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HR Update; September 7, 2007

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2007-2008 Merit Program and Staff Compensation Plan

Included Below...

CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS: PLEASE POST AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

As you may know, state leaders recently adopted a state budget for fiscal year 2007-08. The state budget action, in conjunction with consideration of market and internal pay relationships, has contributed to the development of a compensation plan proposal for non-represented UCSF staff members that consists of three principal components:

RANGE ADJUSTMENTS

MSP and PSS Graded Titles

Salary ranges for these open-range titles will be adjusted to provide better alignment with market-based pay practices.  With respect to market alignment, we are proposing a range adjustment of approximately 7% throughout the PSS grades as well as for MSP grades 1 through 5.  For MSP grades 6 and above, we are proposing a structure that aligns with the Systemwide SLCG ranges.  This alignment creates a new MSP grade level labeled, “MSP grade 0”.  Placement in grades MSP 6 through 0 continues to require the approval of the UCSF Compensation Committee.  Salary range adjustments are proposed effective October 1, 2007 (October 7, 2007 for bi-weekly paid employees).  The proposed new salary ranges can be found online at the UCSF Human Resources web site.

Please note that the proposed salary range increases do not result in automatic salary increases to employees.

MERITS

The UCSF fund pool available for merit increases will be 4.0% effective October 1, 2007 (October 7, 2007 for bi-weekly paid employees).  A Merit Matrix Guideline, available for review online, is provided as a tool to assist you with decisions regarding differentiation in pay increases relative to different levels of performance. 

To be eligible for an October 2007 merit increase:

The total of all salary increases provided to an employee (including merit, promotional increases or equity adjustments) during FY 2007-2008 may not exceed 25% of the individual’s salary prior to July 1, 2007, unless an exception is approved by Human Resources.

Please Note: Salary increases for employees in the Senior Management Group (SMG) and certain MSP staff (expected to be those in the Senior Leadership Compensation Group) are subject to approval from the Office of the President and Regents.  Separate salary increase guidelines are being developed and will be issued for employees in the following categories:

MERIT PROGRAM PRINCIPLES

Our campus remains committed to a merit program that distinguishes among different levels of performance and rewards employees whose contributions have most significantly facilitated the accomplishment of the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives.  For this reason, an effective merit program requires the evaluation of each employee’s performance to establish a clear link between the level of performance and the level of merit award.  Consistent with the personnel policy covering performance evaluations (PPSM Policy 23, Performance Appraisal), I encourage you to require that supervisors within your organization complete such evaluations in a timely manner.

Principles for the 2007-2008 merit-based pay program are as follows:

Detailed instructions on the processing of merits will be forthcoming under separate cover.

SALARY EQUITY INCREASES

At UCSF issues of salary equity are examined within campus departments and salary equity increases are granted throughout the year.  Departments are required to fund these increases using the same funding sources that are available for the payment of staff salaries.

As a second step to our annual salary program this year, once merit determinations have been made, we are encouraging campus departments to review salary equity to determine if any additional pay increases are warranted to address either market or internal pay relationships.  To assist with this process, the salary increase program provides for an additional 1.0% of state funded salary dollars to be used specifically to augment salaries of state funded employees where inequitable salary relationships are recognized. This funding will be made available to all departments with state funded employees however departments should seek to review and correct issues of salary inequity irrespective of salary fund source.  Salary equity increases provided as a result of this review will be administered as follows:

STAFF RECOGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The state budget additionally provides funding to continue the Staff Recognition and Development Program.  Funding for this program applies only to non-represented employees and the 0.89% funding assessment will be uniformly maintained across all funding sources.  Guidelines for the Staff Recognition and Development Program can be located at the following website: http://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/files/09072007.doc

SUGGESTED SALARY INCREASE PLANNING SCHEDULE

During the month of September:

During the month of October:

Please note: As in the past, the timing of salary increases for non-represented healthcare titles will remain consistent with the timing of increases for their related covered titles.  Additionally, salary adjustments for employees in titles covered by collective bargaining agreements are subject to collective bargaining and may not be forthcoming until the conclusion of bargaining.  Specific instructions will be issued as to the terms and implementation process as collective bargaining agreements are reached.

