1.
Designation Authority
The Mississippi State Personnel Board shall have exclusive
authority to approve designated Special Compensation Plan classifications. The
Mississippi State Personnel Board will appoint, from a list of nominees
submitted by the Executive Director of Information Technology Services, an
Information Technology Professional Development Committee (ITPDC) to review
information technology related degrees in regard to meeting classification
minimum requirements and agency requests for reallocations and class
establishments. The ITPDC will provide a recommendation for action to the
Mississippi State Personnel Board. This committee shall act in an advisory
capacity to the Mississippi State Personnel Board. The ITPDC shall be
established by precept and members are appointed in accordance with the
procedures in Attachment 1.
Rules for operation of the ITPDC will be published with the
Secretary of State's Office as Attachment 1 to this policy.
2.
Adding Classifications to the
Special Compensation Plan
Classifications shall be added to the Special Compensation Plan
only upon prior approval by the Mississippi State Personnel Board with
recommendations by the ITPDC.
3.
Position Movement
Positions may be placed under the Special Compensation Plan
through the normal reallocation process as outlined in the Mississippi
State Personnel Board Policy and Procedures Manual and the
Variable Compensation Plan for FY 2022.
Requests for budgeted and non-budgeted reallocations and new
positions shall be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Mississippi State
Personnel Board with recommendations by the ITPDC. Classifications that are
part of the Special Compensation Plan are not eligible for
reclassifications.
4.
Educational Benchmarks
The Mississippi State Personnel Board Executive Director is
authorized to certify requests to award Educational Benchmark increases on a
case-by-case basis. Employees may receive an educational benchmark for the
possession or attainment of education, licensure, certification, or
registration, which exceeds the level of minimum qualifications listed for the
employee's assigned job class.
General Benchmark Policies
a. Requests for Educational Benchmark awards
are made at the discretion of the agency head.
b. No Educational Benchmark shall be awarded
for degrees, licensure, certification, or registration, which the incumbent
possessed at the time of hire.
c.
If the employee being awarded an Educational Benchmark is currently at end
salary of his or her classification or should the benchmark cause an employee's
salary to exceed end salary, that portion of the benchmark exceeding end salary
shall be paid as a one-time lump-sum payment.
d. Any new hire flexibility, recruitment
flexibility, or other discretionary compensation awarded for, or in
anticipation of, future educational achievement, licensure, certification, or
registration shall not result in a subsequent award of an Educational Benchmark
for the same achievement.
e.
Educational Benchmarks shall not be awarded for degrees, licensure,
certifications, or registrations, which are required by law for performance of
job duties.
5.
Designation Policies
Each appointing authority shall comply with Mississippi State
Personnel Board policies and administrative procedures which govern the
designation of positions and employees for inclusion in the Special
Compensation Plan.
6.
Annual Policy Memorandum
The Mississippi State Personnel Board shall publish annually a
Special Compensation Plan Policy Memorandum, which addresses all policies and
procedures to govern the Special Compensation Plan for that fiscal year.
7.
Assignment of
Salaries
The salaries assigned to positions in the Special Compensation
Plan shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions of the Special
Compensation Plan and Variable Compensation Plan, unless otherwise provided by
law.
8.
Provisions for
Awarding Special Compensation Plan Salary Increases
Salary increases for in-class movement under the Special
Compensation Plan may, subject to Legislative restrictions, be awarded for
achievement of educational objectives, the development of additional critical
competencies, or evidence of increasing complexity of work goals. The Special
Compensation Plan is intended to reward employees who have attained additional
education and competencies, which directly add value to their ability to
perform the duties and tasks of their position, which ultimately add value to
the agency. It is intended to be awarded individually to employees, similar to
an Educational Benchmark, and is not intended to reflect any increases in the
value of the classification.
a.
General Policies
1. Requests for special
compensation awards are made at the discretion of the agency head and are based
on a 24-month measurement period. The measurement period begins upon completion
of the Competencies/Education Profile form by the employee's supervisor. The
measurement period ends upon award of a special compensation salary increase.
Another measurement period begins immediately after the award of a special
compensation salary increase.
Employees are eligible for their initial special compensation
award after a minimum of 12 months evaluation in a Special Compensation Plan
position, provided that he/she has remained in the same position and has not
been promoted during the evaluation period.
The measurement period will start over upon promotion of the
employee or upon a lateral or downward transfer to a different agency than the
one in which the employee began the measurement period. Any prior education or
training accomplished at the prior agency may be transferred to the new
measurement period at the new agency. Certification of prior hours must be
received from the employee's former agency.
2. Employees who complete the requirements
for a special compensation increase may be eligible for a salary increase of up
to six percent of their current salary at the time they complete the
requirements. A special compensation increase may be awarded up to 12 months
after the employee completes the requirements for a special compensation
increase.
3. All special
compensation awards must be accomplished from within funds available.
4. To be eligible for a special compensation
award, the employee must have maintained a "Successful" or higher rating for
each competency of the individual's Performance Review Assessment (PRS) during
the measurement period.
