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The CFI involves a comprehensive review of work performed across campus in order to categorize similar work into a “compensation code” that can be used as the foundation for further work in pay equity and consistent salary setting practices. Once the CFI work is complete, the compensation code will drive a position’s pay range.

Led by the UCB Human Resources Position Management & Compensation Team, the CFI work began in response to campus feedback received in 2016 indicating that the campus’s processes for staff classification and compensation should be more transparent, easier to understand, and more efficient to administer.

The CFI work was in progress prior to the passage of Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPA) which was signed into law by Governor Polis on May 22, 2019 and effective January 1, 2021.  The new law has raised the priority for implementing the work of the CFI since a compensation framework will help facilitate further pay equity analysis and decision making.  

The CFI implementation is the beginning of a comprehensive review and alignment of compensation practices at CU Boulder. The compensation code framework and pay structure created through the project will guide informed and transparent decision-making for compensation across campus.

The initial phase of the CFI focuses on campus university staff positions.

The CFI will:

• Establish an imbedded compensation code framework within the current CU system payroll job code structure, specific to the Boulder campus.
• Provide easier, transparent and consistent campus alignment of staff jobs.
• Better represent the current state of work performed on campus.
• Adapt to future changes in work on campus over time.
• Establish standard campus pay ranges for each compensation code to assist units and the campus with resource planning.
• Develop consistent pay setting practices that reflect a campus compensation philosophy, ensuring market alignment and internal pay equity.
• Provide a method for strategic campus salary budget planning and proactive compensation reporting for management.

The CFI is NOT intended to:

• Replace current payroll job code titles or the use of working titles.
• Reduce salaries.
• Change current job duties or reporting relationships.
• Change the importance of any jobs or their impact on campus.
• Eliminate jobs.

Phase One (Completed 2016-2017) – ������Ƶ18y and Information Gathering:

• Collected campus focus group feedback.
• Researched AAU peer best practices.
• Purchased an online compensation tool for HR market pricing work.
• Purchased a campus IT solution to automate the review, processing and approval of staff position descriptions.
• Continued work to align compensation practices across campus for front-line service work and trades positions.
• Began a pilot with Undergraduate Education and Campus Advising Leadership team for leveling student success advising positions.

Phase Two (Completed 2018) – Develop Preliminary Structure:

• Implemented the campus IT solution (Position Manager Portal) and uploaded all campus staff job descriptions for consistent online position management.
• Began socializing CFI concepts with leadership and campus subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Started work with the CU System Office to develop compensation code tracking fields in HCM position data.
• Purchased additional national salary surveys for enhanced job market pricing.
• Continued research of higher education and compensation best practices.

Phase Three (Completed 2019) – Concept Refinement and Outreach to Campus Stakeholders:

• Initiated review, research and development of compensation code structure.
• Reviewed and tracked Colorado Equal Pay Act legislation impacts.
• Continued socializing concepts with leadership and campus subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Refined (and continue to refine) concepts based on campus feedback.
• Drafted first job families and career progression matrices.  
• Commenced aligning jobs to initial structures with SME review.

Phase Four (2020-21) – Implementation:

• Initiate and develop CFI communication strategy.
• Finish drafting all job family class concept definitions.
• Work with campus, college and department SMEs to finalize job family concepts.
• Recommend campus compensation philosophy for executive leadership approval.
• Establish compensation code pay ranges.
• Begin pay equity analysis work and formulate budget recommendations.
• Develop university staff classification and compensation policies and guidelines.
• Implement communication plan including campus resources, information sessions and unit outreach.

The work performed by classified staff positions on the Boulder campus will be reviewed along with the work of university staff positions.  When it make sense to do so, similar work performed across the two populations may be aligned together under the same compensation code.  This won’t change the current classified or university staff payroll job code or title, and it won’t change which employment category the position is in.  The requirements of the Colorado State Personnel System will continue to be maintained for classified staff positions within the campus compensation code framework.

The CFI work is in progress. The CFI web page will be updated regularly as progress continues. Campus employees, department managers, and HR liaisons will be notified as final information is available which is anticipated to be in 2021.

We do not envision a change in an employee's current payroll job code with this CFI work, so no reclassification. Also, the standardized pay ranges coming use the same methodology we use today for setting pay ranges, so we don't expect much change or disparity there.

Currently, for university staff, pay ranges are updated when a position is reviewed. Instead, we will assign a pay range once a year and be able to publish these like we do with classified staff ranges.

No, we do not anticipate any pay cuts will happen as a result of our pay alignment work.

Yes, our current plan is to have comp code and pay range information available on the HR website by the end of 2021.

To align substantially similar jobs for staff, we will be categorizing similar work within a new comp code that exists within each broad payroll job title.  It doesn't change the job code or working title. It allows us to group substantially similar work within a job code since our job codes are currently very broad.

This is not part of the equal pay act. The equal pay act does not require pay ranges and does not dictate where an employee is paid in a range. The equal pay act only requires that employees performing substantially similar work be paid similarly in relation to each other and in relation to their education, experience, performance, skill, effort and responsibility, among other factors.

Great question, and we are finding a number of these on our campus. Some jobs are unique. There might not be an equal pay comparison for a unique job. However, as we build our compensation structure going forward, we can ensure we have competitive market pay rates for these jobs.