Classification/Compensation Redesign

1. Classification/Compensation Redesign Employee Survey Analysis March 2011

3. What information would you like on classification/compensation that is not currently readily available? • I don't know what available. • Differences in position descriptions - what makes one job higher level than another? • How do you determine our position classification and what our salary should be. Are we going to have a chance to provide input into the new process. • We all need to be somewhat flexible in what we do but when things go to far a person should not have to fight to be compensated for the extra responsibilities • Layout the steps that I will need to complete and provide the tools for me to successfully do so. • What is the meaning of "midpoint" vis a vis number of years in a job or level of experience/education as you begin that job? • What bonuses are based on? Why do some people get a lot and others never are even considered for them. • Comparison of salaries of similar positions • When you reach say an increase in vacation and sick time because of how long you worked at Xavier that you are notified. Right now you don't know. • What the actual classifications are and why some positions are paid very highly and others that do similar work are not. • Commensurate compensation for similar classification positions in the private sector should be posted on the portal. Procedures for re-classification/compensation should be transparent and posted. • How is compensation agreed to. top pay amount for position • Uniform requirements across the university for what makes a position classified as it is and how to move up. Would also like salary ranges for each classification. Currently, the classification seems unfair because the is not widely known.

4. What information would you like on classification/compensation that is not currently readily available? • Titles/salary ranges for exempt employees. • Distinct criteria that qualifies for various levels of positions - mostly for hourly positions. • info on salaried positions • How seniority fits into the classification/compensation structure and also what options are available once you have maxed out on the salary scale at your current level of employment. • Salary ranges by title across the board • An anonymous was to compare your salary to peers, to know that your earnings are in the same range. • How they are compiled/created. • A chart to have on file listing the classifications and pay scale. • I would like more details on why or how the merit percentage for compensation is determined. With millions being spent on new facilities and increases in enrollment numbers, being clear on how Xavier determines the process for coming to that merit pool number would be helpful. • Categories and pay ranges within • different levels of positions for staff and administrators • The compensation associated with different levels in the organization. What differentiates the levels in terms of job responsibilities? How does someone get promoted? • Compensation/classification should be written in an employee's handbook. For example, why do dome offices have assistant directors and others do not? What's the specific criteria for having/being assistant director etc. The same thing with salary range. Will increases in workload result in reclassification and/or salary. • How the classifications are decided and the compensation at times seems to not be fair. • How are jobs classifications reviewed as the markets change.

5. What information would you like on classification/compensation that is not currently readily available? • I have never seen much information on classification of positions. What is a secretary II versus secretary IV. How professional staff are classified is a mystery. I also think there should be transparent and clear salary ranges posted for all positions and position types. Finally, there should be more information on how to request a structural increase in a salary, and a transparent means to see how this request was dealt with. • Salary ranges for professional positions. • More information on planning your career path; steps to take to advance. • I would like to be able to see how positions are classified and corresponding salary ranges for positions (minimum, maximum, midpoint, etc.). I personally think that our searches in our office would run more smoothly if pay grades were openly shared. It seems to me that there are times when our salary might be higher and would help us attract strong candidates. When our salary is below an applicant's needs, then I also think it helps the search by not attracting applicants who ultimately would not accept an offer from us. • More information on how Xavier will act on the results of the consultant visit • clearly articulated guidelines for said positions, including salary • The various levels of each position and the salary range within the positions. • Trajectory information - how do I get from where I am to where I might like to be? • Method to submit for consideration of re-classification as workplace assignments substantially change. Method for employee to initiate, method for supervisor to initiate. • Administration classifications, complete list of benefits - when eligible + details of program • When first applying for a job here, you don't see what kind of compensation you would receive. (See St. Louis University avail jobs). I see that recently a staff classification/salary range document was put on the portal for employees only. A step in the right direction---easier-to-find information and transparency. Thank you. • n/a

6. What recruiting/retention issues are Xavier currently facing in areas with which you are familiar?  What do you believe is driving these recruiting/retention issues? • I assume the pay at XU is below corporate opportunities. • Low pay. People often come here for tuition benefits for family members. Once they're through school, the pay just seems so low. • None currently that I know of. • An aging work force with no program in place to pass on the complex knowledge base from the folks that are retiring • We need increased transparency for employee to know career paths throughout the university and the associated skill sets to have/acquire to become eligible for areas of interest. • Good benefits if you have children at Xavier or are attending yourself. However, if you are not able to take advantage of those benefits, the pay is low. • Greater focus on teaching ability and less on terminal degree • In my area it is a feeling of lack of appreciation as areas dealing with students services are given more and more work as enrollment goes up and are paid less than many areas in the University. In addition, our divisional leader does not understand what our department does and repeatedly refuses to give us resources. • No comment. • Not enough staff the new construction is driving these issues • XU is becoming less civil. Management is not listening to the needs of their constituents. It seems like the VP's, Associate Provost and Dean's are competitive with one another to be "in the know." This trickles down to their units. • Management targeting and trying to drive certain people out of Xavier.

