Transcript FACULTY COMPENSATION - California Association of

Faculty Compensation and
Benefits
Trends Worldwide
FACULTY COMPENSATION







Trends Worldwide
Compensation Theory and Practice
Mission and Culture
Benefits Options
Salary Systems
Compensation Levels
Funding Methods
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Trends Worldwide
 New for profit schools are seeking the best and
paying “top dollar”
 Fewer qualified candidates in the marketplace
 Higher starting, mid career and senior level salaries
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Trends: Aggressive Recruitment
 Schools are competing against one another for
capable young teachers
 The most mobile group are those with 3-5 years of
experience, and who are ready to move where the
money and working conditions are the most
competitive
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Compensation Theory
 Teachers are not risk takers. They are care givers
 Teachers want absolute predictability of future
earning power, thus “scales” appeal to them.
 Teachers also want to know HOW to influence future
earning power.
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Compensation Practice I
 Teachers have learned how to influence future
earning power through:
 more steps due to more years of service
 advanced degrees and graduate credits
 extracurricular, coaching activities
 stipends, positions of responsibility
 titles or administrative positions
 extra course load
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Comparisons
 Teachers care most about comparing themselves to
what other high end area private and/or public
schools are paying
 If teachers are paid “enough” in their minds, they do
not care greatly about the “salary delivery system”
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Comparisons II
 If teachers do not feel well paid, they care very much
about the equity of distribution and usually want a
scale.
 Most independent schools either have a scale similar
to a public school model that has been
gerrymandered over time; OR
 A discretionary model fraught with “deals” and
exceptions and a long “tail”
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
The Four Elements of a Salary and
Benefits System
1.The philosophy of compensation often
overlooked: KEY- should be mission driven
2. Salary delivery system follows from
philosophy, often overlooked
3. Cash levels: usually a percentage increase
4. Benefits: Providing flexibility based on age,
experience and family status.
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
The Correct Approach:
Mission Driven Compensation
 Administration and boards must focus not just on the
amount of money paid but if the delivery system will
attract, retain and rewards teachers who resonate
with the school’s mission
 Administration must review HOW the money is paid
out, not just in percentage or in dollar terms, but how
each group of teachers benefits overall relative to the
others
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
The Importance of Dialogue and
Engagement
 The “intellectual dialogue” of teachers, trustees and
administrators about the relationship between school
mission and salary philosophy is key
 Littleford & Associates can facilitate this dialogue
Myths Vs Realities
 Independent school faculties are assumed to
be collegial and collaborative. Most school
cultures are not.
 Schools often have “feudal” and/or
passive/aggressive cultures.
 These may develop along department or
other lines.
 Most evaluation/appraisal and “creative”
salary systems do not function well in
practice.
The Importance of Culture
 Salary systems, if mission driven, strive to nurture,
support, enhance and reward the desired culture.
 If salary systems are mission driven, teachers are
reaching for the school’s goals together.
The Importance of Culture II
 Teachers will leave after 3-5 years if salaries/benefits
are too low, responsibilities are not increased and if
the school culture and climate are unhealthy
 It takes only 5 out of 60 teachers to create an
unhealthy climate
Salary Compression
 The strongest salary systems pay two and one half
times at the top what they pay at the bottom i.e., a
starting salary of $40,000 should deliver a high salary
of AT LEAST $80,000 (excluding administrators)
 Schools need to have a bump in mean salary from
one, five year experience “cohort”, to the next
 Schools may overlook the fact that their more
experienced teachers may actually be going DOWN in
mean salaries from one cohort to the next
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Bottom Bell
 Most independent schools recruit young
teachers and lose the talented ones within 3-5
years
 Mid career teachers are the most difficult to
recruit, and they are often among the least
happy in their jobs.
 Early buy out plans may be needed to assist
some long term teachers with retirement
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Inexpensive Creative Benefits
 Public recognition of service
 Financial planning or other pro bono personal
services
 Recruitment bonus (one-time)
 Effective use of PD money
Compensation Methods
 Bonus plans based upon evaluation of teaching
performance in the classroom, workload assessment,
performance outside of the classroom and leadership
traits
 Bands and ranges such as instructor, teacher,
experienced teacher, senior teacher, and faculty
leader or gradations
Rewarding Excellence through Bands
and Ranges
 Bands may include permanent jumps in base, plus
bonuses
 Rewards are not “merit” or competitive but could be
performance based when measured against mission:
for individuals or teams or groups
Bands and Ranges II
 Provide the school with the ability to pay its most
valued teachers
 Enable teachers to know HOW to influence future
earning power
 May also reward groups of teachers or teams of
teachers
Evaluating Excellence
 A common misconception among heads and
teachers is that professional growth and
teacher accountability are either incompatible
objectives or goals that must be accomplished
separately.
 Teachers’ biggest criticisms about evaluation
are that it is either threatening and unfair or
lacks substance for real growth.
Evaluating Excellence II
 Teachers will not fear evaluation if they are involved
in the development of the criteria by which they will
be evaluated AND if the process is consistent, and
honest.
How to Find the Money:
Analyze Your “Sacred Cows”
 Raise tuition
 Make raising teacher salaries one of the Annual Fund
Goals
 Profit Centers: Explore them! (Busing, food service,
school stores and Internet courses can make big
money!
 Launch an endowment campaign
How to Find the Money II
 Increase Class Size: Smaller is not necessarily better
 Increase School Enrollment
 Control and be creative with benefits and the salary
delivery system: Resist the urge to add “steps” and
beware the slippery slope of stipends
Consider A Banding Model
 Faculty desire for recognition: range of forms
 The importance of the head’s “political capital”
 Timing is everything!
Conclusion
 The Chinese character, Ji-huey, means opportunity
 The challenge to find great teachers is also an
opportunity to design salary systems that can attract
and retain them
Confidential: Intellectual Property of Littleford & Associates
Global Issues - Local Solutions
John C. Littleford
1-800-69-TEACH
[email protected]
www.JLittleford.com