Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness

Human Resources Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness (HR COE) partners with university leaders to design, maintain and continuously improve K‑State’s compensation program so the university can attract, reward and retain talent fairly and consistently.

HR COE uses validated market data, best practices, sound methods, maintenance schedules and active partnership with stakeholders to ensure K‑State’s pay practices are fair, market‑aligned, compliant and consistently applied.

Compensation strategy

• • Coordinate market updates, equity reviews, budget planning, approvals, system changes and employee communications.
  • Provide data‑driven recommendations on merit, market, equity and bonus actions, aligned to budget and policy.

Market pricing and pay structures

• • Build and maintain market‑based pay grades using validated survey data.
  • Conduct targeted market reviews as trends shift; analyze internal pay relative to the external market; update ranges and systems accordingly.
  • Create or refine job classifications when work evolves; advise on annual market shifts.

Job architecture and position management

• • Govern the staff job architecture (families, profiles).
  • Review position descriptions and determine appropriate job profiles and pay grades.
  • Lead reclassification reviews when roles meaningfully change.

FLSA and compliance determinations

• • Apply federal criteria to determine FLSA exemption status (salary level, salary basis and duties tests).
  • Advise on pay transparency and state wage‑and‑hour requirements as they intersect with compensation.

Equity, compression and pay integrity

• • Monitor and analyze pay for internal equity and compression; produce insights and recommendations for corrective action.
  • Perform periodic audits to measure and address compliance, consistency and risk.

Organizational effectiveness and advisory services

• • Consult on organization design and unit reorganizations to improve role clarity, consistency, efficiency and service.
  • Provide compensation guidance to leaders and HR on anticipated hiring ranges and retention needs.

Tools, training and stakeholder support

• • Deliver manager and HR liaison tools and training.
  • Communicate program changes and decisions clearly to support transparency and understanding.