Pay Decision Guidelines

Off-cycle pay decisions are those related to pay actions which occur at a time other than the annual salary review/merit increase process. Below are guidelines to be used by departments when making off-cycle pay decisions.

Human Resources is available to assist departments when making any pay decisions. In addition to providing information regarding pay practices, Human Resources is able to conduct various salary analyses using statistics and graphing tools.

Starting Pay
For each job, a hiring range has been identified, (80-90% of the benchmark figure).

When trying to determine a starting salary, departments should consider:

Qualifications of the new employee
Pay of incumbents with comparable education and experience
How much of a learning curve will the new employee have before he or she will be able to be proficient in all areas of the job?

No commitment or job offer should be made prior to the approval of the new hire.

Promotions
Salary increases as a result of a promotion are typically between 5% and 15%. In determining the amount of the increase, departments should consider:

Where is the employee’s current pay in relation to the benchmark of the job/level he or she is being promoted to?
Considering education and experience, how does the employee compare to other incumbents in the new job?
Are there any compression issues between the employee’s new recommended salary and that of their supervisor and/or their direct reports?
How much of a learning curve does the employee have before he or she will be able to be proficient in all of the areas of the job/level he or she is being promoted to?

A promotional increase must bring the employee to at least the minimum of their earning potential range in the new job/level.

No commitment should be made to employees regarding salary prior to the approval of the promotion.

Earning Potential Range

Last updated: February 25, 2013

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