UGA Libraries Compensation Satisfaction Consulting Project Carrie McCleese Starr Daniell

Purpose of Project: Address concerns regarding salary compression and its impact on Library Associates and Assistants Obtain additional information to strengthen business case for increasing salaries of Associates and Assistants Determine how current salary levels impact employee attitudes Determine how UGA Library Assistants’ and Associates’ salaries compare to salaries earned by employees performing similar jobs elsewhere

Overview of Topic Compensation Satisfaction Affects: Attitudes Job behaviors Organizational effectiveness Job satisfaction Organizational commitment Turnover Intentions

Overview of Topic Importance of Pay Satisfaction Adequacy of organization’s pay structure affects employee attitudes and productivity Compensation decisions affect success of staffing and training activities Pay Satisfaction vs. Dissatisfaction Employees not satisfied with compensation are more likely to think about leaving the organization often results in actual turnover Satisfied employees are less likely to think about leaving retention may be enhanced

Overview of Topic When individual effort is not appropriately rewarded: The right people for the job will not be attracted The right people for the job will be attracted but will leave when they realize their efforts are poorly rewarded The right people will be attracted and will remain in the job, but their performance will decline because they are not adequately rewarded for high performance Bottom Line: In order to attract and retain quality employees, must be willing and able to offer competitive pay

Data Collection Data Sources Current Library Assistants and Associates O*NET Survey Protocol 29 Items Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Turnover Intentions, Pay Satisfaction (Level, Benefits, Raises, Structure and Administration) Benchmarking Process Current salaries compared to: National, state, and surrounding area medians Cost of living adjustments

Data Collection: Survey Protocol Survey sent to Library Associates and Assistants (134 employees) via inter-campus mail 75 surveys (55.6%) were returned completed Constructs measured: Organizational Commitment Turnover Intentions Job Satisfaction Pay Satisfaction Satisfaction with Pay Level Satisfaction with Benefits Satisfaction with Raises Satisfaction with Structure and Administration of Pay

Survey Results: Organizational Commitment Defined as employees’: Belief in and acceptance of Library’s goals Willingness to exert significant effort on behalf of Library Desire to stay affiliated with Library Scores ranged from 1.25 to 5.00; average = 3.58

Survey Results: Turnover Intentions When employee considers job change, the last decision he/she makes is whether to stay or leave his/her employer Scores ranged from 1.00 to 5.00; average = 2.65 Note: Any reports that employees are thinking about leaving is bad news

Survey Results: Job Satisfaction Employees' overall attitude of liking or disliking their job Can contribute to effectiveness of job performance Job dissatisfaction may adversely affect employees' job participation and productivity Scores ranged from 1.00 to 5.00; average = 3.71

Survey Results: Perceptions of Library’s Mission Employees agree that the quality of work in the UGA Libraries is important to the mission of the University Average = 4.20 Only four respondents view the work of the UGA Libraries as not important to the University's mission.

Survey Results: Overall Satisfaction with Pay-Related Issues Employees' positive and negative feelings toward the Library's overall pay system Scores ranged from 1.00 to 4.00; average = 2.45 One response indicated satisfaction with pay; not a single employee reported that he/she is very satisfied with pay

Survey Results: Satisfaction with Pay Level Extent to which employees are satisfied with their current absolute salary (not including benefits) Scores ranged from 1.00 to 4.00; average = 1.75 Reported satisfaction with pay level is very skewed toward the dissatisfied end of the scale.

Survey Results: Satisfaction with Pay Level cont’d Note: Not one employee indicated being very satisfied Only three employees indicated they are satisfied. 39% reported that they are very dissatisfied 80% of the 75 respondents reported that they are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied

Survey Results: Satisfaction with Raises Employees’ satisfaction with the potential for changes in pay level in their current organization Scores ranged from 1.00 to 4.25; average = 2.30 Only one employee is satisfied with raises in the UGA Libraries; no employees are very satisfied

Survey Results: Satisfaction with Benefits Degree to which employees are satisfied with vacations, sick leave, insurance, pensions, income maintenance, etc. Scores ranged from 1.00 to 5.00; average = 3.44 Large proportion of respondents reported being either satisfied or neutral

