March 23, 2016
A letter from the Faculty Senate Professional Staff Affairs Committee
Dear Kansas State Unclassified Professional Staff,
As many of you may have noted, Human Capital Services has been enlisted to implement a number of changes as part of an initiative called Total Rewards. We want to share details regarding total rewards and update you on its progress.
According to the Human Capital Services website, the Total Rewards Initiative includes developing job descriptions, analyzing market competitiveness, and designing compensation plans that consider the correlation of total rewards to base pay and creating plans that envelop the ability to grow one's career over time. The first step in the initiative was creating a compensation philosophy that was designed with feedback from 1,000 employees. The philosophy was created in order to construct compensation programs that are fair, transparent and provide career growth through the development of career ladder opportunities.
The second step was the distribution of the Job Analysis Questionnaire to all university support staff and professional staff. The results of the questionnaires are being used to assemble up-to-date job descriptions and job families so that comparisons can be made to determine fair market compensation for each type of position.
It is anticipated that these job descriptions and job families also will be used to assemble career ladders. These career ladders are intended to provide pathways for professional growth. Human Capital Services will work with a task force to develop recommendations for an optimal performance management system, by March 2017, that will help enhance and further define the professional staff evaluation process.
Findings from the Job Analysis Questionnaire are currently being shared with the President's Cabinet, Dean's Council, Fiscal Budget Officers, Senate Leadership, Professional Staff Affairs Committee, University Support Staff, Black Faculty Staff Alliance, Alianza, LGBTQ Affinity Group and Indigenous Affinity Group. The spring open forums dates will be published for your constituent group in K-State Today. The following general forums are being offered on the three campuses:
• Manhattan:
• 10–11 a.m. Monday, March 28, in Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union, also live-streamed.
• 1:30–2:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, in Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union.
• 4-5 p.m. Monday, March 28, in the K-State Student Union's Little Theatre.
• Polytechnic:
• 10:30–11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 30, K-State Polytechnic's College Conference Room.
• 2–3 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, K-State Polytechnic's College Conference Room.
• Olathe:
• 10–11 a.m. Thursday, March 31, Olathe Campus in Forum Hall.
We hope that this will lead to an increased focus regarding professional staff salaries and we plan to continue to advocate on behalf of professional staff.
Sincerely,
Mary Anne Andrews, Chair
Faculty Senate Professional Staff Affairs Committee