Human Resources

Human Resources
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5217 USA
(269) 387-3620

Compensation Project—Phase II, 2014

Western Michigan University is conducting a study of the staff compensation system for all professional, administrative, clerical and technical employees. The goal of Phase II of the project is to develop a new compensation system structure.

Scope

Phase II of the project includes the following components:

  • Identifying additional benchmark jobs.
  • Competitive market analysis.
  • Development of market-based salary structure.
  • Job evaluation and slotting of jobs into structure.
  • Financial analysis.
  • Administrative guideline development.

Timeline for Phase II

For the project timeline, please see Staff Compensation Study: Western Michigan University, Project Plan Phase II. Please note that all dates on the project plan are subject to change based on scheduling updates.

Project updates

  • April 22: Initial conference call with WMU Phase II project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt reviewed draft project plan with WMU project team members.
    • Reviewed initial plans for Phase II benchmark meetings to be held with vice-presidential representatives.
    • Project plan to be finalized by Aon Hewitt once meetings with vice-presidential representatives are scheduled.
  • May 8: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Finalized plans for benchmark meetings scheduled for May 13-14.
    • Additional benchmark meetings to be scheduled in June.
  • May 13-14: Benchmark meetings.
    • Reviewed survey matches for WMU benchmark jobs with vice-presidential representatives.
    • Confirmed matches or made adjustments, as appropriate.
    • Additional benchmark meetings to be scheduled for June 3-4 and July 9-11.
  • May 20: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Scheduling process for June and July benchmark meetings is underway.
  • June 3-4: Benchmark meetings.
    • Reviewed survey matches for WMU benchmark jobs with vice-presidential representatives.
    • Confirmed matches or made adjustments, as appropriate.
    • Additional benchmark meetings scheduled for July 9-10.
  • June 17: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Reviewed benchmark meeting progress.
    • Aon Hewitt is in the process of updating the project plan.
    • Project team is scheduled to meet in person on July 9.
  • July 9: Meeting with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Received update on benchmarking process.
    • Reviewed updated project plan.
  • July 9-10: Benchmark meetings.
    • Reviewed survey matches for WMU benchmark jobs with vice-presidential representatives.
    • Confirmed matches or made adjustments, as appropriate.
  • July 29: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt is researching various industry salary surveys that were identified during benchmark meetings.
    • Aon Hewitt is updating data from their survey library and making changes to survey matches that were identified during benchmark meetings.
  • Aug. 12: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt is continuing their research and analysis of industry salary surveys that were identified during benchmark meetings.
    • Aon Hewitt is continuing to update data from their survey library.
  • Aug. 26: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt has completed their assessment of industry salary surveys that were identified during benchmark meetings. Some of these surveys will be excluded from consideration because they do not meet Aon Hewitt's survey criteria.
    • A follow-up benchmark meeting for marketing and communications positions will be scheduled in early September.
    • Aon Hewitt is in the process of developing an overall market assessment.
    • Aon Hewitt anticipates holding executive meetings to address non-benchmark positions in late October or early November.
  • Sept. 9: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt is still in the process of developing an overall market assessment.
    • WMU is in the process of identifying vice-presidential representatives to address non-benchmark positions with Aon Hewitt later this fall.
    • Aon Hewitt is in the process of refining an office administrative matrix to be included in the market assessment. Placing positions into this structure will require a parallel project.
    • Aon Hewitt is working with a group of WMU representatives to refine a marketing and communications matrix to be included in the market assessment. Placing positions into this structure will require a parallel project.
  • Sept. 23: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt continues the process of developing an overall market assessment.
    • Aon Hewitt will market price an office administrative matrix and a marketing and communications matrix as part of the market assessment. Placing positions into each of these structures will require a parallel project.
    • WMU continues the process of identifying vice-presidential representatives to address non-benchmark positions with Aon Hewitt later this fall.
  • Oct. 21: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt will update the overall market assessment to include the recent 2% across the board increase.
    • Aon Hewitt is starting to look at market pay levels and will begin developing a salary structure.
    • WMU Human Resources will host two public forums on Wednesday, Nov. 5, to provide updates for WMU Staff Compensation System employees about the compensation system project. During the meetings, the Aon Hewitt lead consultant will provide a project update including timelines for the remaining project phases.
    • The Nov. 5 project update meetings will be held in the Kirsch Auditorium at the Fetzer Center at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will last approximately one hour.
  • Nov. 4: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • Aon Hewitt gave a brief overview of the job content tool which will be introduced at the Nov. 5 public forums and will be used by Aon Hewitt to assess where jobs will be placed in the yet-to-be-determined new salary structure. 
    • WMU Human Resources will work with WMU information technology experts to make sure the tool is consistent with University systems.
    • The group discussed a tentative process for distributing the job content tool to employees, collecting the completed tools and sending them to Aon Hewitt for analysis.
  • Nov. 5: Public forums at Kirsch Auditorium, Fetzer Center, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
    • Aon Hewitt presented a staff compensation study update and introduced the job content tool, which will be used by Aon Hewitt to initially place jobs in the yet-to-be-determined new salary structure. 
    • Questions about the project were addressed by Aon Hewitt's lead consultant, the associate vice president for human resources, and the vice president for business and finance.
    • Presentation slides are available for download at Compensation Project under "resources."
  • Nov. 18: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • WMU closed due to inclement weather. Conference call cancelled.
  • Dec. 2: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • The job content tool was distributed to employees on Nov. 21. Employee job content tools are due to Human Resources by Dec. 5. Supervisory review and comments are due to Human Resources by Dec. 19. Human Resources will send all job content tools to Aon Hewitt consultants who will import the spreadsheets into a Microsoft Access database for analysis.
    • Aon Hewitt is finalizing the overall market assessment. Once finalized, the market assessment will be used to draft the new pay structure. Once the pay structure is complete and job content tools received, Aon Hewitt will use information from the job content tools to place positions into the new pay structure.
    • The project timeline is being finalized and is under review by WMU leadership.
    • The group discussed the need for a communications strategy to keep stakeholders up-to-date regarding the remaining stages of the project.
  • Dec. 16: Conference call with WMU project team members and Aon Hewitt.
    • To date, Human Resources has received nearly 1,000 job content tools from employees. Human Resources will continue to accept employee job content tools and supervisor comments to be forwarded to Aon Hewitt. 
    • Aon Hewitt plans to have the project plan and timeline finalized by the end of the week and will distribute it to the project team before the next biweekly conference call. Aon Hewitt has added development of a communication strategy to the draft project plan. Aon Hewitt communication experts will work with WMU communicators to decide how best to roll out communication about the new compensation system.
    • Aon Hewitt has provided information to Vice President Van Der Kley to assist with the budget planning process for fiscal year 2015-16.
    • The group discussed the role of the project team in the upcoming stages of the project. Aon Hewitt anticipates that the project team will be instrumental in planning for and participating in the job evaluation process as well as in the continued development of the matrices for office/administrative and marketing/communications positions. The project team will also play a key role in providing information to and answering questions from the campus community. 
    • Due to WMU's winter closure, the biweekly conference call scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 30, will be cancelled. The next conference call is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.