Susan Wright, Manager, Compensation and Client Support Services, Human Resources, is available to provide consultation and advice on how to develop effective pay strategies and pay relationships using the staff compensation programs. Susan can be reached, by telephone, at 476-2571 or, by email, at . Please share this proposed salary plan widely with affected employees and provide comments to Susan Wright by no later than September 28, 2007.

Update on UC’s medical plans for 2008

Last month the university distributed and posted on the web information outlining some of the changes to UC’s medical plans for 2008 (http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/forms_pubs/misc/08medplan_ppt.pdf). 

While the university is still finalizing employee and retiree premium rates, we have determined the total (“gross”) cost of medical plan benefits for next year.  In 2008, the university and its employees will pay a cumulative total of $862.5 million for health insurance—an overall increase of 8.5% (or $67 million) from 2007.  This compares to an 11.7% increase (or $82 million) in 2007.  The university is working to maintain its current level of funding (86% on average) to help cover these increased costs. 

There is not a direct relationship between the gross rate cost increase and employee and retiree 2008 monthly premiums.  Employee and retiree premium rates for 2008 are expected to be announced in the next few weeks.  For represented employees, medical plan premiums are subject to collective bargaining as appropriate. 

As we’ve previously mentioned, next year will bring a few changes to UC’s medical plans.  Some of these changes are listed below:

These are just the highlights. For more information, view the presentation about the UC medical plan selection process for 2008 and the fact sheet.

Outplacement Services

The University of California, San Francisco provides non-represented employees in the Manager and Senior Professional (MSP) and Professional and Support Staff (PSS) programs who are laid off the opportunity to participate in outplacement services offered through an outside vendor and paid for by the respective department.  The University recently participated in a bid process to identify and select a vendor that offered a comprehensive package of services at the most cost effective value.

UCSF is pleased to announce that we have partnered with Lee Hecht Harrison to provide career transition services for our employees.  Lee Hecht Harrison is a recognized leader in career transition and management.  Our partnership will provide us with an array of standardized, cost effective services from a company with an exceptional reputation for integrity, customer service and a truly global reach.

The links below provide program descriptions for the services offered to MSP and PSS employees.  The cost of the MSP program is $9,000/person for a twelve month executive search, and the cost for the PSS program is $810/person and includes career consultation and participation in career modules.

As part of this new agreement, UCSF and Lee Hecht Harrison will be implementing a new web-based system for requesting career transition services. The process for administering outplacement services will reside with the Human Resources Department, except that departments will be responsible for including the applicable outplacement “welcome” letter with the employee’s layoff notice (samples letters available here online).  Client departments will continue to send copies of all layoff notices to Labor and Employee Relations.  Upon receipt of notices for non-represented employees in the MSP and PSS programs, a representative from the Labor and Employee Relations unit will provide Lee Hecht Harrison with information regarding the laid off employee including the effective date of the layoff and the department and employee contact information.  Lee Hecht Harrison will use this information to contact the employee directly in order to offer and explain the services and process.  An employee will have ninety days from the effective date of the layoff to initiate the service.  Once an employee engages the services of Lee Hecht Harrison, the invoice for those services will be received in Human Resources.  HR will subsequently contact the department for the appropriate recharge information and payment for the services will be implemented through standard recharge procedures.

We look forward to a successful partnership with Lee Hecht Harrison.  An informational training session will be scheduled to provide departmental Human Resources representatives with details on the services provided by Lee Hecht Harrison as well as effective methods for communicating a layoff to affected employees.  Details on this opportunity will be forthcoming.  If you have any questions regarding this topic please direct them to the Labor and Employee Relations Analyst assigned to your department.

UC RETIREMENT READINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMS

It’s all about you!

Are your ducks all in a row?  Start to plan now—it’s never too early.

Please pass this on to your colleagues, circulate invitations, post the actual schedules, or otherwise re-broadcast these weekly reminders about our valuable (FREE) education programs for faculty and staff.  Bring your lunch; your questions; your spouse/partner. . .

Usually there can be at least one (or more) workshop(s) per week scheduled at various UCSF locations around town. For more details and listings for upcoming scheduled presentations, please refer to our Workshops and Presentations Schedules menus found at our local UCSF HR/Benefits website. 

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