Across-the-board Increase: A wage or salary raise where either a flat rate or a common percentage of salary is used. Also called a Mass Salary Update or Mass Salary Increase.
Acting/Interim Assignments: An employee assumes the full scope of a position in the absence of the position’s regular incumbent; the employee holds the position temporarily. In cases where the incumbent completely vacates the position, the employee is placed in the assignment on an interim basis. In cases where the incumbent is on temporarily leave or holding another assignment, the employee is placed in the assignment on an acting basis.
Additional Compensation: Extra wages paid to an employee who works outside their regular assignment or an award provided for exemplary performance based on a pre-approved recognition program. Additional compensation is paid in a one-time payment and not applied to the employee’s base salary. Additional compensation must be pre-approved by the Division of Human Resources.
Alternative Work Arrangement: An arrangement including, but not limited to, flexible scheduling, compressed workweeks, telecommuting, or job sharing that may be authorized when the it meets both the business needs of the department and the individual needs of a staff employee.
B
Base salary: A fixed rate paid by the hour, week, month, or year to an individual by an employer for the job performed. This does not include shift differentials, overtime, incentives, benefits, or any other pay element.
Benchmarks: The standards used as a basis for comparison or measurement. For example, a job that is commonly found and defined, used to make pay comparisons, either within the organization or to comparable jobs outside the organization. Pay data for these jobs are readily available in published salary surveys.
C
Career Ladder: A process to formally develop a staff employee to a higher level of job responsibility within their current position. It is a department-driven process, with three basic preconditions. This is a proactive approach in employee career development when a business need exists.
Classification Description: A formal, written document managed by the Division of HR that includes information regarding the general nature of the work to be performed, including specific duties and responsibilities, qualifications, working conditions, physical requirements, and conditions of employment.
Classification Structure: A systematic method of categorizing positions into occupational families, providing a framework for the assignment of job codes, job titles, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption status, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) codes, Standard Occupational Codes and salary grades.
Classification: A group of positions sufficiently similar in duties and responsibilities that the same university title is used to designate them.
Classification Study: A large-scale evaluation conducted by HR Compensation of like-jobs and/or job series to determine appropriate leveling in relation to other roles within the University and in alignment with typical market-based structures and pay.
Classify: The assignment of a position to a specific classification description based on similar characteristics.
COLA: A Cost-Of-Living Adjustment in wages to offset a change in purchasing power, such as a change measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Compa-Ratio: A comparison ratio that represents the correlation between current pay and the midpoint of the salary range assigned to the job. Used to determine the relationship between an employee’s pay to the midpoint of the salary grade. A salary rate at the midpoint of a grade would be considered a 1.0 or 100% compa-ratio.
Compensation: All forms of financial returns, tangible services, and benefits employees receive as part of an employment relationship. A methodical approach to assigning a monetary value to employees in return for work performed. This may include any or all of the following: base pay, overtime pay, annual/sick leave, and all benefits.
Compensation Philosophy:: A set of guiding principles that are based on values used to drive decision-making.
Compensatory Time: Time off accrued by a non-exempt employee at the rate of one-and-one-half times for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Compensatory time off may be used in lieu of overtime pay upon mutual agreement between employee and supervisor.
Compression: The result of insufficient distinctions between jobs of differing scope and/or market value or between individuals with varying levels of job-related qualifications (e.g. education, experience, skills)
Counter Offer: A formal offer to increase an employee’s salary in exchange for remaining with an organization after receiving an offer of employment from another employer or department.
D
Demotion: A downward movement of an employee from a position in one classification (title) to a position in another classification, having less responsibility and with a lower grade.
Desk Audit: A systematic procedure for gathering information about a position in order to determine the most appropriate position classification if the classification remains unclear after standard departmental and HR review. HR Compensation determines when desk audits are necessary to make an informed classification recommendation to departments.
Dual Employment: An employee who is authorized to work in more than one position at the university.
E
Essential Functions: The primary job duties and responsibilities that an individual must be able to perform with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Exempt Employee: An incumbent in a position that qualifies for exclusion from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because of their assigned duties and salary. Exempt employees do not receive overtime pay for work performed in excess of the 40-hour workweek.
Exempt/Non Exempt Designation: Information concerning the pay frequency and overtime eligibility of staff positions as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
F
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Federal legislation that sets the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, equal pay, record keeping, and child labor standards for employees who are covered by the act and are not exempt from specific provisions.
G
H
I
Intangible Compensation: Non-monetary rewards, including but not limited to work/life balance, alternative work schedules, on-the-job training, and development opportunities.
Internal Equity: Refers to the pay relationships among incumbents holding similar jobs within the organization.
In-range Adjustments: Modification to pay within the existing pay grade based on additional duties assigned
J
Job Analysis: Systematic study of the duties performed within a position to identify the observable work activities, tasks, and responsibilities associated with a particular classification description or group of classifications.
Job Series: A group of two or more classifications in the same occupational area which requires the application of the same knowledge, skills, and abilities at varying levels of proficiency or responsibility.
Job Change Reason Code: Used for reporting and data analysis purposes, this code identifies the action that prompted a modification in an employee’s record.
Job Description: A written definition of the duties and responsibilities specific to a position or incumbent. It derives from the Classification Description, but has been customized to reflect position/incumbent-specific information.
Job Title: A specific name given to a particular position that is used to identify that position.
K
L
Lateral Transfer: Refers to a change of an employee from one position to another in a different classification with the same salary range/grade level.
Lump Sum: A one-time payment provided to an employee, not applied to the employee’s base salary.
M
Market index: An indicator computed by dividing the pay received by an individual by the market value for that job. This figure can be computed for groups, departments, and the entire organization. It is designed to provide a measure of how organizational pay compares to the market.
