Total Compensation
Monthly updates on the Compensation Study will be posted in November and December. An updated project timeline will be posted by the end of November.
[Scroll down for 2008 updates]
In the General Church and Academy, we are absolutely committed to providing compensation and benefits that are equitable, both internally and with comparable markets, and that will help us to attract and retain the best talent. The Total Compensation project is a major effort to evaluate our overall compensation picture, including pay, health benefits, retirement benefits, and other welfare benefits (e.g., tuition remission, housing, etc.), in order to ensure that we offer the best solutions for employees and their families that our organizations can afford.
Specific aspects of this project include identifying comparators in the marketplace that are similar to our organizational make-up, such as other educational, religious, and non-profit institutions. We will then conduct assessments against these market comparators of current pay scales, health and prescription benefits packages and employee contributions, retirement programs, including pension and retirement savings programs, housing programs, tuition programs, and other compensation and benefits offerings.
These assessments will help us to gauge our current state. We will then define our overall compensation philosophy to ensure that pay and benefits programs we offer to employees align well with our mission as an organization, and are properly funded and managed.
This work began in 2006 and continue over the course of the entire PeopleVision project.
Progress to Date and Plans for 2008
In 2006-2007, the PeopleVision Project Team conducted an analysis of compensation and benefits programs to identify opportunities for improvement and evaluate options for repositioning benefits in order to address current economic and market realities. We held several meetings with key committees in both organizations, and formed focus groups of representative employees to evaluate various scenarios and possibilities.
Retirement Savings Programs
Beginning in Summer 2007, the project team began evaluating potential vendors for implementing retirement savings programs for employees. Most of the major providers of retirement savings and investment programs presented their capabilities to the PeopleVision Project Team and senior leaders from both the General Church and Academy.
After three rounds of evaluation, AIG Retirement was selected to implement a comprehensive retirement savings program for employees. The program will be designed by AIG and General Church and Academy leaders. Look for specific communications regarding the program beginning in early 2008.
Total Compensation Study [Updated November 2008]
We are moving into the latter stages of conducting a detailed study of our salary and benefits structures. This includes a review of all salary related programs and an analysis of salary statistics relevant to different professions and geographic locations, as well as local housing and cost of living factors. We have partnered with ORC Worldwide, a major compensation firm, to conduct the study.
As of November, we are approximately two months behind in our timeline due to a number of factors. To date, we have completed the market analysis and completed a review and analysis of our internal salary structures and internal eqiuty. Based on the results of the analysis, ORC has provided a range of initial recommendations, which are currently under review.
We have presented ORC's recommndations to appropriate GC and ANC leaders and relevant committees (e.g., HR committees), and are presently sharing more detailed information related to the recommendations with the ANC Heads of School and GC school and congregational leadership.
By the end of January, our goal is to complete the design of salary structures and pay scales in accordance with ORC's recommendations, determine the cost of changes and budget for pay changes, and present updates to each organization's Board and relevant committees. In addition, we will strive to provide more frequent progress updates to all employees. Our intent is to provide monthly updates in November and December, and communicate initial findings and a tentative approach to all employees by March of 2009.