Many of the College’s 1,300 employees will find a different number on their paychecks in the next 18 months as Old Chapel restructures the staff salary program.
The Staff Resources Committee (SRC) in association with the Wage and Salary committee released their plan on Feb. 4.
Chair of the committee, Vice President for Administration and Professor of American Studies Tim Spears says the goal of the changes is greater equity.
“The question is, ‘How can we most fairly distribute the dollars that are available for staff salaries?’” he said. “The changes we are putting in place are not meant to save the College money.”
The Human Resources department (HR) takes local, regional and national salaries from similar jobs and finds the 80th percentile, which becomes the midpoint for that staff group at the College.
“The midpoints are meant to serve as targets,” HR wrote in the report. “They represent the salary that an accomplished employee should expect to make at mid-career.”
In order to fulfill the College’s goal of paying staff members in the top 20 percent of the market, the SRC plan has instituted a maximum salary cap to control the salaries of staff at the top of the ranges. The money retained from the cap will go to staff below the midpoint. Currently, 118 staff members are at the salary maximum.
This policy has left the 118 staff members at the maximum salary cap — many of whom are longtime employees — without the possibility for advancement in their current positions. Spears’ blog, which first posted the plan, has become ground zero for the backlash against a maximum salary cap, receiving over 25 posts.
“I personally find it disturbing and demoralizing to have the College enforce caps on individual salaries,” said one anonymous post. “Long-time employees who have been and continue to be strong performers should not be treated this way.”
Spears has faced the critics head on, responding to many of the inflamed posts on his blog. He insists that capping maximum salaries will help the majority of the staff, pointing out that there are 808 staff members who are at or below the midpoint whose salaries would benefit from restructuring.
“The changes that we are making in capping the maximum salaries will free up more resources to allow the staff members who are at or below the midpoint to advance,” Spears said.
But Sandy LeGault — a staff member at the Bread Loaf School of English — says that increasing new staff wages at the expense of long time employees sends the wrong message.
“I applaud Middlebury’s efforts to provide a livable wage for everyone, but regret that it’s being done on the backs of long-time staff, who used to feel that their experience and commitment were valued,” she said on Spears’ blog.
The economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, which left the College’s endowment $300 million short of its projected value before the recession, crippled the salary pool, forcing the College to reduce its staff by nearly 15 percent since the summer of 2008.
“I know so many people who are working harder than ever to make the staff reductions work, often by working uncompensated overtime because they feel an obligation to Middlebury students, to their colleagues, to the whole enterprise,” said LeGault. “The new system is erecting a brick wall.”
Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Patrick Norton explained that the new system will still offer financial incentives for staff members who reach the maximum.
“Staff at the maximum of their salary will be eligible for annual increases — however, these increases will be distributed as single sum payments,” wrote Norton in an e-mail.
Spears is also quick to point out that since the midpoint is based on the external market for jobs, if salaries increase away from the College, staff salaries will similarly increase.
“If past history is a guide, the markets for these particular jobs will increase,” he said.
Not everyone opposes the SRC plan. One commenter applauded the restructuring, saying that the staff members below the midpoint are the ones who need the salary increases to “make ends meet” the most.
“The few folks at the top should consider their position — that of relative privilege — and consider the fact that the majority of staff members somehow manage to make ends meet with less,” said the anonymous commenter. “The disappointment voiced here regarding how these changes will affect a minority of staff at the very top lacks perspective and reeks of entitlement.”
Staff raises will now be based on merit, which Spears says is largely supported.
“The staff has said in survey after survey that they strongly believe in merit pay,” he said. “Which means if they do really good work, they feel that the College should reward their efforts with a compensation program that distinguishes really good work from adequate work.”
Staff who “consistently meet expectations” will receive a one percentage point raise, while staff who “significantly exceed expectations” will receive a higher percentage raise. In addition, single bonuses will be given to five percent of the staff for exemplary work.
The SRC expects that 75 percent of the staff will “consistently meet expectations” while 25 percent will “significantly exceed expectations.”
More on staff salaries:
Tim Spears' Blog "Across Campus"
Old Chapel caps staff salaries
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