Human Resources

Classification and Compensation Study

It has been a very long time since, as an institution, we have taken a comprehensive look at our employee job classification and compensation structure – considering both the positions individuals hold and the way in which positions relate to one another across the University enterprise. This study will help us bring greater consistency, equity, definition, and transparency to the way in which we maximize our human talent. In that way, it will help to ensure we can recruit, retain, and cultivate exceptional employees.

The Segal Group is a leading human resources consultancy that was founded in 1939. Segal’s Higher Education Practice has a dedicated team of consultants who have advised and partnered with colleges and universities for over 60 years in the following areas: organizational effectiveness, compensation and career strategies, retirement, and benefits. Segal has worked with over 300 colleges and universities, and typically conducts approximately 30 – 40 classification and compensation studies a year.

The University community will be informed about the key project phases, deliverables, and estimated timing at the beginning of the study. Progress updates will be provided throughout the year on this page and by email. Key stakeholders will be involved in different phases of the study. Faculty governance committees (Planning and Budget Review and Faculty Compensation Committee) have already been engaged and similar dialogue with Staff Assembly leadership will occur throughout the fall.

The study will involve full-time and part-time administrators and staff, hourly employees, and permanent full-time faculty, representing approximately 635 employees. Student workers and temporary positions are excluded from the study.

A comprehensive study of this nature will typically take 12-18 months to complete. Implementation of recommendations evolving from the study will be a multi-year, multi-phased process.

• The articulation of a total compensation philosophy for the University.
• An assessment of current position descriptions and realignment, as necessary, with actual work performed.
• A market assessment of current positions and compensation.
• An internal pay equity assessment.
• Recommendations for better classifying and structuring positions across the University enterprise.

No one will see a pay reduction as a result of this study. An upward salary adjustment may be recommended based on many considerations including areas of responsibility, skills and experience required, equity across the University enterprise, and relativity to our higher education marketplace (including base compensation and comparable benefits). Upward adjustments would be included in an implementation plan and, very likely, would be phased in over several years.

No jobs will be added or eliminated as a result of this study.

It is not the purpose of this study to assess specific benefits provided by the University (i.e. health insurance plans, retirement options, life insurance options, etc.).

A total compensation philosophy is a formal statement of Clark’s overall approach to employee compensation and benefits. It is important because it ensures that our approach to maximizing our human talent is aligned with our institutional values and helps to drive forward our overall mission and goals.

The position description questionnaire – PDQ for short – will be used to collect information from employees and your supervisors regarding current job responsibilities and the extent to which position descriptions need to be developed and/or updated. The purpose of the PDQ is to capture the full scope of your job duties and how your position supports Clark’s mission and goals. In addition, the questionnaire will ask your opinion about the qualifications and skills needed to do your work. The information gathered in the PDQ will help us consider ways in which to better structure current roles and responsibilities and will also be used in the market assessment phase of our study.

The study will evaluate a position/job first based on the primary responsibilities and minimum required qualifications of a role. Then there will be a full assessment of position descriptions, and how positions relate to one another across the University enterprise, as well as an assessment of how our positions compare to our higher education marketplace. All of this will help inform any changes to the compensation program and how compensation decisions are made going forward. At this point, many factors will determine any potential adjustments for a specific position, including qualifications, experience, and tenure.

There will be information sessions held to share the details of the project and what our employees should expect over the next 12-18 months. Updated information and announcements will be posted and archived to this page. In addition, stakeholder groups – faculty governance committees and staff assembly, for example – will have opportunities to engage directly with Segal to provide perspective and input, especially as we craft our total compensation philosophy.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact our human resources team at hr@clarku.edu. You can also visit our resource page on ClarkU.edu.

All part-time and full-time administrators and staff should complete the PDQ. Employees with less than 12-month appointments who have a weekly standard schedule of 35 or more hours per week are expected to complete the PDQ. Faculty members will be engaged in a separate process, however those faculty members who supervise staff will need to review the staff member’s completed PDQ.

For vacant positions, please send an email to positiondescriptions@clarku.edu. Please indicate “demographic” information (see slide 20 of Segal presentation) and HR will provide guidance on how to proceed further, if necessary.

For an employee on leave during the PDQ phase of the project, we realize that there are going to be situations like that that will warrant an adjustment to the deadline and will accommodate those on a case-by-case basis. Please email positiondescriptions@clarku.edu for more information.

Your employee ID is on your Clark OneCard, add a C and remove last two digits.

Please email positiondescriptions@clarku.edu to ask for your job description.

This questionnaire is designed to assess your areas of responsibility at present, so that we can benchmark its current state and provide a market assessment. Please describe the position as it is currently being performed today. With regard to additional duties you may have taken on over time, please describe those in the “additional comments” section at the end, making clear that these wouldn’t necessarily be expected of a new hire to the same role.

We will be determining those labor/talent markets by industry and employee level in Phase 3. There are likely specific roles that will have a blend of both higher education and other industries and others that are only higher education.

We understand that there may be responsibilities that are cyclical in nature. We ask that you capture these in the responsibilities section of the PDQ, describe the time period spent on the task, and make your best estimate on the percentage of time spent. For example, if a responsibility takes up 100% of your time over three months (out of 12 months) and no time the rest of the year, we would ask that you indicate 25% in the weighting column.

We will review the cost of living and cost of labor as part of the market assessment phase to determine if a geographic differential will need to be applied to the market data.