5. A
Competencies/Education Profile (CEP) form (Attachment 2) signed by the
employee's immediate supervisor and authorized by the agency head must be kept
on file by the agency for each special compensation increase.
6. Further, to qualify for a special
compensation increase, agencies must complete Form ITSCP-0716 (included at the
end of this document), which certifies that the recipient has completed all
requirements as outlined in this memorandum.
b. Requirements for Eligibility
1. To be eligible for a special compensation
increase, an employee must complete at least 120 contact hours of
education/training. At least 60 hours of the contact hours must be technical in
nature and appropriate for his/her classification. The remaining 60 hours may
be as approved by the agency head. However, employees who receive a special
compensation award for the initial twelve-month period, as discussed in
paragraphs (1) and (2) above must complete 60 contact hours of
education/training. At least 30 hours of the contact hours must be technical in
nature and appropriate for his/her classification. The remaining 30 hours may
be as approved by the agency head.
2. In addition to the education/training
hours, an employee must receive a rating of Yes (Y) indicating added value
accomplished by the employee for at least three of the competencies identified
for that classification, indicating the employee has fully met the supervisor's
expectations relative to those competencies. Documentation supporting the added
value must be maintained by the agency.
3. The employee must have maintained a
"Successful" or higher rating for each competency of the individual's
Performance Review Assessment (PRS) during the measurement period.
c. Approved Education/Training
1. A listing of qualified education/training
categories will be maintained by the Information Technology Professional
Development Committee (ITPDC). Approved categories will be listed for each of
the four job families (Management, Infrastructure, Operations and Support, and
Systems Delivery, Attachment 2). Training hours from conferences must be
documented in detail, reviewed, and approved by the agency head for
consideration of training hours for special compensation.
2. Copies of course certificates or other
documents specifying completion for education/training hours shall be
maintained by the agency and shall accompany the Competencies/Education Profile
(CEP) form. In the case of education/training which specifies a range of hours
required for completion, the minimum number of hours specified will be used. In
the case of conferences or general session type meetings where individual
documents of completion are not distributed to participants/attendees, the
employee's immediate supervisor must certify in letter format the number of
hours claimed by the employee. The certification will be approved by the
employee's first level reviewer for the agency head. On the job training will
not be counted as training for special compensation.
3. Education/training contact hours shall
count only for the current measurement period. Hours achieved in excess of 120
will not be carried over to future periods, nor will they be given additional
weight or computation in the current measurement period. Once a special
compensation award is made, the employee then begins the next measurement
period with zero contact hours.
d. Critical Competencies
1. A complete listing of critical
competencies has been identified for each job classification. At the beginning
of the measurement period, the employee's supervisor will identify on the
Competencies/Education Profile (CEP) form those critical competencies that are
to be achieved by the employee. At the end of the measurement period, the
supervisor will annotate the form with a "Y" to indicate the employee has
successfully achieved the expected improvement of the individual competency or
will annotate with an "N" to indicate that the employee did not achieve the
expected level of improvement of that individual competency. An indication of a
"Y" or an "N" only indicates the employee did or did not achieve the planned
increase in each individual competency. It does not indicate an acceptable or
unacceptable level of competency, but merely if the employee achieved the
change outlined by the supervisor at the beginning of the measurement
period.
2. During the measurement
period, generally at a six-month or one-year interval, the critical
competencies indicated by the supervisor at the beginning of the measurement
period should be reviewed and discussed with the employee. If the focus of the
employee's position has changed since the beginning of the period, the
supervisor may, at any time prior to the end of one full year of the
measurement period, close out the previous competency/competencies and indicate
a different set of critical competencies to be in effect for the remainder of
the measurement period. The close out and resultant change of competency
selection must be accompanied by a narrative describing the reason for the
change.
3. No official feedback
document is required for critical competencies. Each supervisor should, on a
continuing basis, review and discuss with the employee his or her progress, or
lack thereof, in relation to each critical competency to be attained during the
measurement period. Courses, seminars, books, and other materials may be
suggested by the supervisor to assist the employee in accomplishment of the
competencies.
e.
Competencies/Education Profile (CEP) Form (Attachment 2)
1. A CEP form will be filled out by the
employee's PDS rating supervisor at the beginning of the measurement period for
each employee eligible to receive a special compensation award as approved by
the agency head. After the competencies and education/training goals have been
discussed with and agreed to by the employee, the rating supervisor will submit
the CEP form to the employee's PDS first level reviewer for approval. Approved
CEP forms will be maintained by the employee's supervisor or in the employee's
PDS supplement employee folder.
2.
During the last 14 days prior to the end of the first year of measurement
period (or during the PDS review and feedback sessions), the CEP form should be
reviewed by the employee's rating supervisor, and the status of the employee's
accomplishment of competencies and completion should be discussed with the
employee. Any changes to the critical competencies to be accomplished must be
made by the end of the first year of the measurement period and initiated by
the employee and then approved by the employee's first level reviewer and by
the agency head.
3. A copy of the
CEP form must be maintained in the employee's file for all requests for a
special compensation award. These forms are subject to post award review by the
ITPDC or by the Mississippi State Personnel Board.
