Got Questions? We have Answers
The following includes answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Classification and Compensation Project. Employees can submit questions not addressed on this site through this link. When questions are received, they will be combined with other project-related questions, answered, and posted on this site.*

* Project-related questions that are applicable to a number of employees will be answered on this site. Questions related to special or individual circumstances will not be answered here, and should be directed to your supervisor or to Human Resources.

1. What is the Classification and Compensation Project, and what is the purpose of the project?
The Classification and Compensation Project is a classification, compensation, and performance management initiative aimed at helping Auburn employees understand their job responsibilities and performance expectations more clearly. One of the goals of the Classification and Compensation Project is to make sure compensation decisions are made consistently in relation to the job and to individual performance on the job.

2. What is meant by "classification"?
A job classification is a generalized set of duties and responsibilities. While no two people do exactly the same thing in their positions, two people in the same classification generally do the same type of work. For example, one Lab Technician might spend more time conducting tests and less time building prototypes, whereas another Lab Technician might spend more time on prototypes and less on testing. But for purposes of employment decisions (compensation, for example), they are doing the same type of work, so all Lab Technicians would be in the same pay grade. However, this does not mean all Lab Technicians would make the same salary since their work performance and experience levels may be different. It does mean that the same range of pay would apply to everyone in the Lab Technician classification.

3. What is meant by "compensation"?
Compensation refers to the monetary rewards earned by workers. Typically, the term refers to salaries and wages. Compensation is only one element of the "total compensation" package employees receive at Auburn. Other elements include health benefits, retirement benefits, paid time off, and tuition benefits.

4. What is meant by "performance management"?
Performance management is the process of communication between an employee and their supervisor that includes the following topics:
* What work is expected
* How the work should be done
* What results are expected
* How performance will be evaluated
* The review of actual performance
* How to grow in job performance

As an educational institution, Auburn is committed to providing an environment where people can perform their jobs effectively. Performance management is the process of creating that environment by equipping supervisors with the tools and knowledge they need to communicate with their employees about the above topics.

5. Why are we doing this?
Auburn can only fulfill its mission of excellence through people who are dedicated, hardworking, and continually learning and growing. The Classification and Compensation Project helps you understand career paths at Auburn University by better aligning compensation, classification, and performance management.

6. Why are we doing this now?
As the University continues to evolve, it is necessary to ensure that our processes support the goals of the University. When we reviewed our current classification, compensation, and performance management system, we recognized a need to examine this system further to ensure that it properly aligned with our University's objectives.

While the majority of Auburn employees are properly classified, there are employees with the same job title who are doing different work, or who are doing the same work but have different titles. These are the types of situations that indicated it was time for a thorough review.

In addition, there is currently a growing talent shortage in the U.S. labor market. It is important to ensure that our salary ranges are competitive, and that Auburn maintains its ability to attract and retain needed talent.

7. How will the Classification and Compensation Project impact me?
The end result of the project will be more accurate job descriptions that will ensure you and your manager have a clear, common understanding of your job. Also, the new performance management system will equip managers with better tools for planning and assessing your performance each year.

8. Will I get a pay raise?
This project will not necessarily result in raises for employees. As the project reaches completion, we will have better structures, information, and tools to help managers make pay decisions, but the project itself will not necessarily result in raises.

Pay raises will be dependent on:
* Whether there is funding for salary increases,
* The job you do, and
* How you perform your job.

9. Will my pay decrease?
There is no intention of reducing anyone's salary as a result of this project.

10. Will my title change?
As a result of the Classification and Compensation Project, the number of job titles will be reduced, and you may have a new job title as a result. Job titles will be more clearly defined so that you will be able to more easily see the various career paths that exist within the University. Once job titles and job descriptions have been defined, we will ensure every employee is classified into the proper title.

