Huron Compensation Project

Human Resources is creating the new compensation program in partnership with Huron Consulting Group. We are leveraging their subject matter expertise, tools, and resources to develop an initial framework. Throughout this partnership, we will utilize both internal (e.g., pay structures, position descriptions, employee census information) and external information (e.g., salary surveys, market-leading practices) to shape our approach.

Professional and administrative staff members, including executives, and most faculty will be governed by the new program. Classified staff members, adjunct faculty, and visiting faculty are excluded.

Huron Consulting Group is partnering with ASU’s Human Resources to develop the new compensation program. This is happening under the advisement of Kevin Daniel (VP of Administration & CIO) and Tracy Rogers (Director of Human Resources). Kevin and Tracy, alongside executive team members, serve on a project Executive Team and are responsible for final decisions related to program development.

The success of this project requires support from all university leaders. As such, we have enlisted ASU’s Extended Executive Team (“eTeam”), and select faculty senate and PASC representatives, as “change agents” on this project. They will receive regular progress updates and report key takeaways to their teams. They will also serve as your primary contact for project questions and feedback.

Finally, we will ask leaders, managers, and employees from across the University to participate in the refinement of the new program. We will consider input from all levels throughout program development, implementation, and beyond.

The new program will include job classification, compensation operations, and compensation administration components:

• Job classification (staff only) groups jobs by function (i.e., type of work performed) and level (i.e., complexity of work performed).
• Compensation operations include tools and resources that we utilize to determine appropriate pay for each employee.
• Compensation administration includes resources that we utilize to oversee day-to-day functions of the program. It also includes processes for making changes and educating employees on program specifics. As resources related to these components become available, we will add them to our website: [website link].

It is important to periodically refresh our understanding of the external market and evaluate our compensation program against similar institutions. We have opportunities to update our program to better align with current market-leading practices and University goals. We are making these updates with a focus on the following objectives:

• Promote a consistent approach to compensation University-wide
• Attract, retain, and reward talent
• Enhance analysis and reporting capabilities
• Reduce administrative burden for HR personnel
• Enhance the employee value proposition (see: How does this benefit me?)
• More fully utilize the new Workday HCM

We strive to design a program that will improve the employee experience. Some of the anticipated benefits to you include:

• Clear understanding of how work is organized and compensated across the university
• Further defined career paths, with clear career growth opportunities
• Strong guidelines for performance expectations
• Increased transparency around compensation decisions
• Enhanced focus on pay equity for employees performing similar work at a similar level

Yes. This only represents the first iteration of our new compensation program. As the University and higher education landscape continue to evolve, our program will adapt as well. This includes our staff job classification framework, pay ranges, market strategy, and anything else that impacts your compensation.

The Human Resources team is developing a comprehensive governance document. This document will outline our commitment to the methods and frequency of reviewing and updating each component of the compensation program. We will communicate these decisions when they are finalized.

The new compensation program will include a consistent, data-driven approach to setting and adjusting pay. This project will help ASU understand the relationship between current compensation and the market, to inform compensation planning going forward. We will balance the need to be competitive and available resources to prioritize increases. There are no guaranteed pay increases as a result this project. Employees will not receive pay reductions.

As an immediate outcome of the new program, ASU does not plan to:

• Change the core responsibilities of any position
• Adjust reporting lines, including direct supervisors
• Reduce employee pay
• Eliminate positions This program is meant to provide consistency in determining pay and structure around career growth opportunities. We do not anticipate material changes to your day-to-day work.

We expect program development to last through June 2025. Throughout June, we will begin considering the appropriate timing and method for implementing the new compensation program. We will provide further updates as they become available.

We are committed to being transparent throughout program development and implementation. We will continue communications about the new program as we make decisions and create resources. You will receive information from the Human Resources team in the following ways:

• Emails detailing implementation milestones and new resources 4
• Resources related to the new structure (e.g., staff classification framework, pay ranges), which will be uploaded to our website as they become available
• University-wide townhalls, where you will have the chance to ask questions about the new program
• Updates to this FAQ document You will also receive updates from your unit leader regarding project progress. See Who do I contact with my questions? for further details.

We welcome all questions and feedback throughout this project. For these purposes, your unit leader (i.e., the Extended eTeam) will be your primary point of contact. They will receive regular project updates, including specific information and resources to share with their teams. If you have questions or feedback regarding program development, implementation, or communications, please reach out to them first.

If they are unable to address your question, they will pass it along to the Human Resources team.

A compensation philosophy is a formal strategy detailing ASU’s commitment to employee compensation. It includes compensation program goals, components, and high-level governance considerations. The Core Executive Team is currently finalizing a compensation philosophy that will govern all in-scope employees (see: Who is included in the new program?).

Per the updated compensation philosophy, the goals of ASU’s compensation program are:

• To be aligned with market-leading compensation practices
• To provide similar pay for similar duties, promoting internal equity across ASU
• To provide compensation aligned with the competitive labor market
• To promote clarity and transparency around pay and pay practices
• To be flexible based on the changing industry and market landscape

We are not yet ready to share the compensation philosophy. We are still making final adjustments, pending decisions on our market strategy. We will notify you once the philosophy is live on our website.

A market strategy defines the talent market ASU competes in for different types of jobs. It includes components such as industry (e.g., higher education, general industry), geography (e.g., national, regional), and use of peer groups (i.e., comparable higher education institutions). It also includes a target position (i.e., percentile of salary survey data) in the resulting talent market. It may vary for different types of jobs, depending on their function and complexity.

