Dear Colleagues:
I mentioned at the State of the University address last week that our study to review
employee job classifications, compensation, and pay practices is underway. Our partner
in this important effort is Sibson Consulting, a human resources consulting firm nationally
recognized for its work on similar projects with hundreds of higher education institutions
in the U.S. Zan Jones, Associate VP for HR and our Chief Diversity Officer, will be
the project team lead for Winthrop and the primary contact with the Sibson team.
Reviewing employee classifications, compensation, and pay practices is one of the
University's top priorities, as noted in Section 3.2 of the Winthrop Plan. The last
time we conducted a comprehensive study was almost 20 years ago. Winthrop has been
through a great deal of change, growth, and progress since then. The Board of Trustees
and I agree that an updated compensation philosophy and a detailed plan to implement
any changes that may result from the study will best serve the campus community. Our
work with Sibson will help us develop an updated direction for the development and
maintenance of pay practices. We expect this will result in tools and processes to
help ensure pay decision consistency across the campus.
Additional project objectives include:
Reviewing and making necessary adjustments to current job classifications to ensure
that actual job duties (rather than job titles alone) are taken into consideration
when comparing salaries;
Developing an overarching compensation program that is market-competitive, fair, and
ensures internal equity;
Creating a comprehensive compensation philosophy that includes positioning of salaries
to a newly defined market; and,
Communicating a plan for implementing new compensation practices, reporting, and ongoing
salary administration maintenance.
This initiative is expected to run through calendar year 2019. We will keep you informed
of our progress through regular updates.
We are excited to begin this project and appreciate your support as we embark on this
important effort. Additional information about the study, including the members of
the study's Steering Committee and Project Team, and project updates, will soon be
added to the Human Resources, Employee Diversity, and Wellness website.
If you have questions about the study, please contact HRHelp@winthrop.edu.
Sincerely,
Dan
