Part-time staff are considered regular staff if they are not temporary employees. They are eligible for salary increases as long as they are not temporary or union staff, rated 'Developing' or higher, and were hired on 3/31/23 or before.
It is assumed that staff new hires are offered competitive starting salaries. Therefore, even though employees hired in the first quarter of calendar 2023 may be eligible for merit increases, it is expected that these increases will not be the norm. HR is requesting brief justification on the attached Merit Increase Form for Eligible Staff New Hires found here. Forms should be returned to HR/Compensation (echin@brandeis.edu or natalieippolito@brandeis.edu).
Note: For employees in their first six-months are in their Initial Review Period, this Merit Increase Form should not be used in place of a typical mid-point check-in and a six-month summary of their performance which should be sent to HR. Please refer to the Initial Review Period for more information.The purpose of a PIP, or Performance Improvement Plan, generally means that you are working with your manager to bring your work performance up to a 'Successful' standard that you have both agreed on. Should an employee successfully complete a PIP, they will be eligible for an increase prospectively after the PIP has been completed. Please discuss with your HR Business Partner before submitting any salary increase for the employee who completes a PIP.
Note: It is not assumed that an employee’s performance will jump to 'Successful' upon completion of a PIP; they may need to continue to work to achieve that level of performance.Managers should process annual salary increases in Workday now for staff employees on leaves of absence provided they are rated at least Developing and are not on a Performance Improvement Plan. Employees on a leave of absence are in the Workday compensation planning tool. The money to fund these employees’ increases comes from the manager’s 3% salary increase pool. The increases will be effective July 1, 2023
Answers to questions about Annual Reviews for employees on leaves of absence can be found here in the fourth question. Please contact your HR Business Partner if you have related questions.
Some of the key differences for 2023 include:
1) There is ONE combined salary increase pool for merit increases and equity adjustments for top performers. However, merit is the priority and primary focus for this program. This approach gives managers maximum flexibility.
2) Annual review performance ratings are captured in Workday. Managers will be able to see each employee’s performance rating when planning salary increases.
3) There is a Performance Increase Guideline Scale in Workday on the screen where managers enter salary increases. The guideline is also referenced in the training slides. Allocating increases within the guidelines is recommended to ensure meaningful differentiation based on performance. However, it is not hardwired in 2023. The intent is to allocate compensation fairly and consistently across the University. To that point, unit leadership should be able to explain parameters for selecting each rating and allocating merit increases by rating within their departments. In 2023, employees rated 'Developing' the second lowest rating, may receive a modest pay increase.
This year the ratings are not “hardwired” to salary increase percentages. However, a staff member’s rating should inform their merit increase. The Performance Increase Guideline Scale in Workday should typically inform increase allocations by rating.
All of us acknowledge that costs have spiked over the past two years. We are sympathetic and know this means less purchasing power. However, following best practice, Brandeis does not tie planned merit pool increases directly to a specific inflationary indicator (whether it is inflation, CPI, or HEPI, or any other). While there is some relationship between the inflation rate and salary increases, salary increases are not in direct step with inflation. Wages don’t decrease when inflation lowers, so it is not logical to assume that if inflation jumps, salaries should follow.
When setting salary-increase budgets, many factors are considered. These include:
1) affordability (what the institution is able to budget),
2) current economic conditions (both the labor market supply and demand and inflation),
3) enrollment projections, and
4) total compensation including benefits versus annual benchmark data.
Regarding affordability, the university has many important needs that a merit pool competes with, e.g., faculty hiring, new facilities, deferred maintenance, etc. Our slim operating margin makes this a zero-sum game. To afford higher merit increases would mean increasing tuition, our primary revenue source, by more than is planned. Since we care about student affordability, too, we can't do that.
The salary budget pool is recommended by the University’s leadership team and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Managers should submit a recommended salary increase proposal for each of their staff members (in collaboration with their department leader). Managers either enter the increase dollars or percentage directly in Workday OR submit it to their unit’s Salary Planner.
A Salary Planner is a designated individual who enters salary increases on behalf of faculty, divisional managers (Deans, Vice Presidents, or Center/Institute Heads). The Salary Planner will input the Salary Increase information into Workday on behalf of the unit leaders. If your department or organization has a Salary Planner, please discuss your salary increase recommendations with them.
Note: It is still the direct manager’s role to recommend increases for their employees. However, in units with Salary Planners, please contact units your Salary Planner regarding the process to provide those recommendations.
A list of salary planners by unit is available on the Salary Planner page.
Each manager has one budget pool for their salary increase dollars. As those roll up, each level of management has a budget pool based on the same percentage increase. If you have an exceptional circumstance where you believe you need additional funds, you need to make a strong business case and discuss this with your next level manager.
No! This is not an Across-the-Board increase program! Generally, an employee rated 'Exceeds Expectations' should receive a larger increase than an employee rated 'Successful' assuming their pay is reasonably similar. Even within the same performance rating, variation in the merit increase % is expected. For example, an employee may be rated 'Successful' who barely achieved that rating while another employee rated 'Successful' was on the cusp to be rated 'Exceeds Expectations'.
Managers should contact Erika Chin or Natalie Ippolito via email only for any adjustment based on market equity. You do not need to reach out to Erika or Natalie for adjustments based solely on high performance. Erika or Natalie will provide current market data and verify that the request can be supported. If the manager only has one direct report or a small team, please work with your next level manager if you need to spend above the pool amount.
Final approval rests with the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration. However, the divisional manager/School/Center Institute Head will approve the salary increases for their units based on the recommendations by the managers and the approved salary increase pool budget.
The merit processing schedule is below:
It is up to each unit to develop their own schedule within the above parameters. This will depend on how flat an organization is and the complexity of the organizational structure.
If an employee requests their pay range from HR, they are encouraged to contact their direct manager. This enables a more robust conversation about what’s driving the request to occur. Managers may obtain the salary ranges for their employees in two ways: contact HR/Compensation (Erika or Natalie) or contact their divisional manager (as noted above). The market percentiles generally represent the salary ranges, e.g., the market 25th – 50th percentiles represent the hiring range and the market 75th percentile represents the full range maximum. Exceptions are: 1) Dept/Program/Academic Coordinators and Sr Coordinators, and 2) Dept/Program/Academic Administrators and Sr Administrators. There is one broad range for both levels of Coordinators and another broad range for both levels of Administrators.
HR encourages managers to use the following thought process in priority order:
1) Determine who your strongest performers are first.
2) Confirm they are paid within the salary ranges, e.g., at the market 25th percentile or above.
3) Review their pay position versus the market median (50th percentile) based on data provided by HR/Compensation.
Strong performers paid below the market 25th percentile and/or at least 10% below the market 50th percentile should be the first to be considered for salary adjustments as budgets permit.
Manager training sessions will be offered between May 8th and May 23rd. A list of available sessions can be found at Annual Merit Compensation Training. The Annual Staff Salary Increase Program page includes job aids, computer-based training, and other additional helpful information.
If you have questions or need additional guidance on the process, please contact the staff below: