Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Autonomy | The responsibility, power, or obligation to independently make a decision and the accountability for its success or failure. |
| Career Map | Illustrates how different jobs relate and the different career paths available within the university that can be used for career planning and workforce development purposes. |
| Career Path | The growth or trajectory an employee can take in their career. Career paths are important for employees to plan their future, enhance their skills and knowledge to master current jobs, or identify paths for transfers, promotions, and other movements. |
| Career Track | The basic infrastructure of a career structure representing a group of jobs characterized by distinct responsibilities within A/P Job Architecture (e.g., general administration, STEM, management/leadership, support). |
| Career Track Level | Career track levels provide a system of hierarchical layers and organizational structure within and across career tracks with the A/P Job Architecture structure. Career levels are used to understand and define levels within a career track based on a set of leveling factors such as knowledge, complexity, and impact. Career levels are defined consistently across A/P faculty positions at Virginia Tech and apply to all functional areas (e.g., general administration, G1-G5; STEM T1-T5; manager, M1-M3). |
| Complexity | The extent to which the tasks are multi-faceted, mentally demanding, and challenging to perform. |
| Compression | Pay compression, or salary compression, occurs when employees with varying levels of experience, skills, or tenure receive similar compensation. Compensation decisions are based on multiple factors that support business needs and compensation strategy, and the rationale for an individual employee's pay may not always be apparent. |
| Discipline | A group of A/P Faculty jobs having the same nature of work; maybe specific to internal needs or commonly found in external market (e.g., Database Administration). |
| Experience | The amount of time, practice, involvement, and understanding an individual must have to perform the key functions of the role. |
| Function | A collection of A/P Faculty jobs recognizable across an organization and industry sectors – each having a distinct purpose in services of the organization (e.g., Information Technology). |
| Job Architecture | Provides a structural base to create consistency and a better understanding of the A/P Faculty roles and their purpose at Virginia Tech. It is a standardized framework to classify jobs based on the nature of the work they do and the level at which the work is completed. A job architecture provides visibility into how jobs are organized and typically reflects both industry market practice as well as the internal needs and characteristics of the organization but is independent of organizational reporting structure. |
| Job Catalog | A catalog of A/P Job Architecture positions and levels available within an organization. At Virginia Tech this includes information such as classification title, PageUp description code, function, subfunction, discipline, career track level, broad salary range, market reference range, and sample position summaries. |
| Job Classification | The process of evaluating and reviewing jobs based on an objective analysis of their duties, knowledge, skills, and industry or field, and then assigning it to an organization’s job architecture. |
| Knowledge | The amount of familiarity, awareness, and understanding of impact that an individual must have to make effective changes within the scope of responsibility. |
| Market Range | A position’s market range is the pay range determined through an individual analysis using reputable compensation surveys. It reflects competitive pay for similar roles in the external labor market and serves as a benchmark for aligning the university’s compensation practices with market data. |
| Market Reference Range (MRR) | Established target rates of pay for specific jobs. Each salary range has three market reference ranges under it. Each job profile has had an individual market range assigned, and is then assigned the closest MRR in the JA structure. |
| Market Saturation | Market saturation in recruitment defines an imbalance between labor supply and employer demand within a specific industry or location. In a "candidate-saturated" market, the volume of qualified applicants vastly exceeds the number of open roles, making it incredibly difficult to find top talent among an overwhelming number of submissions. |
| Pay Band | A pay band, set by DHRM, is a salary range established by the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM), typically used by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It defines the minimum and maximum base pay for classified state roles, replacing traditional graded systems with flexible, non-incremental (stepless) pay levels. |
| Pay Equity | Compensating employees equally when they perform substantially similar work or job duties, while accounting for education, experience (inclusive of experience outside of VT), and job-related performance under similar working conditions. Factors such as age, race, or other factors prohibited by law, may not be considered in pay decisions. |
| Pay Philosophy | A formal statement defining the guiding principles of an organization’s position on employee compensation. It explains the rationale behind employee pay and creates a framework for consistent pay. It should align with the organization's values, business strategy, and culture. |
| Pay Structure | An assigned salary structure is based on the employee’s career framework and provides a market framework to determine how employees are paid. |
| Position Description | A description of a specific job as it relates to an employee. It includes an individual position’s purpose, duties, responsibilities, and the qualifications and skills required. It also includes a list of common tasks, physical requirements, and reporting relationships. These are used for several purposes, including recruitment and performance evaluation. A position description is customized by the hiring manager or department. |
| Position Duties | Position duties are the specific tasks, responsibilities, and functions an employee is expected to perform in their role. Outlined in a position description, they establish performance expectations, map out workflows, and serve as legal and operational frameworks for evaluating employee accountability. |
| Position Summary | A position summary provides a high-level overview of the role’s primary purpose within the university. It outlines the essential function of the position and its key responsibilities without detailing specific tasks or requirements. This summary serves as a guiding framework for developing more detailed position descriptions and ensures consistency in defining roles across the university. |
| Salary Range | A broad span between the minimum and maximum base salary recommended for positions based on their classification. A job is typically paid between the minimum and maximum of its salary range. |
| Scope of Impact | The scope of impact describes the breadth and level at which a position influences the university. It considers whether the role’s decisions and actions affect an individual unit, multiple departments, the entire campus, or the broader university system. For a position to have a scope of impact that is university wide, the decisions made under the purview of the position’s duties must routinely have direct impact on operations across the university. This goes beyond positions that have responsibilities that cross department, college, or senior management area boundaries. |
| Sub-Function | A subset of A/P Faculty jobs with a distinct purpose within a function that usually requires a distinct body of knowledge (e.g., Data Management). |
| Supervisory Responsibility | For a position to be considered supervisory, it must have administrative responsibilities over subordinate positions to include recommendations for hiring and termination, writing evaluations, disciplinary actions, day-to-day oversight as well as long-term goal setting and accountability for the performance and productivity of the employees. Oversight of wage employees, students, contractors, graduate assistants, and volunteers is not considered supervision under this leveling methodology. This is consistent with the Department of Labor’s definition of a supervisor. |
| System Title (Classification Title) | The title assigned to a job profile that typically reflects the function, sub-function, and discipline as well as the career track and level of the job. Each system title is tied to internal data and external market data and is the basis for career maps. The system title will be considered the title of record within the university’s information management systems. It is distinct from an employee’s working title. System title will be called “classification title” in Virginia Tech’s HR systems. |
| Working Title | The title assigned to the position based on departmental guidelines . Allows additional flexibility for what positions are called. With leadership and departmental HR approval, these titles can be used for employee business cards, email signatures, and internal/external communications. They can also be referenced on job postings (along with the system title) and on organizational charts. Managers and departmental HR representatives will determine the appropriate working titles for their team members. Working titles are not managed or administered by the Division of Human Resources. |