Job/Position Level Guide   Developing Salary Ranges   Using Salary Ranges for Support Staff   Evaluating Pay for Support Staff   Support Staff Position Summaries (Word)   Glossary of Terms   YOU'LL NEED THE FREE ADOBE ACROBAT READER® TO VIEW, SAVE AND PRINT SOME FORMS. (Get help with PDF)

• Overview
• FAQ
  
• See the Support Staff Salary Ranges (effective March 31, 2003)
  
• See the Support Staff Position Summaries (Microsoft Word)

Overview
MARCH 2003 -- In order to ensure that managers and employees heard the same message regarding the Support Staff Classification project, during the summer and fall of 2002, Compensation held 30 Manager/Administrative Officer/Supervisor information sessions in departments and schools and another 30 information sessions for Support Staff, reaching about 1,000 of the 1,500 support staff employees at the Institute.

Once these sessions were completed, departments and schools began working with staff to review job/position content and identify the appropriate classification for all support staff. By March 14, 2003, all incumbents had been classified in their new titles.

In January/February of 2003, Compensation also updated salary ranges using current market data. These new ranges become effective March 31, 2003. There will be five salary ranges for the Support Staff structure, as opposed to the four that existed prior to March 31st.

Once salary ranges had been updated, Compensation, in conjunction with Department Managers and Administrative Officers, began to analyze employee pay and review internal equity. Overall, we found that MIT was competitive with the external market and, except where internal equity was an issue, adjustments were not necessary.

All support staff merit increases are scheduled to become effective March 31, 2003. Those few salary adjustments that were deemed necessary due to internal equity will also be effective March 31st. For purposes of calculation, if an employee received a salary adjustment, the merit would be based on the new salary; i.e. the salary after the salary adjustment was added in.

In most cases, merit notification letters will be given to employees during the week of March 24th. In addition to the merit increase amount, these letters will also include the employee's new title, grade, and salary adjustment, where it was deemed necessary.

As stated in these letters, if an employee has any questions about his/her merit, title, or grade, he/she should contact his/her supervisor, Administrative Officer, where appropriate, or Human Resources Officer.

See the support staff salary ranges (effective March 31, 2003)

FAQ (prepared Spring 2002)

1. What is the Support Staff Classification Project and why is it important?
   In September 2001, members of the Human Resources Compensation team began reviewing the Institute's approach to support staff classification. In collaboration with individuals (i.e. an Advisory Group) representing both academic and administrative areas across MIT and at Lincoln Laboratory, it was determined that the support staff structure was no longer effective because:
• Many job/position descriptions are outdated and did not reflect current position responsibilities
• Job/Position titles are inconsistently used and often did not reflect the content of the job/position
  • some job/position titles are found in all 4 levels of the current structure, with no distinctions for complexity of the job/position
  • some job/positions have titles that imply a secretarial/clerical role, but the duties are very different

• The salary structure had not been reviewed in several years and, at times, misunderstood
  • there is a perception that there are 5 pay grades, though there are only 4 that are actually used

• Evaluating internal equity is often difficult due to inconsistency in titling.
  
  

For these reasons, the Advisory Group set out to 1) update and standardize several job/position descriptions and job/position titles, 2) update salary ranges, 3) determine how MIT pays in relation to other area employers, and 4) review pay equity within departments and across the Institute.


2. Who are the members of the Advisory Group?
   The membership has changed slightly over time, there are currently 15 members of the Advisory Group, representing 4 schools, 5 central administration departments, Lincoln Laboratory, and the Working Group for Support Staff Issues. Members were chosen because their respective areas had some of the largest numbers of support staff employees and/or because of their strong knowledge of support staff job/positions (one member is currently support staff, and several members have been support staff at some point in their career here at MIT).
   
   Following are the Advisory Group members, and the areas they represent:
   
   
   • Sharon Bridburg, Dean for Undergraduate Education
   • Winnie Dansby, Medical Department
   • Maria DiMauro, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
   • Peggy Enders, Dean for Undergraduate Education
   • Mary Genova, Lincoln Laboratory
   • Therese Henderson, Working Group for Support Staff Issues
   • Doris Inslee, School of Engineering
   • Annette Jerome, Facilities
   • Linda Lancaster, Controller's Accounting Office
   • Kim LePage, Sloan School of Management
   • Chuck Munger, School of Science
   • Beth Ogar, Resource Development
   • Evelyn Perez, Research/Office of the Provost
   • JoAnn Sorrento, representing the Working Group for Support Staff Issues
   • Marg Tyler, Sloan School of Management
     
   
   Several individuals from Human Resources are also Advisory Group members including:
   
   
   • Barbara Peacock-Coady, Career Services
   • Jennifer Walsh, Human Resources Officer
     
     
3. Given the things that the Advisory Group set out to do, what has been accomplished to date?
   
   1. Since the majority of support staff employees work in secretarial, administrative assistant, and clerical roles, we developed new job/position descriptions for that category of job/positions. We did this so that we could more accurately classify job/positions going forward.
   2. We worked with numerous departments to identify job/positions that may have been incorrectly titled as secretarial or clerical but actually perform very different responsibilities. We then developed standardized titles and position summaries for these job/positions. Out of this have come several new titles, including Customer Service Assistant, Events Planning Assistant, and Network Assistant. It is likely that more job/positions will be identified as we progress through the project.
   3. We surveyed the market to determine how MIT pays in relation to other area employers. To do this, we asked many Department Managers and Administrative Officers across the Institute and at Lincoln to identify those companies that they considered to be credible comparison employers. We invited many of these employers to participate in a custom salary survey. In this survey, we asked them to provide data about their pay ranges for certain "benchmark" job/positions; i.e. job/positions that have similar responsibilities and qualifications, no matter who the employer is. We received data back from 22 of the "for- profit" and "not-for-profit" employers that we invited to participate (see below). We also asked 4 employment agencies the same questions.
   
