HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/16/2001, C1 - INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN COMPENSATION[council MM* D°
A] acEnaa Report 'C1
C I T Y OF S A N L U I S O B I S P O
FROM: Bill Statler, Director of Finance'^n
Ann Slate, Director of Human Resources n
SUBJECT: INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN COMPENSATION
CAO RECOMMENDATION
Approve compensation changes for the Information Systems Technician positions.
DISCUSSION
Overview
As discussed in greater detail below, we recommend three changes in compensation for the
Information Systems Technician positions in order improve our chances of attracting and
retaining qualified information technology support staff:
1. Increase the salary range for the Information Systems Technician I position by 8% and the
Information Systems Technician lI by 5 %.
2. Implement special skills pay for staff holding either Certified Netware Engineer (CNE) or
Microsoft Certified Engineer (MSCE) certifications of $500 monthly.
3. Create a "grow your own" training program under which current City employees with an
interest and demonstrated aptitude for this type of work, but who do not currently meet the
minimum skill and experience requirements for the Information Systems Technician
position, would under -fill vacancies in an "in- training" position. With this approach, we
would first attempt to fill regular vacancies through the normal recruitment process.
However, if this is not successful, we would then solicit internal interest in this new career
opportunity. Once the employee meets the minimum job requirements (subject to successful
performance during this training period), they would then be promoted to fill the regular
Information Systems Technician position.
Background
Organizations throughout the State —both in the private and public sectors —are finding it
extremely difficult to attract and retain qualified information technology support staff. The
reason for this is self - evident: the amazing increase in the delivery of front -line services (largely
via the Internet) using information technology as well as traditional "backroom" functions. This
has placed the public sector in an especially difficult competitive position compared with the
private sector, since there is no offsetting increase in the "bottom line" in absorbing these higher
labor costs. Additionally, perhaps more so than in the private sector, there are legitimate
concerns in the public sector about internal equity in setting compensation levels: in short,
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Council Agenda Report— Information Systems Technician Compensation
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assuring that we pay similar salaries based on the contribution of positions to the organization
and community, not solely on external market forces.
New Challenges. Technology positions have always been difficult for the City to fill. However,
two factors make it even more difficult now:
1. As noted above, there is simply an increased demand for these skills throughout the State (as
well as the nation, but this is especially pronounced in California due to the importance of
this sector in our State's economy).
2. Given limited private sector employment opportunities in our area, in the past the overall
advantages of City employment made us an especially attractive employer. However, with
increased private- sector employment opportunities in general —and San Luis Obispo's
emergence as a high - technology employment center in particular —this is no longer the case.
Current Situation. There are currently four technician positions authorized in the Information
Systems Division. Two of these are vacant. In order to increase our chances for a successful
recruitment, Finance and Human Resources conducted an extensive assessment of what other
public agencies are doing to attract and retain and qualified information technology staff before
trying to fill these vacancies. This included compensation as well as more creative strategies.
Universally, cities throughout the State report major difficulties in this area. They are facing the
same constraints we are in terms of increased demand, limited supply, fiscal constraints and
internal equity concerns. However, several agencies have initiated some innovative practices for
hard -to -fill positions, and the recommendations provided below reflect several of them. It is
important to note that we are not introducing any new compensation concepts with these
changes: each of them is already in -place (albeit on a limited basis) for other positions in the
City. Further, there are other intangible factors we can use in creating a compelling work
environment that will help us in attracting and retaining qualified staff, such as interesting work,
training opportunities, quality community and positive, creative organizational culture that
values information technology in improving productivity and customer service. Through our
"organizational vitality" program and other departmental initiatives in Finance, we are actively
engaged in these as well.
Proposed Changes
Salary Ranges. An informal, salary-only survey of comparable positions in similar California
cities and other local area agencies indicates that our salaries are low. We cannot expect to be
competitive with the private sector, but we should strive for competitive salaries in the local
public sector labor market. While also being mindful of our internal salary relationships and
maintaining appropriate salary distinctions between classifications in our compensation system,
we recommend the following salary range changes:
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Current
Proposed
% Increase
Range
Class
Range
Class
Information Systems Technican I
Information Systems Technican 11
$3,111 -3,819
$3,542 -4,348
429
434
$3,362 -4,129
$3,731 -4,580
432
436
8.1%
5.3%
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Council Agenda Report- -Information Systems Technician Compensation
Page 3
The job description and requirements will remain unchanged, except we will no longer require
that the Information Systems Technician II position hold CNE or MSCE certifications. This is
no longer a reasonable minimum requirement in the current labor market.
Special Skills Pay. While we do not believe we can reasonably set CNE or MSCE certifications
as a minimum job requirement, this would be an extremely desirable skill for our support staff to
possess. Currently, we pay up to $150 per hour for contract services for trained network
engineers in managing local and wide area network changes. We could significantly reduce
these costs if our in -house staff had these skills (In the past, at different times for short intervals,
we have had CNE's on our staff.)
Accordingly, consistent with our emerging compensation policy of paying for specific skill sets,
we recommend special skills pay of $500 per month for staff members holding CNE or MSCE
certifications.
For employees who do not already have these certifications but are interested in earning them,
we will assist in paying for classes, study materials and tests; and as we would for other job -
related training, allow reasonable, paid time -off from work for this training. However, similar to
our tuition reimbursement policy, we will be reimbursed for any direct training costs if the
employee leaves within one year afterward.
Internal Training: "Growing Our Own"
In our assessment of what others are doing, perhaps the most innovative approach is to "grow
your own" support staff through in -house training programs. We have used this approach
successfully in the past for building inspector positions, and we believe it has merit for our
technology support positions. Under this approach, depending on results of our normal
recruitment process, we would make "in- training" positions available--on a competitive basis —
to current employees with an interest and demonstrated aptitude for this work. We would create
an "Information Systems Technician In- Training" position at a monthly salary range of $2,803-
3,442 (equal to Engineering Technician). Successful applicants would be placed in this salary
range (or retained at their existing salary range if it is higher) until they meet the minimum
Information Systems Technician qualifications (subject to successful performance as a trainee).
Again, the City would assist in paying for formal training classes and study materials; and as we
would for other job - related training, allow reasonable, paid time -off from work for this training.
However, similar to our tuition reimbursement policy, we will be reimbursed for any direct
training costs if the employee leaves within one year afterward.
Other Incentives: Wait for Organization -Wide Strategy
Technology staffing is not the only area where we are experiencing attraction and retention
problems. As such, we are considering other incentives to recruit and retain hard -to -fill positions
such as housing relocation assistance, signing bonuses and referral bonuses. However, compared
with the changes proposed for the technology support positions, these would be new concepts
and initiatives for the City. Accordingly, while they may be applicable to technology positions,
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Council Agenda Report— Information Systems Technician Compensation
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we do not recommend considering them at this time. They need further analysis, and if adopted,
should be introduced on an organization -wide basis.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no direct fiscal impacts in 2000 -01 associated with these changes: salary savings to-
date more than offset any compensation changes; if we are able to attract (or develop) staff with
CNE or MSCE certificates, this cost will be more than offset by contract savings; and any
training costs will be funded within the existing training budget.
G: Financellnformation Technology Master Plan/Council Agenda Report—IS Technician Compensation
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