7. What recruiting/retention issues are Xavier currently facing in areas with which you are familiar?  What do you believe is driving these recruiting/retention issues? • From my perception, the issue is cost. • Recruiting and retaining support staff positions: accounting jobs are available all over the city and our pay is not commensurate with the Cincinnati area • Recruiting issues may include Xavier's lack of salary competitiveness in the market as well as the multiple job levels that exist in a singular salary range. Retention issues may include consistency across all levels, transparency, and the ability for advancement within ones' own position. • Salary's are too low in many areas to attract the kind of talent we say we need and we have to pass on many good candidates to prove it before the salary offer is changed - this usually results in our not getting our first or even second choice • Hire to serve current need with out long term outlook for career positions. • Having management that know how to handle employees as people and not just know how to get the job done. • Under paying employees who have been at Xavier at least 15 years and have decided to make Xavier their career and not job hop to get higher pay. HR needs to do more for them.20 Simply put, dollars to equal the average pay of certain jobs in relation to other Cincinnati based jobs is very needed. While I understand the reasoning to benchmark jobs against other colleges and universities for faculty and a number of staff, employees that I am familiar with are not deciding between Xavier and other colleges but Xavier and medium to large sized Cincinnati businesses. Not benchmarking against these local companies will continue to hurt employee retention. • Faculty are being awarded too few research sabbaticals. The demands of performance expectations in producing high quality research are not supported by the resources to meet those demands.

8. What recruiting/retention issues are Xavier currently facing in areas with which you are familiar?  What do you believe is driving these recruiting/retention issues? • I did not realize they were having any issues at all with recruiting or retention. • Employees are leaving Xavier for higher paying opportunities. Xavier is not capturing the young professionals due to low wage offers. These professionals do not have children to utilize the tuition remission, so that "bonus" is not available to them, so their only other "compensation" is base salary. • I think a big issue is the fact that there are people who want to move up but higher ups who don't retire so there is nowhere to go within the organization. Also, for me I feel like there is no plan for me and that my boss has no idea what I do. I think a big driver is the lack of checks and balances and the problems with the economy so people who want to retire can't because of finances. There are ways to address this. • Our divisional supervisor doesn't appear know what our office does nor does she seem to care. With increases in enrollment our duties/responsibilities basically remain the same, but the numbers of students/faculty and others we serve has significantly increased. The morale of our staff is very low. • Not sure • Not competitive with the market. • Retention seems good in my area. I also think Xavier is competitive with recruiting, as far as I've seen when I've been on search committees. However, morale is low when it comes to salary and advancement opportunities. Salaries are too low in many cases to retain top talent in some areas, for example, in IT where corporations can hire at higher salaries. Also, the reasons people come to Xavier (good benefits, stability, good retirement options, comfortable and flexible work environment) are diminishing. Xavier is not very stable or comfortable anymore, in some areas.

9. What recruiting/retention issues are Xavier currently facing in areas with which you are familiar?  What do you believe is driving these recruiting/retention issues? • Salary is the biggest issue. I made the same salary at another institution in a position lower than mine, and only took this job because I was "promised" that I would be able to increase my salary as I got more responsibilities. Of course, that was a lie and now I'm stuck here. • Staff being promoted with no experience in an area, which is unfair to those with exp. (makes them want to leave). It is not made clear, as to why someone is being passed over, or the reason(s) are made up. It needs to be made clear what it more important, so staff can grow in the area(s) necessary to advance. • I don't know about searches outside of my area, but within my area, I feel that our searches are hurt by not providing classification/compensation information upfront. • Inequity of pay seen with WCB compared to the rest of the university, especially for hourly staff. • diverse student body. Many factors. • Xavier offers a world class education but the tradeoff in non-faculty positions is an extremely low pay grade if one can afford to take advantage of the tuition remission. For those who financially need the opportunity most, it costs the most to use it. Retention - I believe retention in non-faculty positions is directly linked to individual division leadership and policies. Identify what is successful in each division and where growth opportunities exist. • It would be extremely helpful if salary ranges were included in job listings. It is very frustrating for everyone when applicants find out the salary range is so much lower than they would ever consider had they known.

10. What recruiting/retention issues are Xavier currently facing in areas with which you are familiar?  What do you believe is driving these recruiting/retention issues? • In the more demanding staff positions...and many are much harder than others, similar pay for dis-similar work is a problem. Many staff jobs are now at least basic accounting and some are advance budget jobs. The compensation relative to the market is severely inconsistent. Qualified outside candidates are looking at a huge pay cut. Often the candidate does not need the tuition remission benefit, so good candidates often turn away. • Current management style/leadership, pay & benefits, lack of promotion in many areas • Not something I am familiar with. What I notice about Xavier is that people stay here for many years. • Salaries are low for non-faculty. Support staff salaries are near that of student workers. Benefits are too costly for low paying positions to actually afford for family coverage • Regarding administrative support staff: I believe that the low pay and the "archaic" job classification system, i.e. administrative support position descriptions do not take into account the specific and unique tasks and responsibilities per position. The better job candidates do not want to be lumped into a system that does not allow for job growth. For long term retention (excluding the employees whose motivation for working at XU is only the tuition remission), positions need to be individually defined, pay accordingly, offer job growth, and serve as a stepping stone for more advanced positions.

12. 5. What other perspectives (positive or negative) would you like to provide on classification/compensation at Xavier? • Very hard to have your position upgraded even though you take on more and more responsibility. If your supervisor doesn't push for anything you are just stuck. • There is such pay disparity right now between and within divisions that I don't think the University will be able to fix the problem. • Over all the University is a great place to work however when some are doing the work and other are coasting it hard to maintain a good attitude • Change the name of "Secretary" to Administrative Assistant. It would cost absolutely no money to the University and would more accurately reflect both what secretaries do around here and be consistent with the generally recognized term in the larger community. I believe the general impression of a "secretary" is someone who files and types. I know of no "Secretary" who does only that here at Xavier. Instead, secretaries are major event planners, grant writers, student advisors and much more. In this day and age, considering the actual work that is done, the term "secretary" is insulting and has affected morale. Also, the distinction between Secretary levels seems arbitrary and set in concrete no matter how much extra work a Secretary is given to do. • As far as compensation is concerned, I know that some employees get bonuses occasionally of even yearly. But I also know that some of those who are managers/supervisors would never think of trying to get a bonus for their employees.

13. 5. What other perspectives (positive or negative) would you like to provide on classification/compensation at Xavier? • It takes a very long time to receive a response when requesting a reclassification of a position that is supported with strong documentation • Review system is outdated. I have filled out the same thing. My supervisor states that she doesn't like to compliment so my review tends to be negative. I really don't work for my supervisor but the others that I do work for she only takes negative comments. She has told me so and in front of another administrator. • The classification system is inconsistent and dependant on a supervisor making waves to give more money or the employee negotiating it at hire or later. This leads to large gaps in salaries when job descriptions are similar. Structure is not very consistent in terms of departments having Assistant Directors and others do not (but the person does the job of one). Again, it seems to be up to the head of that department and if they don't want to push for it, it does not happen. As enrollment goes up, those most closely impacted by the rise in numbers need to be compensated for their heavier load, especially if additional staff being hired is refused. • The re-classification/compensation process at Xavier remains a mystery. • enforce pay for performance make mangers do there job • Information is not shared. • I think there has been more openness in promoting hourly staff to salary positions. This is helpful to morale. • Salaried positions need to be looked at to determine equity around campus • I think it is wonderful that Xavier has begun this process; I would like to see a better alignment of job classifications to salary, a reduction in the levels within a job classification, and more consistency across the board. • perhaps we need a one time bonus pool based on university results in recruiting, retention, budget control, etc. - it could be a one time payment if university goals are met but not increase salary - this would go hand-in-hand with a cost of living raise • They need to be more in line with the current job market. • People are kept in temporary positions for years in order for Xavier to not have to pay benefits yet they work almost 40 hrs a week. I thinks that's unethical.

14. What other perspectives (positive or negative) would you like to provide on classification/compensation at Xavier? • In general Xavier under pays its employees . But the other side of the coin is that that is not going to go out of business nor are its employees ever going to be transferred. So there are + and - working at Xavier. • I applaud the Office of Human Resources for leading a new compensation and classification process at Xavier and I hope for Xavier's future it is successful. • I think compensation/classification is based on budget instead of the position/duties or merit. We have to cut back on staff because we are short on budget so our job description changes to compensate for less staff and/or growth in the department yet we are not compensated for that. • Make supervisors accountable for completing performance reviews; increase merit increases; what does HR do with performance reviews? • I think it reflects poorly on the university to be advertising positions labeled "Secretary III, Administrative Secretary, etc." These titles have long been considered outdated and misogynistic. • I wish there was some kinds of career map or that I felt like there was a plan for me. My boss has been talking about retiring for 8 years and has recently been promoted so there it is unlikely that he will retire any time soon. • I think that this survey etc is a good start. I commend the University for doing so and I sincerely hope that progress is made.