Staff Excellence: Human Resources — Compensation

Purdue University employs some of the most skilled, hard-working professionals in higher education. From administrative and support staff to faculty and beyond, these individuals — numbering in the thousands — are the foundation of the university’s success.

Attracting and retaining such high levels of talent is no easy feat. That’s where the Human Resources’ Compensation team comes in. 

“We try to ensure that we’re externally competitive with our jobs so we can not only attract good talent but keep good talent as well,” says James Clark, director of compensation. “Our goal is to maintain the university’s competitiveness when it comes to employee retainment and attraction while also making sure that our current salaries are all in line and as fair and equitable as possible.”

Clark is charged with leading a team of five compensation analysts who partner and collaborate with deans and administrative leaders in various divisions across the West Lafayette campus to offer guidance on their compensation choices and decisions.

They’re the people who step in to help establish salaries for new positions, navigate promotion increases and conduct internal equity reviews and market analyses. Each year, the staff reviews around 300-400 promotion requests and classify nearly 1,000 descriptions for new and existing positions.

They’re critical thinkers with analytical mindsets wired to solve nearly any problem that comes their way. But they’re also empathetic, approaching each request with care and respect as they explain their recommendations and answer questions.

“You can crunch the numbers, but if you can’t explain them to someone who doesn’t work in compensation, then it’s not as useful,” Clark says. “The whole atmosphere is one of collaboration and cooperation.”

While offering vital support with day-to-day operations, the team plays a leading role in shaping the university’s compensation guidelines and initiatives. Their efforts were a key factor in the recent decision to increase the university’s pay bands by 3%, ensuring that pay ranges for positions across campus remain competitive with the current labor market.

Compensation staff also help administer awards stemming from the university’s employee recognition programs and initiatives, including Bravo+ and one-time special payments distributed earlier this year.

But perhaps their most massive undertaking is administering the university’s merit increases, which will continue in 2024-25 at an average of 3% as endorsed by the Board of Trustees in April. Thanks to the dedication of compensation staff employees, the entire process is completed annually without a hitch. 

“The methods that we use and the technology that we have allows that to be done in a fraction of the time that it used to,” Clark says. “We’re talking about giving increases to thousands of employees, and that goes off well with minimal error. That’s something that’s quite impressive.”

As stewards of the university’s financial and human resources, these individuals continue to raise the bar to help the university chart a smooth course through all compensation matters. Their masterful, behind-the-scenes efforts help pave the way for Purdue to continue attracting, retaining and rewarding employees who sustain its vision of becoming the most consequential university in the country.