   
   

   Non-Profit Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Children's Hospital Boston Partners Health Care System MITRE For-Profit Aspen Technology Incorporated EMC Corporation eRoom Technology Incorporated FleetBoston Financial Genzyme Corporation The Gillette Company Liberty Mutual Millipore Corporation Raytheon Company State Street Bank Teradyne Incorporated

   Higher Education Boston College Boston University Emerson College Harvard University Lesley University Northeastern University Tufts University Employment Agencies Adecco Brattle Placement Agency Franklin Pierce Agency Accountemps/Robert Half

   
   Once we have analyzed the responses to the salary survey, which we intend to do over the next few months, we will communicate the results of this analysis, review support staff salary ranges to ensure that they reflect the market, and make salary adjustments accordingly.
   
   
4. Besides involving the Advisory Group, did the Compensation team get anyone else's input on the project's objectives and the materials that have been developed?
   Yes - to further validate the project goals, the approach to classification, and the written materials that were developed, the Compensation team has periodically reviewed the philosophical approaches and drafts of materials such as classification instructions and job/position descriptions with others across the Institute, frequently incorporating their suggestions and recommendations. These additional groups include members of the Administrative Advisory Council II, a group of Administrative Officers, and several members of the Working Group on Support Staff Issues including:
   
   

   Carolyn Collins	Microsystems Technology Laboratories
   Jaffray Cuyler	Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development
   Christina Downey	Facilities
   Diane Hagopian	Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
   Therese Henderson	MIT Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change
   Juliet Kapsis	Mechanical Engineering
   Susan Lanza	Chemical Engineering
   Ilea Ann Mathis	Chemical Engineering
   Olga Parkin	School of Engineering
   Barbara Smith	Ocean Engineering
   Linda Williams	Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Fiscal Office

   
   
5. What is the purpose of job/position classification?
   Job/Position classification is the process of reviewing job/positions based on an objective analysis of required knowledge, skills, and responsibilities, so that the job/positions can be assigned in a consistent manner to appropriate titles and salary ranges.
   
   
6. How will the classification process work?
   Department Managers and Administrative Officers will be asked to review all Support Staff job/positions in their particular area, looking at job/position content, the level of complexity, the knowledge and skill requirements, and the specific job/position responsibilities. Depending on the situation and their understanding of the job/position, they will solicit information from the Support Staff member whose job/position is being classified.
   
   Once this has been completed, Department Managers and Administrative Officers will make recommendations on classifying each job/position in their area, review their recommendations with their senior officer (e.g. a Dean, a Central Administrative Vice President or Director, or a designee) and a member of the Compensation team. This will ensure that both the approach and the classification recommendation are consistent with what others are doing.
   
   
7. How will the classification project affect Support Staff?
   In those job/positions where the title implies one type of job/position but the duties are very different, job/position titles are likely to change.
   
   No job/positions will be eliminated as a result of this project. No one's salary will be reduced. Both current job/position responsibilities and current reporting relationships will remain the same.
   
   Once salary ranges have been reviewed and updated, job/positions will be aligned with these ranges. Where the market pays more aggressively or internal equity is problematic, salary adjustments will be made.
   
   
8. Can employees maintain their "preferred" (department specific) titles?
   Yes - For some positions, there may be two acknowledged titles. One is the "official title," i.e., the title agreed upon by the department and Human Resources as the primary identifier for the job/position description. This is generally a generic/standardized title and is often the title used on documents generated by Human Resources.
   
   The "preferred title" is the title unique to the position and/or the department and may be used to align with community practice or differentiate from other "like" positions.
   
   
9. When will the classification process begin?
   The Compensation Office will begin meeting with Department Managers and Administrative Officers in June to review the classification approach and supporting materials. The initial classification process will take place starting in July or August, depending on the area.
   
   Simultaneously, the Compensation Office will be analyzing the market data obtained from the custom salary survey and, during September and October, begin to review pay equity within departments and across the Institute. In November and December, the Compensation Office will work with departments to confirm classification decisions and determine whether any pay adjustments are necessary. We expect that any changes to titles and/or salary will be effective in early Spring 2003.
   
   
10. How will I know if I have a new title and, if so, what it will be?
    Your Department Manager or Administrative Officer will be the point of contact throughout the process and will confirm your new title when the classification is completed and Compensation has approved it.
    
    
11. What are some of the benefits going forward?
    Over the next few months, we will continue to review job/position descriptions to ensure that they are accurate. As this is accomplished, we anticipate that job/position postings will describe job/positions more accurately, making it easier for individuals to find other job/position opportunities of interest at the Institute. In departments where performance evaluations are based on job/position content, employees and managers will have the ability to set expectations and create professional development plans based on current job/position content. And the Compensation Office will be better able to determine whether people with similar titles are paid equitably with one another.
    
    
12. Who should I call if I have questions?
    You are welcome to call anyone in Compensation:
    
    

    Kelley Connors	(617) 253-8269
    Rita Geller	(617) 452-2937
    Barbara Jablon	(617) 253-4279
    Adrienne McCosh	(617) 253-4259
    Judy Raymond	(617) 253-9780