MIT Tech Talk, July 15 1998
Human Resources work progresses;
report summaries to be placed on Web
Three of the six teams involved in redesigning MIT’s human resources practices are well on their way to finishing their work by late fall. Three others have already presented their final recommendations to the Reengineering Steering Committee, and one of the reports is now available on the web.
As each team within the Human Resources Practices Design/Development Project (HRPD) issues its report, a summary will be placed on the web at http://web.mit.edu/reeng/www/hrpd/; and a copy of the complete report will be available at the checkout desk of Barker Engineering Library. The report of the Recognition and Rewards Project Team, completed in May, is already accessible. Within the next few weeks, reports from the Orientation Project Team and the Training Policies and Administration Project Team will be issued.
The three other HRPD teams (see below) are planning to complete their work in the late fall. Their reports, as well as the report of the HRPD Core Team, will be presented to the Steering Committee before January 31, 1999, when the HRPD project will be concluded. Neither final approval nor funding for implementation of the recommendations has occurred yet.
The Generic Roles and Competencies Team has been charged with researching and testing the hypothesis that competency-based human resource practices would provide a basis for successful hiring decisions and thoughtful transfer processes.
Since last October, team members have been working to develop generic roles (scope of duties and responsibilities related to similar jobs) and define the competencies (predictors of performance success) that support these roles. As part of their work, they have helped build competency models for several generic roles in the School of Engineering, Physical Plant and Student Services. This information has been synthesized and a "competency reference dictionary" specific to MIT is being developed.
The team has also worked to develop a group of competency practitioners at MIT. A number of staff, including personnel officers and performance consultants, are learning how to integrate competencies into hiring and career development practices.
In the final phase of their work, team members will pilot competency assessment and development in the School of Engineering headquarters. They are also planning focus groups in Institute areas that have implemented competency-based practices and collecting benchmarking data from external organizations.
Their final recommendations for the development and adoption of competency-based practices will be accompanied by tools and methodologies for continued implementation. The team will also identify critical integration points with other HRPD project teams to create a system of practices designed to support the needs of the Institute, make hiring more efficient, support and encourage career development and pathing, and give recognition to employees.
Charged with building on the existing performance appraisal process, the Performance Management Team has focused not only on the actual appraisal process, but also on the planning/goal setting and coaching/communication that should occur throughout the year.
After completing a review of data compiled through an extensive information gathering process both within the MIT campus community and from external benchmarking sites, the Performance Management Team has defined the next phase of its work. As part of the recommendations being developed, team members will detail a performance appraisal process with greater emphasis on coaching, goal setting and planning.
The team will also make revisions to MIT’s performance appraisal form, and will support their final recommendations with suggested training initiatives in performance appraisals, planning and goal-setting, coaching, and effective management practices.
The final report being prepared by the HRPD core team will include a recommended implementation plan for the continuing evolution of competency-based human resources practices after the HRPD team disbands in early 1999.
An August retreat with managers from Personnel is being planned to consider the implications of the recommendations being developed and to formulate a proposal for their long-term implementation. In preparation for the retreat, the HRPD team has held a series of infomation/idea sessions for Personnel staff to solicit input on the proposed recommendations.
Costa answers questions on human resources project
By Janet Snover
Community Involvement Team
The Classification and Compensation project began last month under the direction of Nora Costa, MIT’s manager of compensation in the Personnel Office. The project will build on recommendations from the Human Resource Practices Development (HRPD) team, which were researched and prepared at the request of Joan F. Rice, vice president for human resources.
The following question-and-answer interview with Ms. Costa will focus on why the Classification and Compensation project is necessary, its goals, what will be included, who is involved, and how and when the work will be done.
Q: What are the primary reasons that we need to change our current system?
A: The current classification and compensation system for administrative staff is about 25 years old and needs to be updated. As at other large employers, the ways in which people do their work and the skills required have changed dramatically since 1974. It makes sense for MIT to adjust systems that no longer adequately support other changes that have been made in how we operate. Also, the modernization is needed to help us compete successfully for talented, qualified employees in many more marketplaces than we did in the past.
The HRPD team conducted extensive research into the community’s perceptions of the current system. Feedback received in focus groups and administrative department meetings indicated that many employees believe that the current classification structure did not fully value the variety of skills and contributions made by the administrative staff, and that we needed to expand the "tools" available to management to reward and provide incentives for people. The redesign of the current system will address the issues raised by the community.
