Occupational Differences
Administrative and Office
State salaries lead the private sector by 3 - 10 percent in benchmark classes that are generally administrative (e.g., accounting, budgets, personnel, clerical), but lag the private sector by 6 - 9 percent in the technical classes that require special knowledge and skill sets (e.g., auditing, legal, information technology).
The State lags the other public sector employers in total compensation in all benchmarks in this category by 8 - 36 percent.
The data for this occupational category is consistent with State experience. The State easily recruits and retains employees in the general administrative classes but has more difficulty recruiting and retaining staff with the requisite skills in the technical administrative area.
The State has begun addressing these issues in a variety of ways. For example, the recent bargaining agreement for State attorneys includes compensation increases that will significantly reduce the lag for those classes. In the information technology area, the State is in the process of totally revamping its IT classification structure.
Medical and Related
With one exception, salaries for all the State’s medical and related benchmark classes lag the public and private sectors by more than 10 percent.1 The exception is the Registered Nurse classification, where the State lags by less than 3 percent. Over the past three years, the State has increased compensation for its RNs by 10 percent. For RNs working in correctional facilities, salaries have been raised an additional 18 percent as a result of court order involving inmate health care.
The State faces its greatest recruitment and retention difficulties in this category. Recruitment and retention of qualified personnel in the medical and related area is so serious that civil rights organizations and the courts have become involved in the State’s compensation-setting process.
Engineering and Scientific
The State lags other public employers in all the engineering and scientific benchmark classes, both in total compensation and salary, except for one class: Engineering Geologist. For that class, the State slightly leads other public sector employers in total compensation (by less than 2 percent). There were no valid comparisons for the engineering and scientific benchmark classes in the private sector data we used.
The State has already begun to address this lag. The collective bargaining agreement for State engineers includes a “parity” provision that has significantly increased State engineer salaries. However, this improvement has a downside: the State now has severe retention problems in the scientist classes where the duties, responsibilities, and knowledge overlap the engineer classes. State scientists have been moving into equivalent but higher-paying engineer positions.
Trades and Support Services
State salaries in this category lead the private sector in each of the four benchmark classes where there was a comparable private sector job. However, the State lags the public sector in practically all of benchmarks in this category, both in total compensation and salary. The exception is the Cook classification, where the State salary leads other public employers by less than one percent.
Safety
The Public Safety Dispatcher is the only benchmark class included in this category. There were no comparable occupations in the private sector data we used.
Compared to emergency dispatchers in other public jurisdictions, the State’s total compensation lags 20 percent.
The State has begun to address its significant retention problems in this area by negotiating salary increases targeted specifically to this classification.
Executive and Managerial
The State lags the public sector in all seven of the benchmark classes in this category, both in total compensation and salary. Total compensation for Directors of Social Services and Directors of Public Works lags by almost 30 percent. Salaries for Mid-Managers lag by about six percent, the lowest lag in this category.
State salaries also lag the private sector for each of the three executive-level positions for which there was valid private sector data: Chief Information Officer by roughly 6 percent; Director of Human Resources by 11 percent; and Chief Financial Officer by 21 percent.
The State has long been aware that its executives’ and managers’ compensation falls below what many other employers provide. However, recruitment for these positions has generally not been a problem. Executives in the State’s “at will” positions know they will receive a lower salary when they accept the job. Mid-managers are often State civil servants who have invested years with the State and generally choose not to change employers late in their careers.
FOOTNOTES
1 - In a survey DPA published in March 2005 comparing total compensation for registered nurses in California’s public sector, the data indicated working conditions, more than pay, affected turnover rates.