Ithaca College

Contributed by Tanisha Graves for Cindy Reckdenwald, Director of Compensation & Organizational Design

As you know the College has engaged Karen Hutcheson, Senior Consultant from Sibson/Segal, to assist us in a review of the Compensation Program for staff and administration. On January 31, 2006 and February 1, 2006, a series of group sessions were held to allow staff from all areas of the College the opportunity to learn more about the project, provide feedback on how our current program is viewed and to help us identify areas in need of change.

Over the course of this two-day period, ten sessions were held with 258 individuals attending at various times. Prior to this series of meetings, special sessions were held: one for Staff Council Representatives and one for members of the Administrative Assembly. In addition, Karen Hutcheson led the first meeting of the Compensation Program Advisory Committee. In all, over 300 staff members were able to participate in a group session lead by Karen.

The information provided during each session is valuable and will be very important in moving forward with the audit of the program. Although we appreciate the willingness of those attending the sessions to contribute their thoughts and comments, we recognize not everyone is comfortable providing feedback in an open forum. Karen is currently working to develop a web site that would allow for a second opportunity for our staff to provide needed feedback and ask questions. This site, hosted by Sibson/Segal, will help us to be sure everyone has an opportunity to be heard. Only the consultants will have access to the information provided through this site. We will provide the link to this site as soon as it is available. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation reviewed during the group sessions is available at: Focus Group Presentation.

A summary of the topics discussed and issues raised through the group sessions will be provided shortly. We appreciate everyone’s participation and interest in this program review, and we will continue to provide periodic updates and information on our progress.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Cindy Reckdenwald, Director of Compensation & Organizational Design at 274-3850 or Maura Fetsko, Compensation Specialist at 274-3483.

Thank you.