11. Why is it taking so long to complete the project?
There are many factors that have impacted the timeline of this project. The project, which was expected to last 18 months, is a major initiative requiring that we gather and analyze an enormous amount of information. The first step was finding out what each employee’s job entailed by having all employees complete a questionnaire and having that questionnaire reviewed by the immediate supervisor and the top management official of the organizational unit. This process took much longer than anticipated, as many employees did not complete the questionnaire as quickly as requested, and many supervisors did not return the questionnaire as requested. Not only did we encounter some problems gathering the questionnaires, but we have also been working on a moving target in some organizational units as units redefine and reorganize. We have sometimes gathered information about a group of positions in a department only to later learn that the department was reorganizing and job duties were changing. Such issues cannot be avoided, but have impacted the projected timeline for project completion.

New job descriptions must now be developed, evaluated, and placed into a newly-built salary grade structure. Finally, we need to spend time with managers to ensure they understand the new structure and processes for assessing performance and making compensation decisions.

It takes time to do this right. The quality of the result depends on taking the time to gather and analyze all the information and on communicating effectively with all employees and managers along the way.

12. Will I be involved in this initiative?
Yes. To ensure success, we asked every Auburn employee (excluding tenure track faculty) to participate in the Classification and Compensation Project by completing a job questionnaire. The project team will use the information received from employees to develop new job descriptions, which will be posted on the University's Web site and will be available through your manager.

13. What is a job questionnaire?
A job questionnaire is a series of questions about the work you do. Employees with computer access to the Internet were given the opportunity to complete the questionnaire on line. Others were sent a paper questionnaire to complete. Once completed by the employee, each questionnaire was reviewed by the employee’s immediate supervisor and then by the top management official of the organizational unit. The purpose of these reviews was to gather any additional comments and ensure that all parties agreed on the responsibilities of the position. The responses on these questionnaires from employees and supervisors were used in developing new job descriptions.

14. What was the purpose of the questionnaire?
The questionnaire was designed to gather accurate information about jobs. It asked for information on job responsibilities and education, experience, and skills required for your job. It also solicited information regarding certain other aspects of your job, to help us understand your job's complexity, responsibility for decision-making, working conditions, etc. It is not an assessment of qualifications or performance, but of the job itself.

15. Where do I go if I have questions about the Classification and Compensation Project?
For answers to questions you may have, you can submit a question to the Classification and Compensation Project team here.

16. This is related to the compensation issue. Why are salaries publicly posted? Knowing what others earn undermines job satisfaction, and contributes to inappropriate competitiveness and bad feelings between employees.
As a public institution, pay information is considered public information. While this information is public, employees should not draw any conclusions when comparing their salary to others since a person's salary is a function of budget for that position, labor market conditions at the time the person was hired, and the employee's performance level and qualifications.

17. Will faculty be involved in the process of defining appropriate classification and compensation for non-faculty employees? As managers of these employees and the individuals directly responsible for recruiting and retention, faculty have a significant interest in the process!
Yes. All employees, including faculty will have a role in the process of defining appropriate job classifications. Because accurate job descriptions are the basis of sound classification and compensation decisions, all University Staff, Administrative and Professional, and some Non-Tenure Track employees were asked to complete a job questionnaire telling us about the work they do. The information provided by each employee was reviewed by that employee's manager - giving all managers an opportunity to make any additional comments. The information provided on the job questionnaire was then used to create job descriptions.

18. Will this project include analysis of classification/compensation for field staff for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System?
Yes. The project includes an analysis of positions currently classified as University Staff, Administrative and Professional, and some Non-Tenure Track positions, including those in the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

19. How were participants selected for the focus groups that took place at the beginning of the classification and compensation study?
A stratified random sampling procedure was used by selecting individuals from a list of all employees who would be affected by the Classification and Compensation project. Employees were separated into several different groups: Managers, Non-Tenure Track, Labor and Trades, University Staff, and Administrative & Professional. Within each of these groups a sample was selected. For example: University Staff employees were listed on a spreadsheet and numbered 1 to (approximately) 900. Every employee on a line that was numbered with a multiple of 9 was chosen for inclusion in the focus groups.

20. Once a Job Questionnaire was completed, it was forwarded to the individual’s supervisor for review and comments. If the supervisor made comments, were the employees notified and allowed to review the comments?
This questionnaire was designed to allow supervisors to comment on an employee's answers to the questions; however, they were not able to alter the answers. Although employees were not notified of any comments made by the immediate supervisor, another level of management above the supervisor reviewed the responses and the supervisor's comments prior to the final submission to Human Resources.