Survey Results: Satisfaction with Pay Structure & Administration Employees' satisfaction with: Ways in which pay is distributed to employees Hierarchy created by having different pay rates for different jobs Ranged from 1.00 to 4.17; average = 2.36 Large proportion are dissatisfied and only two respondents are satisfied

Correlation Analyses: Defined Used to determine whether two variables are related Range between and Can either be positive or negative Positively related = tend to increase or decrease at same time Negatively related = tend to move in opposite directions; when one increases, the other decreases Does not suggest a cause-effect relationship

Correlation Analyses: Notable Positive Correlations “As Column A increases, Column B increases.” “As Column A decreases, Column B decreases.” Organizational commitment is strongly related to job satisfaction (correlation = 0.70) Organizational commitment is modestly related to overall pay satisfaction (correlation = 0.44) The relationship between job satisfaction and overall pay satisfaction is moderate. (correlation = 0.55)

Correlation Analyses: Notable Negative Correlations “As Column A increases, Column B decreases.” Job satisfaction is strongly related to turnover intentions (correlation = -0.70) Organizational commitment is strongly related to turnover intentions (correlation = -0.63) Overall pay satisfaction has a moderately strong relationship with turnover intentions (correlation = -0.57)

Data Analyses: Summary According to Survey Results, Employees: Are satisfied with their jobs Are committed to the organization Do not have strong intentions to leave the Library Believe their work is important to the Library’s mission Are dissatisfied with their pay

Data Analyses: Summary According to Correlational Analyses: Employees who are committed to the Library also tend to be satisfied with their jobs and their pay. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs also tend to be satisfied with their pay. Employees are more likely to report intentions to leave the Library if they are also dissatisfied with their pay or jobs, or if they are less committed to the Library.

Benchmarking Results: Library Assistants Current Median Salary: $18,300 Lower than: National median for Library Assistants, Clerical ($20,000) Median salaries in Albany, Atlanta, Macon, and Augusta- Aiken for Library Assistants, Clerical Median salaries in Athens, GA for Information and Record Clerks, Office and Administrative Support Workers, Customer Service Representatives, and File Clerks Equal to: State median for Library Assistants, Clerical Higher than: Median salaries in Savannah for Library Assistants, Clerical Median salary in Athens for General Office Clerks

Benchmarking Results: Library Associates Current Median Salary: $25,619 Lower than: Median salaries in Augusta-Aiken for Library Technicians Median salaries in Athens, GA for Instructional Coordinators and Librarians Higher than: National median for Library Technicians ($24,900) State median salary for Library Technicians ($21,700) Median salaries in Atlanta, Albany, and Savannah for Library Technicians Median salaries in Athens, GA for Teacher Assistants

Conclusions and Recommendations 1.Increase Salary of Library Assistants Employees not satisfied with pay Increasing salaries may improve satisfaction with pay Effects of higher pay satisfaction: Employees may be less likely to leave the organization Might reduce turnover Benchmarking results suggest need to increase salaries in order to remain competitive Employees these could find higher salaries in Athens, and both within and outside the state of Georgia

Conclusions and Recommendations 2. Collect Additional Benchmarking Information Examine salaries provided by Universities of similar size (in GA and nationwide) Will strengthen argument for salary adjustments Obtain benchmarking information regarding benefits of UGA Library Associates and Assistants Compare this to benefits of employees performing these jobs elsewhere

Conclusions and Recommendations 3. Collect Additional Survey Information Current survey – positives Commitment and job satisfaction are fairly favorable Current survey – negatives Low pay satisfaction and undesirable rates of turnover intentions Correlational analyses - employees are less likely to leave organization when commitment and job satisfaction are positive If salary increases cannot be achieved, survey employees again What are the reasons their attitudes remain favorable? Additional survey may reveal important areas the Library can focus on in order to retain employees

Questions/Comments Questions can be directed to: Starr Daniell – Carrie McCleese – Lillian Eby (faculty supervisor) –