A successful recruitment effort drew 30 candidates for 18 vacancies this spring on the Professional and Scientific (P&S) Council, and the council election will be held next week, Monday-Friday.
The online election site will be open April 21-25. With at least one vacancy in each of the council's four areas of representation, all P&S employees should receive an email April 21 containing a link to the election website. Employees elect council representatives for their division.
Winners will be notified by May 5 and announced in the council's May newsletter. Newly elected council members are seated at the May meeting.
P&S employees will elect council members to fill these vacancies:
- Academic affairs 9
- Student affairs 1
- Operations and finance 4
- President 4
Annual compensation and benefits report
At its April 10 meeting, the council also completed a first read of the annual review of compensation and benefits programs for P&S employees and recommendations for improvement. The review is the main project each year of the council's compensation and benefits committee. Once approved, the report is shared with senior leaders and the employee benefits advisory committee (EBAC). The council will review edits and do a second read at its May meeting before final approval.
Recommendations in the draft reviewed this month are organized into three key subject areas: compensation, performance evaluations and benefits. The suggestions include:
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Complete an annual review of the P&S pay structure and appropriate adjustments to it on July 1 for consistency and budget planning.
P&S employees continue to raise concerns about their pay, career progression and market competitiveness. These ongoing challenges suggest that further work is needed to educate managers and employees on how to use the new compensation structure to fully align with the university's goal of providing competitive, market-based pay. -
University leaders should develop a plan that aligns the university budget model with practices that support the P&S compensation model.
Budget constraints frequently are cited as the main reason for limiting performance-based increases and delaying market reviews. This conflicts with the university's stated philosophy of rewarding high performance and offering competitive pay. - Develop budget manager training on proactive budgeting for salary increases.
- Publish the hiring salary range with each job description.
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Leverage Workday to achieve a consistent performance evaluation experience for all P&S employees, including communications to employees, a timeline for completion and mandatory training/expectations for supervisors.
According to the report, P&S staff often are confused about how their performance is linked to their pay increase, what the increase is, and when they will receive information about it. -
Hold health insurance premiums flat until more data can be collected about the January 2024 plan design changes.
While the changes did not impact overall enrollment in the benefits package, the committee recognizes the financial impact on staff of the changes. The combination of slow salary increases, higher premiums and increased cost-sharing has resulted in lower take-home pay for many P&S employees. - Conduct a cost analysis to determine the financial implications for the university if co-pays for mental health services were eliminated.
The council's final meeting of the academic year will be held Thursday, May 22 (2:10 p.m. 4250 Student Innovation Center and via Microsoft Teams).