21. According to the job questionnaire schedule, I should have received a questionnaire by now, and have not. Who should I contact?
Contact your Human Resources liaison for your department or contact the Human Resources Department at 844-4145 or send an email to the Classification and Project Team by using the link in this website.

22. Should the job description for my position describe the specific work I perform in my department?
The job description may not necessarily describe the specific work you do in your department but it should, in general terms, describe the work you perform. The work you perform in your department may be unique to your department yet the work might be similar in nature to work performed by another employee in a different department. For example, a responsibility statement from a job description for a Research Associate might say “conducts non-routine experiments, investigations, and/or studies related to programs and projects in pursuit of new knowledge, techniques, and concepts.” However, a research Assistant in Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology may describe his or her work by saying “processes tissue samples in an appropriate manner, contingent on the microscopic techniques planned for inspection.” This person is describing the specific research he or she is performing in the department, but the job description for the position describes the work in broader terms because it describes work for all Research Associates rather than the work of just one individual.

A job description describes only the most important features of a job but it may not describe individual specific duties related to a specific position; therefore, the job description may not perfectly describe all details of your individual position.

23. What is the purpose of each employee and supervisor reviewing the draft job descriptions?
It is possible that some individuals may have different duties now than when they completed the original questionnaire. We realize that some organizational units have restructured since the questionnaires were completed resulting in some employees responsible for work that may be different than explained on their original questionnaire. The purpose of reviewing the draft job description is to ensure that you and your supervisor are in agreement that the description does, in broad terms, represent the work you are performing.

24. I have moved to a different job since I completed my questionnaire. Will I receive a job description for the position I am working in now or will the job description be for the position I held when I completed the questionnaire?
When we started the project we realized that some employees might transfer, terminate, etc. from the time of completing the questionnaire until the project is completed, so we have tracked questionnaires using position numbers rather than names. You should receive a job description for the position you currently occupy which could be different than the position occupied when the questionnaire was completed. If you are a new employee or recently moved to your current position, you will receive a job description based upon the questionnaire responses received from the person working in the position at the time the questionnaire was completed.

25. How will the new job descriptions be used with the new Performance Management System?
See our Performance Management Website for information about the new Performance Management System.

26. Why don’t the draft job descriptions sent to employees contain other information such as job titles, qualifications, salary grade?
At this point in the project we have written a first draft of job descriptions but there are additional steps that must be completed before we will have other information such as job titles and salary grades.  

27. What is the code on the job description and what is it used for?

The code is simply a unique identifier that distinguishes one job from another by using a code rather than a title. Our current job descriptions which can be found on the Human Resources website use a six digit job classification code. The code that is on the new job description serves the same purpose but uses an alpha-numeric system rather than just a numeric system. The codes are used to help separate jobs into similar groupings but the code does not, in any manner, signify a salary grade or salary range.

28. There seems to be a lot of job duties that have been left out of the job description that I received. Why doesn’t the job description describe the specific work that I do.

Job descriptions are written in broad terms to describe the general nature and level of work performed; it does not necessarily describe the specific work performed by one individual. Its purpose is to describe, in general terms, the work performed by employees doing work similar in nature. Specific work for a position will vary from one position to another but the purpose of a job description is to capture the nature of similar work, not necessarily individual specific tasks. For example, an administrative support person might describe a duty as “maintain records of students” Someone else might say that they “maintain files for the head of the department”. Both of these individual duties could be described in a job description as “maintain files and records” or “performs multiple duties which are a mix of administrative and clerical in nature”.

29. I work in an administrative support job and have noticed that my job description is the same job description as another person who works in a different department.  Why is that job description the same as mine?

If the job duties are generally the same it would be appropriate for the job description to be the same for different individuals. The purpose of a job description is to provide a way to classify all workers doing similar work into the same job, which helps ensure those workers have equal pay opportunities. If there were separate job descriptions for every department, it would be almost impossible to make sure everyone doing the same work was assigned to the same pay grade. By keeping job descriptions simple and general, it reduces the number of jobs to be graded, which helps reduce the risk of unequal pay practices. Unless the position is significantly different from another position, it should be classified the same and have the same job description, regardless of department.

