Pay and Rewards
Staff Performance Management and Salary Planning Guide
To support the merit process, Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) has published the Staff Performance Management and Salary Planning Guide, a resource for the university community to provide detailed guidance and FAQs for staff. We invite you to check out this guide as you approach each step of the Performance Management and merit process. An updated guide will be available in late Fall.
How is pay for new employees determined at GW?
GW has a longstanding commitment to treating our employees equitably and fairly in all aspects of employment, including in compensation.
Human Resources (HR) has established competitive pay ranges within each position classification, which provide a framework for determining the appropriate starting salary. Hiring managers, in close consultation with HR, propose the starting salary within that range. Actual compensation within the range will be dependent upon a number of factors, including, the individual's relevant skills, work experience, education, qualifications, departmental budget, internal equity, and demand for qualified candidates. While there is no single “going rate” for a job, our salaries aim to attract, reward, and retain employees.
Annual Salary Planning
Annual Salary Planning is also referred to as the Annual Merit Increase Process at GW. Every year one part of the GW’s Board of Trustees annual evaluation of the overall health of the organization is to work to provide for the acknowledgment and reward of staff engagement and accomplishments, related to performance. When financially supported, GW typically offers an annual merit review process.
Compensation partners with university leadership, financial leaders, and HRMD colleagues to define and administer the merit award strategy.
The guiding principles of the Staff Annual Salary Planning and Administration include:
- Merit is related to employee performance, and reviewing performance is required to award merit.
- Managers evaluate performance, and managers initiate merit requests.
- Merit awards consider performance over the full performance year; merit awards are typically prorated if an employee starts their position further into the performance year.
- Final merit awards are evaluated to consider:
- Overall merit strategy
- Fairness and consistency
- Budget
Regular employees will be considered for merit increases related to work performance. Managers evaluate employee performance, and managers initiate merit requests. Guidelines for merit rate increases are recommended by Human Resource Management and Development and approved by senior management of the university and are based on a pay-for-performance principle. For more information, please see the Performance Management section.
Staff Performance Management and Salary Planning Guide
Incentives at GW
In addition to base salary, GW provides for the strategic use of incentives to meet critical goals of the university. Managers can consider the use of incentive pay based on evaluation of a number of factors.