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By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
A study of the university’s classification and pay system is set to move to the second stage after some 900 employees completed surveys about their perceptions of the system.
Data from the surveys--representing about 12 percent of university personnel--is being compiled and analyzed, and will provide guidance for the next step in the study, a series of focus groups that will probably begin in mid-October, says Duane Ritter, director of organizational design and compensation services in the Human Resources Division.
Human Resources is conducting the study to revamp the system that sets job classifications and salary ranges for non-faculty employees. The system, which covers more than 500 job categories and affects some 6,800 employees, hasn’t been upgraded since it was instituted 20 years ago.
Ritter says the firm of Deloitte and Touche, which was hired to perform the study, is analyzing data from the surveys, which employees completed either online or in hard-copy form. A concern of some employees about being asked for their social security numbers in the online survey did not significantly affect the response rate, Ritter says.
“Deloitte and Touche believes they received sufficient responses to provide clear guidance on employees’ perceptions and issues about their jobs,” Ritter says. “They will use this information in planning the agendas for the focus groups.”
Ritter emphasizes that information provided in the surveys is confidential. Deloitte and Touche destroys all forms--both online and manual--as soon as the data is recorded.
Ritter says some focus groups will address specific issues, such as supervisory problems; some will deal with particular work areas, such as information technology; and others will have a more general theme. In addition to focus groups on campus, several will be held for UGA employees at agricultural experiment stations in Griffin and Tifton.
A series of “executive interviews” with vice presidents and deans will also be held in October.
A report and recommendations from the study aren’t expected until at least late next spring, and implementation of recommendations will occur over several years. |