30. If job descriptions are broad in nature how am I recognized for the individual tasks that I perform?

The new performance management system is designed to allow the supervisor and employee to identify specific job duties and to establish performance planning and performance measurement around such position specific duties. The old performance appraisal system was tied directly to a job description which may not describe the specific work performed by the individual. Job descriptions are still written in broad terms, as they are in other organizations, but the new performance management system now allows the flexibility to set performance planning around position specific duties. See our new website on Performance Management for additional information on the new Performance Management System.

31. In the new system why are so many of the administrative support jobs grouped into only a few job titles?

 Positions doing similar work have been placed into the same job.  In the old system there were many different jobs titles for administrative support work; however, although job titles were different, the work was similar.  The Classification Project Team reviewed hundreds of job questionnaires from administrative support positions and found commonality among many of the positions; therefore, many of the positions have been placed into the same job.  The purpose of a job description is to describe the work being performed in broad terms; it does not describe each individual duty performed by each individual employee in a job. There are many positions in the administrative support jobs that perform similar broad responsibilities although individual tasks may vary. 

32. What should I do if I do not think I have been appropriately classified? 

An appeals process has been established to review concerns.  Please see the link to the appeals process and follow the instructions. See the section on the website titled “Appeals Process” for more information.

33. Why isn’t everyone receiving a pay increase?

The purpose of the project was to ensure similar work is placed into the same job and to better align our salary ranges with the market.  The salary range is the value of the job to the organization.  Auburn University used a combination of market information and internal evaluation factors to determine the appropriate salary range.  If a person is paid within the salary range for the job then no salary adjustment is needed.  Employees who are paid below the salary range minimum will be brought up to the minimum of the new range at the beginning of the fiscal year (provided funding is available).  With any new system there may be salary issues that may need to be addressed. Such issues will be reviewed and appropriate adjustments made as we transition into this new system over the next several years.

34.  I know of organizations that pay a higher salary for similar work than I am receiving at Auburn so why do we say that our ranges are aligned with the market.

It is always possible to find an organization that pays a higher salary for any particular job.  But it is also as likely to find many organizations that pay less. Our salary ranges are established according to the average so you are going to find organizations that pay higher and others that pay lower.

Also, when we think of the value of a job we should consider the overall total rewards received, which would include benefits as well as a salary.  A person’s pay is just one of the many benefits of working for Auburn University.  The University has an excellent total rewards package that includes a very generous leave policy, a retirement plan, savings plans, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, etc. Very few organizations can match the overall total rewards that one receives from Auburn University.

35.  I am not satisfied with my job title.  I hear the term “working title” used.  What is a “working title” and when can one use a working title?

The university assigns official titles to jobs. These are the titles that are used in our system to identify positions doing similar work.  Working titles are titles that may more appropriately provide clarity for job postings or convey a message to the outside world of the work performed.  Working titles are permitted if it is needed for the purposes stated above and as long as the working title does not misrepresent the authority or the function of the position.

36.  If my salary is below the minimum of the salary range, why must I wait until October 1, 2007 to have my salary adjusted up to the minimum of the range?

Any salary adjustment is contingent upon the availability of funding.  The budget for this fiscal year is in place, so salary adjustments must now coincide with the beginning of the new fiscal year (if funding is available).

37.  The request for job family promotions to be effective October 1, 2007 must  be submitted by March 1, 2007. How does the implementation of the new system affect the job family promotion requests submitted by March 1, 2007?

Job family promotions received by March 1, 2007 will follow normal guidelines and procedures that have previously been in effect for job family promotions.  The implementation of the new system will not affect the eligibility of any job family for such requests. Requests for job family promotions this year should be submitted using the guidelines and criteria established for the job the person held prior to implementation of the new classification system.

38. My salary is above the maximum of the salary range.  Will I still be eligible for salary adjustments?

Yes, although a person is above the maximum of a salary range, he/she will be eligible for salary adjustments. Further guidelines and procedures regarding salary adjustments will be outlined in the budget guidelines published each year.