Human Resources began work this semester on the Metropolitan State University of Denver Compensation Equity Study to review and analyze current pay and compensation structures at the University. The study, which kicked off in October, directly supports our 2030 Strategic Plan Pillar V goal to be Colorado’s most desired place of employment.  

This study underscores MSU Denver’s commitment to enhancing the employee experience and enables us to be more competitive when retaining employees and attracting new talent. The study will also serve as a valuable compensation baseline tool when evaluating our compensation model because the data will be current and University-specific. And it will serve as the foundation for meaningful conversations about pay that are grounded in equity and objectivity. 

 

How will the study be conducted, and will employee input be considered? 

Human Resources established the Total Rewards and Compensation Subcommittee and engaged Salary.com, a third-party compensation authority, to guide, support and conduct the study. Meetings and other engagement opportunities are also planned with key constituents, such as the faculty and staff senates, and affinity groups. 

The TRCS, a cross-functional group of employees formerly known as the Compensation Subcommittee, will be a key stakeholder by offering subject-matter expertise, reviewing initial results/findings and providing input and recommendations to the University Planning and Budget Advisory Committee. 

Salary.com will lead the study to identify potential pay inequities within employee classes, positions and structures and to recommend strategies on how to alleviate them. It will also look at systemic salary-compression issues. Compression occurs when there is little difference in pay between employees with different levels of skill, responsibility and/or qualifications. The focus will be on pay differences between newly hired and long-term employees with similar experience and between subordinates and their supervisors.  

Who is included in the study?

The analysis will review data points from all MSU Denver employees (approximately 2,200) and include: 

  • Professional-staff members with hundreds of unique titles and multiple pay grades and who represent more than 150 departments; 
  • Faculty members, including tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track employees across 38 disciplines; and 
  • Adjunct professors. 

What type of data will be used for the study? 

The study will review a variety of data points, such as role types and position descriptions, education, experience, skill level, tenure, demographics and more to provide the University with critical information to make strategic decisions about pay structures. These data points will be evaluated to help us better understand where we need to concentrate our equity efforts and improve our compensation practices and policies. 

As an example, position descriptions will be used to match positions to salary-survey benchmark jobs and to evaluate similar work, not to assess potential pay increases for individual employees. The study will be fully data-driven, and all employee data will be treated with the utmost care and confidentiality.

 

Should employees go into Workday to update their data? 

Employees are always encouraged to review, update and complete all their information in Workday. Workday is the University’s primary data source for Human Resources and financial reporting. Complete and accurate data is critical.  

The data for this current study was pulled at the end of October from Workday. However, as part of our compensation guidelines, HR plans to conduct a compensation-equity study every few years to ensure that we’re maintaining equitable and competitive compensation structures. Employees are encouraged to check their data in Workday regularly.  

Will there be pay increases for employees due to the study?

Not necessarily. The intent of the study is to evaluate our compensation structures and ensure that our offerings are equitable, consistent and competitive and support the Colorado labor–and–employment workforce. While the study’s results may suggest that some pay increases may be worth considering, that is yet to be determined. Once the study is complete, the first step will be to evaluate our compensation structures holistically based on the data received and then determine priorities that will provide the foundation for a future compensation structure that is strategic, sustainable and equitable. Until the study is complete, it is premature to make any conclusions about what may or may not be an outcome. 

When will the study be completed? 

The initial analysis is anticipated to take about six months, with the first round of results and findings to be presented in April. The study includes a few phases to account for discovery, market analysis, recommendations and next steps. The teams are currently gathering data and will soon move into the analysis stage.  

More information about the study will be shared via the Early Bird. For additional questions about this study, please contact a member of your Total Rewards Compensation team at [email protected].  

As laid out in President Janine Davidson’s budget priorities, investing in our people and supporting MSU Denver’s faculty and staff are the most important factors in helping students succeed and in preparing them for the modern workforce. That’s why compensation is the largest and most important investment in the annual budget.