Temple’s Human Resources department has started a study of job classifications and employment among all non-union employees in an effort to streamline the University.
According to Human Resources, the goal of the job classification study is to send Temple in a new direction. They are trying to create a more service oriented, user-friendly university.
The goal of the classification process is to streamline employment and create a stronger focus on performance.
“The university is undergoing changes, especially with the new president, and we felt that we needed to refocus ourselves on being a research-oriented top institution of higher education,” said O. Hunt Bartine, Director of University Compensation. “Academic excellence is imperative and in order to achieve this we must ensure that employment is top notch.”
Human Resources’ services department, which specializes in hiring, recruitment and compensation, is collaborating with the national compensation and consulting firm Aon.
They are also working with Total Compensation Services, a specialized human resources firm, to change Temple’s organizational structure of employment.
The study currently focuses on non-bargaining (non-union) administration and staff positions.
These changes within the organizational structure include consolidating job titles, developing a more consistent evaluation process and improving department interaction.
In order to bring about these changes; administration throughout the university has participated in interviews, focus groups, and polls to gain an accurate consensus.
Through these methods they will develop the areas that need to be improved and over the next several weeks develop a strategic design for what needs to be changed.
Surveys and focus groups will be used to identify the problems and meetings with administrative officers and deans will be used to decide upon solutions.
One of the main changes is job consolidation, which will simplify titles rather than reduce of jobs.
“The job consolidating process is a condensing or combining of titles. There are far too many titles within departments and we’re looking to compress a thousand or so job titles down to manageable level with out reducing jobs,” said Bartine.
She pointed out that an excess of job titles limits opportunities for career advancement. Finely detailed titles are often incompatible with positions elsewhere.
Temple will also attempt to benchmark salaries, which does not necessarily mean a raise or reduction in salary and should not be confused with a compensation review.
Salary is not the primary goal of the program, but pay changes could possibly be reviewed.
Completion of the project is scheduled for the start of this fiscal year.
Once the program is finished, the new classification system will be implemented and training will be provided.
“Once the project is completed we hope to maintain efficiency and improvement in our classification system, while effectively adjusting to changes in the University and maintaining a competitive edge,” Bartine said.
Jenn West can be reached at jwest002@temple.edu
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