Compensation updates discussed at Staff Council meeting

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About 2,000 employees will move up in pay grade as a result of market research done by the Division of Human Resources, members of the University of Arizona Staff Council learned at the group's June meeting.

Chante Martin, assistant vice president for human resources, and Leah Rodriguez, lead compensation analyst with HR, briefed the council on the pay grade updates, which are set to go into effect on July 24.

"We use two higher education surveys and one benchmark survey to help us determine what those pay grades are and to make sure that we're being competitive and are able to retain our employees," Rodriguez said.

The division's compensation team conducted the external market data review of all jobs in the University's career architecture in the fall to ensure the University's pay structure is competitive with peer institutions and private industry. The team identified 522 job codes (out of about 1,800 total in the University's career architecture) that needed to move up at least one pay grade.

It's important to note that an increased pay grade does not necessarily coincide with a pay raise unless an employee needs to be brought up to a minimum level, Rodriguez said. Increases beyond that are at the discretion of an employee's department or unit.

"We don't ever make recommendations that would negatively impact employees," Rodriguez told the council during the meeting, held June 27. "If we see a decrease, we're going to keep the pay grade that it currently is."

If needed, employees will automatically be brought up to the minimum of a new pay grade, and both employees and their supervisors will receive an email from HR with that information. Supervisors may have employees who are moving up in pay grade but who are not receiving a bring-to-minimum increase because their current salary is within the new range. More details will be provided to supervisors who would like to consider additional salary increase options.

The market review is the first since the University Career Architecture Project began in 2019. UCAP was designed to support career progression, provide market-informed data for pay decisions and combine all staff members into a single employment category called University Staff. Moving forward, Rodriguez said reviews will take place every fall.

The review is part of the three-pronged fiscal year 2024 investment in the University workforce first shared by University President Robert C. Robbins in an email to faculty and staff in January. The program, effective July 1, also includes an across-the-board 2.5% increase for faculty and staff, plus merit increases to recognize exceptional employees, with a recommendation that those increases be given to about 33% of a unit's employees. In addition, the University raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour, also effective July 1.

Other Staff Council news:

• The council has elected its executive committee for the 2023-24 academic year. The elected officers will serve from July 1-June 30, 2024.  The officers are:
  • Chair: Melanie Madden, Program Manager for Curricular Affairs, Academic Administration
  • Vice Chair: Jeffrey Jones, Information Technology Business Analyst, University Information Technology Services
  • Secretary: Danielle Oxnam, Project Director, Office of University Initiatives
  • Treasurer: Jennifer Lawrence, Business and Finance Manager, Department of Neuroscience
• The council's communications committee has begun sending a monthly newsletter to all staff members. Newsletters will typically be published the week before the council's monthly meeting.
• The council is launching an events committee.

The Staff Council meets via Zoom the last Tuesday of each month throughout the year. The next meeting is July 25 at 2 p.m. Meetings are open to all employees. Anyone who wants more information can find updates on the Staff Council website. If you would like to be a Staff Council representative, you can apply online.