firms--Deloitte and Touche, and Hubbard and RevoCohen--have been retained to conduct the study, which will include a review of the more than 500 categories in UGA’s classification system and a technical analysis of the corresponding pay system.
The consultants will conduct confidential interviews, survey a representative sample of employees, and hold a series of focus groups, all designed to gather staff members’ views and suggestions about the current classification and pay system.
A project steering team of employees from throughout the university will help guide the project and provide updates and information to other employees.
The study could result in recommendations to consolidate or eliminate some job titles, or create new titles that better reflect work performed by employees, Ritter says. There could also be recommendations to change pay levels based on market comparisons at the local, regional and national levels.
Data collection will start in the next few weeks and continue for several months. A report and recommendations aren’t expected before late spring of 2001. Ritter cautions that it will take several years to implement recommendations.
Human Resources will provide periodic updates on progress of the study through the project steering team, Columns articles, campus e-mail discussion lists and the Human Resources Web site (www.busfin.uga.edu/human_resources/whatsnew.html). Questions or comments can be e-mailed to Ritter at ODCS@uga.edu.
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