Salary Study Update

For our 9-month Faculty this may be the last opportunity for you to receive an update of the salary study’s progress. Due to its importance and so that it is not missed by placing it lower in this update – Human Resources has developed a Salary Study page in the Human Resources section of Samford’s website. This Page is intended to provide a 24/7, centralized resource of communications, frequently asked questions, and of the overall progress of the salary study project. The page will be published and available for your review later today.

I wanted to take this opportunity to express the Project Team’s gratitude for the valuable contributions of Toner Evans of Samford’s Office of Institutional Research and Analytics, the Leadership Advisory Team, the Business and Faculty Welfare Committee, the Staff Advisory Council, outgoing Faculty Senate Chair Professor Scott McGinnis, and incoming Faculty Senate Chair Professor Angela “Dee” Thompson for their participation in Thursday’s Peer Group selection discussions. We know this is a very busy time of year and yesterday was a very busy day – thank you for your participation. Your feedback and insights around our Peer Group selection and specifically our institutional characteristics of affiliation, size, Carnegie Classification, degree offering, student on-campus housing, NCAA membership, total enrollment, student-to-faculty ratio, expenses, endowment, Instructional and Total FTEs, as well as variables like historical Peer institutions, aspirant academic programs, and Athletic conferences and Academic consortium will serve to shape the direction of this project and provide for the integration of the unique perspectives, needs, and concerns of our staff and faculty.

The Project Team, with guidance from the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Consultants, will use their feedback to develop a Draft of Samford’s Peer Group, which will be presented for review by these same representatives. Thereafter the list will be provided to the Executive Leadership Team as a recommendation for Samford’s Peer Group.

The Project Team will meet with the Willis Towers Watson Consultants this morning to advance the Peer Group aspect of the salary study.

If you have any questions about the salary study you are welcome to reach out to me by email at jwindham@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-2837; or to Colin Coyne by email at ccoyne@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-4037.

Joel R. Windham, MSHA
Assistant Vice President

Salary Study Update

I am pleased to report that the Samford Salary Study Project Team and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Consulting Team had a great round of meetings this week. The salary study project remains on schedule.

With respect to the salary study, the Project Team met twice this week to discuss Peer Groups and the methodology to develop a customized Peer Group for Samford. Consideration is being given to institutional characteristics of affiliation, size, Carnegie Classification, degree offering, student on-campus housing, NCAA membership, total enrollment, student-to-faculty ratio, expenses, endowment, Instructional and Total FTE, as well as variables like historical Peer institutions, aspirant academic programs, and Athletic conferences and Academic consortium. With respect to staff positions, consideration will include area industry. Discussion in both meetings was enlightening and beneficial with valuable insight from Academic Affairs and the Office of Institutional Research & Analytics.

Next week, in addition to meeting with WTW, the Project Team will be meeting with the Leadership Advisory Team, the Staff Advisory Council, and the Business and Faculty Welfare Committee.

Aside from the ongoing salary study meetings a separate project “kick-off” meeting was held with the WTW Consultants who will be leading the Benefits study.

If you have any questions about the salary study you are welcome to reach out to me by email at jwindham@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-2837; or to Colin Coyne by email at ccoyne@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-4037.

Joel R. Windham, MSHA
Assistant Vice President

Salary Study Update

Yesterday morning, Samford’s Executive Leadership Team met with the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Consultants. The Project Team and WTW Consultants are moving forward to engage with those employees serving on Advisory Teams comprised of the Business and Faculty Welfare Committee and the Staff Advisory Council, as well as the Leadership Advisory Team comprised of a cross-section of campus-wide leaders.

Additionally:

• Samford’s data submission is currently under review by the WTW Consulting Team.
• The Project Team has begun its routine project/work schedule.

If you have any questions about the salary study you are welcome to reach out to me by email at jwindham@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-2837; or to Colin Coyne by email at ccoyne@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-4037.

Salary Study Update

Samford’s Human Resources has submitted the faculty and staff data requested by our Willis Towers Watson (WTW) consultants. The data request involved job titles, job codes, compensation amounts, primary work activity, disciplines, academic departments, hire dates, etc. The submitted data is currently under review by the WTW Consulting Team.

Samford’s Salary Study Project Team, comprised of representatives from Human Resources, Accounting, Budget & Financial Planning, Academic Affairs, Athletics, and Institutional Research & Analytics, met earlier this week with the WTW Consulting Team. WTW led the team through a discussion of the project’s timeline and scope of work.

Upcoming meetings with the Advisory Teams, comprised of the Business and Faculty Welfare Committee and the Staff Advisory Council, as well as the Leadership Advisory Team are being planned with Spring semester significant dates in mind.

If you have any questions about the salary study you are welcome to reach out to me by email at jwindham@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-2837; or to Colin Coyne by email at ccoyne@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-4037.

Joel R. Windham, MSHA
Assistant Vice President

Samford Salary Study - Update

I am happy to announce that Samford’s Salary Study is underway.

As you may have heard Samford felt compelled to make a change in the project’s consultant relationship due to a combination of the consultants missing communication milestones, changing the agreed upon timeline, as well as sending an invoice to increase the cost of the study without credible justification. Samford has engaged Willis Towers Watson (WTW), who may be a familiar name to many of those in the School of Business and College of Health Sciences, and possibly to some in other areas.

• WTW is a global organization with colleagues serving in 140 countries and markets, committed to helping organizations build and deliver total rewards programs that bring the highest possible value to employees and the university.
• Within higher education WTW has worked with Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Princeton University, University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University, and Wake Forest University, among several other universities.
• The Salary Study timeline was unaffected by this change and is projected for completion prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.
• University-wide, employee representation will be achieved through standing committees and project specific committees.
• HR will provide periodic university-wide communications to keep everyone informed of the project’s progress.

If you have any questions about the salary study you are welcome to reach out to me by email at jwindham@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-2837; or to Colin Coyne by email at ccoyne@samford.edu or by phone at (205) 726-4037.

Joel R. Windham, MSHA
Assistant Vice President