Market-Based Adjustment: A change in pay to recognize appropriate value of a job in the labor market as determined by salary survey information and approved by HR Compensation.
Market Pricing: A process that sets the values to be paid for a job to the organization’s best estimate of the current value for that job in the external marketplace.
Mean: The average of a set of numbers.
Mean Wage: The average pay for a worker in a specific position or occupation, which is determined by adding together the total salaries/hourly rates for all incumbents in a specific position or occupation, and then dividing it by the total number of incumbents.
Median: The middle value in a series of values arranged in rank order.
Median Wage: The value between the highest paid 50% and the lowest paid 50% of workers in a specific position or occupation.
Midpoint: The salary that represents the middle of a given salary range or pay grade.
Midpoint Differential: The mathematical difference between the midpoint of one grade and another.
N
New Hire Rate: The method used by the University to review and establish starting pay for new employees hired into staff positions.
Non-Exempt Employee: An incumbent who is eligible for the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act because of their assigned duties and/or salary.
O
On-Call Employee: Employees who work on an intermittent basis, such as special events and/or peak work periods, to fill in for an absent employee, or in other occasional circumstances. Hours worked are typically irregular and non-repetitive in nature.
Organizational Chart/Structure: A common visual depiction of the roles and relationships between positions within a unit or institution. Also known as an org chart.
Overtime: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1 ½ (one-and-one half) times their normal wage rates or receive compensatory time off for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any workweek. Supervisory approval for overtime time must be received prior to working extra hours. Exempt employees are not eligible.
P
Paid leave: Compensation earned during absence periods (annual leave, holidays, jury duty, sick leave, military leave, etc.) based on prior accrual.
Percentile: A measure of location in a distribution of numbers that defines the value below which a given percentage of the data fall. For example, the 90th percentile is the point below which 90 percent of the data fall.
Position: A unique or pooled identifier that holds information about the budget, organizational unit, and attributes associated with a set of duties and responsibilities requiring the services of one person for the hours per week specified.
Position Classification Code (pClass): A series of alphanumerical characters assigned to a position classification description for the purpose of identification.
Promotion: An upward movement by a current employee who transfers to another position that has a greater level of responsibility and a higher salary range. In determining the salary increase, the following factors are taken in to account: budget, market conditions, candidate’s credentials (skills, experience, performance, knowledge, and education) for the job, weighed against the minimum qualifications required and the relevant credentials of others in the same position.
Q
Quartile: A distribution divided into fourths. The first quartile corresponds to the 25th percentile, the second to the 50th percentile, the third to the 75th percentile, and the fourth to the 100th percentile.
R
Reclassification: Upon HR review and approval, a change in an employee’s classification as a result of a significant change in duties and responsibilities.Typically occurs following the restructure of a department, changes in business need, or shifting job expectations over a period of time.
Retention Offer: An increase to the salary of high performing staff member with critical skills valuable to the organization. Offered in cases where department leadership anticipates the employee may be at risk of leaving the organization, although they may not have received an offer from another organization.
Retroactive Pay: A delayed wage disbursement for work already performed, when it has been formally recognized by the institution that back wages are necessary to remediate an earlier nonpayment caused by an administrative error or operational oversight.
S
Salary Grade: Refers to a salary range within a designated salary structure. Positions of a similar scope and/or labor market value are placed within a common salary grade to ensure consistency in pay administration. Employees are offered a pay rate within the grade’s designated range based on their unique qualifications, departmental budgets, and internal equity.
Salary Policy: An organization’s stated desired position with respect to competitive wages at a certain point in time.
Salary Range: The span from minimum to maximum that constitutes the spectrum of wage established for a particular job grade.
Salary-range Overlap: The degree to which the salary ranges assigned to adjacent grades in a structure intersect. Numerically, the percentage of overlay between the midpoints of two adjacent salary grades.
Salary Structure: A hierarchical group of salary ranges organized by job grade. A job is assigned to a grade within the Salary Structure that reflects the monetary value of a job in both the external market and internally to an organization.
Salary Survey: The gathering of data on wages paid by other employers for benchmark jobs.
Shift Allowance Pay: An hourly pay rate paid, in addition to a non-exempt employee's base pay rate, to employees who work at least half their hours on either a second or third shift.
Staff Incentive Program: A program to recognize a staff employee’s exceptional contributions either by monetary or non-monetary means.
Survey: The gathering of information about a situation. Often consists of sampling data from a population. For example, a benchmark salary survey that collects pay data for benchmark jobs from a defined labor market.
T
Temporary Employee: Employees who are hired to fill a specific departmental need for a pre-defined period of time, typically not to exceed twelve months. Hours of work may be either full-time or part-time, but are established and repetitive in nature throughout the period of employment.
Temporary In-Range Adjustment: A provisional increase added during the period that it might be necessary for an employee to assume additional, higher-level responsibilities for a specified period of time.
Total Compensation: An individual's complete pay package that includes cash, benefits, and services.
Total Rewards: The monetary and non-monetary returns provided to employees in exchange for their time, talents, efforts, and results. Includes the deliberate integration of key elements that effectively attract, motivate, engage and retain the talent required to achieve desired business results.
Transfer: A movement that occurs when an employee moves from one department to another.
U
Update: An action taken to effect revisions to the duties assigned to a position and/or changes (such as reporting relationship), which do not warrant a change in job code and title.
V
W
Weighted mean: An average of averages calculated by valuing each individual average according to the number of data points that made up that individual average.
Working title: An alternate designation that can be used in an unofficial capacity to more appropriately provide clarity for job postings, or to convey a message to external organizations of the work performed. Permitted as long as it does not misrepresent the authority or the functions of the position.