Q: How are jobs classified currently?
A: The current classification system assigns points based on entry qualifications, job content, required knowledge, responsibilities, impact and working conditions. The points then map to one of 42 salary ranges. After the job is scored by the personnel officer supporting the department, a committee reviews the assignment of the salary range, checking for a correlation between that job and other positions within the same salary range.
Q: What are the goals of this project?
A: We have developed seven major goals that are aggressive yet attainable through this redesign process. They include the following:
Q: How will you go about doing the work?
A: In addition to a core group of personnel staff, we have assembled review and advisory groups comprised of representatives from a wide cross-section of departments and schools to guide us in our efforts. Including a broad spectrum of advisors will ensure that the priorities, issues and values of all areas are heard and considered in our work. In addition, we have retained the services of an outside compensation consulting firm, the Wilson Group, of Concord, Massachusetts. The Wilson Group are experts in compensation and reward systems and will help to ensure our new system is sound, durable, and completed in our projected timeframe.
(See sidebar for the names of the core team and the project advisors.)
Q: Will you look at the "marketplace" in terms of what other organizations pay for particular skills?
A: Yes, it is one of our main project goals to expand our use of external market data. MIT has many different marketplaces for administrative staff -- other universities, as well as for-profit and not-for-profit organizations at local, regional, and national levels.
Q: Will every administrative staff position on campus be subject to reclassification and possible change in salary as a result?
A: All 924 jobs will be fit into the new pay structure.
It’s unlikely that this work will result in salary changes for individuals. It will be important to identify and create a plan to address any significant equity issues that we may discover in comparing salaries internally to other jobs and to our competitive markets.
If salary increases are indicated for a particular job or family of jobs, it will likely occur over a period of time, and will depend on MIT’s overall financial situation. If through our comparisons we see that a job or family of jobs is paid high compared to market, then we will make recommendations on how to address this situation.
One way to deal with salaries above market would be to freeze the base pay for the job(s) in question, and replace a base-pay review increase with a lump sum payment. This would serve to reward the employee for work well done in the review period, establish a maximum salary amount that MIT is willing to pay for a particular kind of work or job, and allow the market to "catch up" without continually escalating salaries above market. Actual salary decreases for good performers are rare in any organization, and would seem counter-cultural for MIT.
The project may have several beneficial outcomes unrelated to salary, such as producing an accurate and up-to-date job description, a documentation of skills and competencies, and a sense of what’s required to develop one’s career at the Institute. It will also provide managers with better guidelines for coaching and rewarding staff members.
Q: Will MIT continue to provide merit increases for administrative staff on an annual basis?
A: Yes. The project will not affect the review cycles of any payroll category, so I expect administrative staff reviews to continue, with salary changes effective July 1.
Q: How will community members get information about the Classification and Compensation project, and will they be able to provide input?
A: We’ll be communicating with the MIT community periodically as the project progresses. Over the next year, look for updates in Tech Talk, on the Personnel Office’s Web page http://web.mit.edu/personnel/www/ , and in open-session group meetings. I encourage individuals who want to provide input to speak with the project advisor for their area.
Q: When do you expect to finish reclassifying the administrative staff, and how might this work affect other payroll categories?
A: The project we’ve undertaken is large and complex. We have mapped out a plan and intend to communicate the final products sometime in mid-1999, and as I mentioned earlier, with plenty of updates along the way.
Our work on the administrative staff classification and compensation structure will not have any immediate effects on other payroll categories. Feedback from the community has informed us about some very specific limitations of the current system for administrative staff, and we’ve received a set of recommendations from the HRPD team on how improvements can be made. This project work represents action on the specific issues that were brought to light.
Although we have no specific plans to redesign other payroll categories at this time, I’m confident that we will develop better practices and identify some processing efficiencies that may be applicable to other payroll categories, such as a simplified tool to update job descriptions, the identification of competencies needed for success at the Institute, and technological improvements to the annual review process.
Q: How will this project and the HRPD team’s work on competencies fit together?
A: Members of the HRPD team are on the design group for the Classification and Compensation project, specifically to help us incorporate their research into the redesign. We’re working closely together to take advantage of all the knowledge that has been and is being developed in the competency area at MIT. The projects are mutually supportive.