12/6/2023

Dear colleagues,

During this first phase of the Total Compensation and Benefits Review Project, the advisory committee and working groups have been hard at work finding the right consultant to partner with Puget Sound. We want to share with you today what has been accomplished recently, what our next steps are, and how you can continue to be involved. As President Crawford shared previously, the project objectives are to: 

  • Ensure Puget Sound’s total compensation and benefits offerings support our ability to attract, hire, retain, and support capable and committed employees;  
  • Establish a comprehensive total compensation and benefits philosophy that will support the University’s mission now and in the future; and 
  • Position us as an employer of choice in higher education and the region.

Project Update
Since the last project update in October, the Internal Advisory Committee, along with the Faculty and Staff Working Groups, held sessions with four consulting firms that submitted responses to our request for proposal (RFP). Each firm presented their approach to this project, including their vision for how they intend to partner with Puget Sound on this important work, and answered questions from the project team. Overall, we enjoyed productive discussions and are currently working together to select a final consultant with whom we intend to engage. 

As a reminder, the purpose of this process is to engage a consulting firm that can augment our internal capacity for project work, improve our access to market data or research (including proprietary data), and provide objective analyses as we work through the deliverables and activities for the project. 

Once we have identified and contracted with a consultant who aligns with our mission and values, we will introduce all faculty and staff to the consultants and provide information about what the campus can expect over the upcoming months. 

Project Website
Information about the project, including progress updates, will be posted periodically on the project website. The project website also includes a link to our project charter and list of project team members.

Ways to be Involved and Stay Informed
While project team members were selected to represent a range of faculty and staff employment categories, experiences, and perspectives, the success of this project is also largely dependent on the involvement of the broader campus community. 

  • Sign up for a one-on-one session with an HR representative to discuss the project and any other feedback about Puget Sound’s compensation and benefits you may have. We have open sessions available on December 7. 
  • Review Faculty Senate meeting agendas for opportunities to hear from our Provost Drew Kerkhoff about current and upcoming activities related to this work. 
  • Attend the upcoming Staff Senate meeting on December 14 to hear from our Executive Vice President and CFO, Kim Kvaal, about current and upcoming activities related to this work.
  • Talk to your faculty and staff peers who are participating as Advisory Committee and working group members. 

This project is vitally important to the university’s ability to attract, recruit and retain the exceptional faculty and staff our mission requires, and our shared community deserves. We thank you for your continued support of this project and the work of these committees, and appreciate all you do to strengthen our university community.

Drew Kerkhoff, Provost

Kim Kvaal, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer