Employee Retention and Recruitment
Recurring Request $2,313,235
An increasingly competitive workforce environment for critical staff positions is making it very difficult to retain current employees and fill open positions essential to the daily operations of the Clemson University Experiment Station, Cooperative Extension Service, Regulatory Services and Livestock Poultry Health.
To ensure our ability to continue to provide high-quality service across all of our mission areas, we are seeking funds to bring the salaries of our current employees within the current market range. To do this, the University Human Resources Department has researched the current market for each of our job classifications relative to agencies we compete with for quality hires. They have also assessed each staff position to determine the appropriate individual employee compensation within the market range based on the employee’s years of service and performance.
Clemson University’s compensation strategy is to make compensation competitive for comparable jobs based on the geography from which the job is recruited. Wherever possible, Clemson attempts to apply multiple external and internal data sources in order to support the most effective evidence-based decisions. For staff, Clemson looks at local, regional and national geographies and makes comparisons with publicand private-sector employers and other higher education institutions (where applicable). The data sources for the market analysis of staff positions include PayFactors, CUPA-HR, CompData and the Southern Region Land Grant Administrative Heads Salary Survey.
The requested funds will be used to adjust the salaries of current PSA-funded staff positions based on the market analyses and demonstrated performance to retain our experienced, highly qualified employees. We will also adjust starting salaries to reflect the employment market rates to allow us to recruit highly qualified staff and continue to provide the level of service that is essential to South Carolina’s agriculture and natural resources economy.
Facts and Stats
Position vacancy rate:
- 10.6 percent 2020
- 12 percent 2021
- 16 percent 2022
PSA and Cooperative Extension have employees located across South Carolina. Many are in areas with a high cost of living (coastal areas like Georgetown and Charleston, urban areas like Greenville and Columbia), which creates a challenge to recruit and retain our highest performers.
