President Rebecca M. Bergman
Happy Monday, Gusties! As you read this, I am on the way to Denver to meet with Gustavus alumni, parents, and friends to discuss the Show the World comprehensive campaign and our progress on the Gustavus Acts Strategic Plan.
I hope you were able to attend last Friday’s all-employee meeting, in which I provided an update on our FY2020 Institutional Goals and an overview of the process, general results, and next steps related to the Compensation Analysis for Gustavus staff (i.e., all non-faculty positions, including both hourly and salaried positions). Salary is an important and highly personal topic for all employees. I fully understand that not all employees were able to be there, so the slides are available online on the Human Resources Internal Resources webpage for your reference.
Here are the key points from Friday’s conversation:
- The primary goal of the staff compensation analysis has been to establish a fair and equitable salary structure for all non-faculty employees. This means we want fair and equitable salaries compared to the marketplace as well as fair and equitable salaries within and across the divisions of the College.
- This is the first time that Gustavus has undertaken a comprehensive compensation analysis. We hired an outside firm, Gallagher, to review and assess all Gustavus job descriptions and assign a pay grade to each job. A variety of salary surveys were used to benchmark our jobs and associated salaries. Jobs were reviewed according to the job duties, decision-making requirements, and supervisory responsibilities (if any). Jobs were not assessed by the person filling the role (e.g., longevity in the position, education beyond minimum requirements, or performance in the job).
- Jobs with similar levels of responsibility were placed into specific pay grades by Gallagher, which provides a salary structure for the College that we will use going forward. The Cabinet then reviewed the recommendations from Gallagher to provide an internal reasonableness and equity check.
- On average for the entire College, the results indicated that the College’s wages for staff employees was 0.3% below the market median. This means that, on average, our salaries are competitive in the market. It was also determined that there are no systemic pay equity issues across campus (e.g., gender or racial bias). This is all good news.
- Averages are just that — averages. Your individual salary is, of course, what really matters. We have a small number of employees whose salary falls below the salary range that has been established for our jobs. As we work on salary adjustments based on this analysis, our first priority will be to bring these individuals to a salary level that is within the salary range for their job.
- We are currently working on the FY2021 budget (which runs from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021). We are expecting to implement a pay increase on September 1, 2020, that is similar to the last few years.
I encourage you to attend one of two meetings on Monday, March 9, when a representative from Gallagher will be on campus for informational sessions at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall. These sessions will help employees better understand the process and general results of the compensation analysis. Also on March 9, all staff employees will receive an individualized letter indicating their pay grade and the salary range for that pay grade, and your current salary. A FAQ sheet will also be provided, which we anticipate will be helpful in answering your questions.
I know that salary is a sensitive subject. I also know you will have questions, and that is good. Our Human Resources staff will be ready and able to answer questions and provide additional information to aid in understanding the new salary structure. Remember that our goal is fairness and equity relative to the marketplace and within the Gustavus community. We want to be positioned to attract, retain, and provide professional development opportunities for all our employees. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful engagement and good questions as we move forward with this new staff compensation structure.
Until next week, keep up the good work, Gusties!
With respect,
Becky