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Employment

Compensation Plan
JMU's salary structure is made up of nine broad pay bands. The pay bands have a minimum and a maximum salary. Classified positions are placed in Occupational Families, Career Groups and Roles which are assigned to a particular pay band by the Commonwealth of VA. Visit Workforce Management's website for detailed information.

Probationary Period JMU Policy 1322
When an employee begins employment with the university as a classified employee, he/she serves a 12-month probationary period during which time both the employee and supervisor have a chance to determine the employee's suitability for the position. If the university determines at any time during the probationary period that an employee is not suited for the job and unable to improve satisfactorily, the employee shall be terminated or allowed to resign. A probationary period may be extended up to six additional months if necessary. Probationary reviews are conducted at three, six, and nine months and three weeks prior to completion of the probationary period.

Employee Work Profile
There are three components to the Employee Work Profile (EWP):

The position description identifies the essential core responsibilities and measures of the position. Core responsibilities are the job duties that are important to the type of work performed by an employee and remain relatively consistent during the performance cycle. Measures are observable performance and behavioral outcomes that define success. The position description also identifies any special assignments for the employee and communicates overriding departmental values expected for all department employees. The employee's supervisor creates the position description in PositionLink system when a new position is established. It is updated by the supervisor when a new employee is hired into the position and when job duties and responsibilities change. It is also reviewed for accuracy throughout the year and should be updated any time there are changes to the job. It is common to update the position description during the performance evaluation process.

Creation of an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) is the second component. The employee and the supervisor use this form to record the employee's current training desires and short and long term career goals. It is a written plan for developing knowledge, skills and competencies that support both the organization's objectives and the employee's needs and goals.

The third component is the annual performance evaluation assessment. The assessment of performance form is used for both the employee self-evaluation and the annual performance evaluation.

Performance Evaluation Process
Formal performance evaluations serve as an effective feedback tool to help the employee identify performance strengths and areas in need of further development. It may also enhance communication between employees and supervisors. The performance review period for non-probationary, classified employees is an annual cycle. The non-probationary cycle runs each year from October 25 to October 24.

Supervisors review position descriptions at the beginning of the performance cycle. The position description must be discussed with and signed by the employee to indicate the employee has read and understands their position's core responsibilities and measures. The position description is the basis for evaluating employee performance throughout the entire performance cycle.

The supervisor will rate the employee's performance toward the end of the review period by comparing actual performance to the position description measures. Non-probationary employees receive an overall performance rating of Extraordinary Contributor, Contributor, or Below Contributor. Salary increases for performance (merit increases), if funded, are effective November 25 of each year. The percentage of increase is based on the overall performance rating and funding by the General Assembly.

Promotion

A promotion usually involves a competitive selection process and results in an employee's movement to a different role in a higher pay band. Promotional salary adjustments are negotiable from the minimum of the pay band up to the budgeted amount for the position. The university makes every effort to promote from within when possible. Visit JobLink for all positions currently being recruited for. Contact Jennifer Kester, HR Service Center Recruitment Specialist, (540) 568-6728, kesterjm@jmu.edu, for assistance with the application process.

Outside Employment

In accordance with JMU Policy 1317 Standards of Conduct and Performance for Classified Employees, employees are expected to obtain approval from their supervisors prior to accepting outside employment. Also, in accordance with JMU Policy 1106 Conflict of Interests, no JMU employee or officer shall accept any business or professional opportunity when that employee or officer knows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the opportunity that is being afforded will influence him or her in the performance of his or her official duties. 

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