We will utilize CUPA-HR’s surveys to benchmark all faculty and Professional/Administrative staff jobs. CUPA-HR is the leading survey provider for the higher education industry. The size and accuracy of its data set provides a strong basis for compensation analysis. To learn more about CUPA’s surveys and methodologies, visit their website, located here: CUPA-HR Website.

ASU’s labor market includes comparable institutions in the higher education industry. These institutions are selected based on criteria set by university leadership and Human Resources. The labor market peer group includes public institutions with similar types of degree offerings and operating expenses.

For all faculty and Professional/Administrative staff jobs, we will utilize percentiles of the labor market to determine target compensation. This is a shift from our current model for faculty, where we use percent of average.

We made this shift to align with how the market thinks about compensation, enhance the precision of compensation analyses, and unify terminology across the institution. The use of percentiles reduces the risks involved with outlier sensitivity that may distort a true picture of the market. Additionally, percentiles allow ASU to adjust their market target if appropriate.

The use of percentiles does not indicate an increase or decrease in the market target for faculty. Instead, it represents a change in terminology and practice to better administer compensation.

Further detail regarding the ASU market target will be provided once analysis and implementation plans are complete.

Our labor market peers include institutions across the country. However, the labor market looks different in Alamosa than many of our peer cities. To account for this, we’re applying a geographic differential to the target percentile rate (i.e., market reference point) for each job. A geographic differential accounts for the difference in cost of labor between Alamosa and the national market. This will help us align pay with our local labor market.

The market strategy is in its final stages of refinement. Currently, the HR team and university leadership are finalizing key market strategy decisions. We will continue to provide updates as we make progress.

A job classification framework categorizes jobs based on the function and complexity of work they involve. To define “function,” or the primary type of work performed, ASU will use job families and sub-families. To define “complexity” of work performed, ASU will use career streams and job levels.

Finally, we will implement a titling framework, which helps us develop standardized job titles based on the function and complexity of a job.

We will use the classification framework to categorize jobs. It will provide a clear, consistent view of the jobs that exist across our institution. It will also allow us to enhance our career pathing, performance evaluation, and pay-setting capabilities, among others. As the implementation begins, we will provide more information on the exciting benefits of a job classification framework.

The classification framework only applies to Professional and Administrative staff members, including executives. Classified jobs will continue to use the state classification system (see: Who is included in the new program?).

Broadly, job families and sub-families define the primary function of a job. Job families are a collection of jobs with similar knowledge, skill, and ability requirements. Sub-families are specialized subsets of job families.

An example of a job family is Human Resources. Potential sub-families for Human Resources include Talent Acquisition, Benefits, or Employee Relations.

Broadly, career streams and job levels define the complexity of a job. Career streams define the fundamental nature of work performed. Multiple job levels exist within each career stream, to differentiate the complexity of jobs within them.

An example of a career stream is Managerial (M), which includes all non-executive “people managers” (i.e., jobs with direct reports). Job levels within the Managerial career stream include Supervisors (M1), Managers (M2), Assistant Directors (M3), and more.

The framework was developed collaboratively with Huron Consulting Group. In part, it is based on marketleading practices – or the most effective ways that other universities categorize their jobs. We also considered the unique structure and types of jobs across Adams State, ensuring the framework represents all Professional and Administrative jobs.

While we do not expect to make extensive changes to the job classification framework, it will be adjusted over time. Periodically, we will review job families and sub-families to see if additions, removals, or edits to language are needed. We will also review career streams and job levels for language changed, but do not anticipate adding job levels in the near future.

We are not yet ready to share the job classification framework. We are still making final adjustments and developing resources to explain key concepts. Once they are ready, we will launch a catalogue of job families and sub-families, a career stream and level guide, and a standardized titling framework. We will notify you when these documents are posted on our website.

The Human Resources and Core eTeam are working through a process called “mapping.” This is where we align all Professional and Administrative jobs to the new classification framework. We will assign each job a job family, sub-family, career stream, and job level.

The initial employee mapping process includes three phases of work. Additional validation will occur before mapping is implemented across the institution.

Phase 1: Initial Mapping

Huron Consulting Group reviews available job data, including position descriptions, employee census information, and organizational charts. They use this data to align jobs to the new classification framework.

Phase 2: HR Validation

The Human Resources team reviews and provides feedback on Huron’s initial mapping. During this phase, we identify position descriptions that may be outdated, inaccurate, or lacking appropriate nuance, to adjust mapping accordingly. We collaborate with leaders across the institution to update position descriptions.

Phase 3: Core eTeam Validation

The Human Resources team collaborates with the Core eTeam to validate mapping. During this phase, we ask leaders to evaluate their jobs and ensure accurate mapping to the framework.

Yes, your classification can change over time. There are three primary ways this could happen:

• Job Change: Your classification will be updated to reflect the new function and complexity of your job.
• Promotion: Your level may change as you take on more complex duties, acquire direct reports, and are required to perform duties that align with the next level.
• Structural Framework Adjustment: We may make changes to the classification framework that would shift your classification. This is more likely to occur with functional shifts (i.e., adding a new sub-family due to a new type of work at ASU).

No, your job classification will not impact your working title.

We have not yet finalized staff mapping. We will continue this work throughout the next few months and communicate once an implementation plan is determined. Upon receiving your mapping, you can connect with your manager to discuss questions and concerns.