Multiple Agencies
A Salary Parity Study of The State's Human Resources Employees
January 1999
Report Number 99-703
Overall Conclusion
We found no significant issues of disparity in how state agencies pay human resources positions performing similar work. Most agencies pay their Human Resources (HR) Directors appropriately and generally classify human resources staff correctly. Of the approximately 1,900 positions reviewed, we found only 6 percent misclassified. The cost to correct these misclassifications is nominal and should be absorbed by the agencies.
State agencies spent about $11 billion on activities to manage their investment in human resources in fiscal year 1998. Human resources staff represents 1.3 percent of the total state agency workforce, which equates to 1 HR employee for every 78 state employees.
Key Facts and Findings
Six agencies undervalue their HR Director job and should take steps to increase these positions' salaries. The cost to the State would be approximately $11,500 per year.
We found that most HR Director positions at medium and large agencies are currently paid within the recommended salary ranges based on complexity level. In order to be more competitive, agencies can move salaries toward the midpoint of the recommended range for the complexity level. In general, management positions statewide lag the market by more than 10 percent.
Human resources staff positions are generally properly classified. The current salaries are up to 18 percent behind market. Agencies should use the full range of the designated salary groups for these positions so that the salaries will become more competitive with the private sector. Generally, when salaries are competitive, turnover rates decrease and the number of qualified staff members increases.
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