FY 2017 PERFORMANCE-BASED RETENTION PAY PLAN.PDF

FY 2017 Performance-Based Retention Pay Plan
Initiating Department: Human Resources
Board of Supervisor’s Approval Date: 06/22/2016 (C-31-16-039-6-00)
I. Purpose
This discretionary plan helps address retention and recruitment issues that exist in every department
throughout the County and assists with incentivizing employees’ performance so that they are
engaged and continue to provide quality services to the residents of Maricopa County.
II. Applicability
This plan applies to all Maricopa County elected offices, appointed departments, and special districts as
well as the Judicial Branch. Administration of this plan for chief deputies, chiefs of staff, and assistant
chiefs of staff for elected officials, and the direct reports to the Board and County Manager, shall be at
the discretion of the elected official or County Manager within allocated plan funds.
III. Plan
A. Departments have two tools to address their retention issues:
1. Performance-based retention increases where higher performers earn more than
employees who are meeting expectations; and
2. Critical recruitment and retention increases to address market and compression issues
that impact retention of high performers or recruitments of difficult to fill vacancies.
3. Some of the funding can also be used to increase exempt employees to the newly
proposed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum salary threshold; $22.83 ($47,476).
B. The cost of each department’s implementation plan may not exceed two and a half percent
(2.5%) of the budgeted regular salaries and associated variable benefits for eligible employees.
C. Effective Date: July 4, 2016; there are no midyear increases.
IV. Eligibility Criteria
A. Be a full or part-time classified, contract or unclassified employee.
B. Hired into and continuously employed in a regular non-temporary status as of June 30, 2015.
C. Performance Appraisal: Completed within FY 2016 or 2017 with a rating of meets or higher.
1. Departments with employees on non-disciplinary or disciplinary leave who do not have
current performance appraisals should contact Employee Compensation.
D. Employees who were promoted, transferred or voluntarily demoted are eligible as long as they
meet the other criteria.
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FY 2017 Performance-Based Retention Pay Plan
E. Employees involuntarily demoted for failure to pass probation or a disciplinary demotion on or
after July 1, 2015 are not eligible.
F. Employees who terminate before July 4, 2016 are not eligible to receive an increase.
V. Consistency
A. Departments have discretion to determine increases as a percentage of base pay or an hourly
dollar amount. The consistency rules below apply only to performance-based retention pay.
1. The highest percentage or amount awarded to any employee within the same MRT and with a
specific performance rating must be less than the lowest percentage or amount awarded to
any employee in the same MRT with the next higher performance rating.
2. To mitigate compression, eligible employees with less than two (2) years of continuous
employment in a regular non-temporary status must be awarded less than the lowest
percentage or amount awarded to employees with two (2) or more years of continuous
employment in a regular non-temporary status within the same MRT and with a specific
performance rating.
VI. Funding Allocation
The Office of Management and Budget will analyze the funding requirements of departmental plans
and submit an agenda to the Board of Supervisors to adjust appropriations as necessary to provide
budget capacity, where allowable and appropriate, for the performance-based awards. Special
revenue funds are expected to pay for their awards where allowed.
VII. Approval and Implementation
A. Departments will be provided spreadsheets and are expected to verify that all eligible
employees are included and that employee-level information is correct.
B. The County Manager will receive a spreadsheet with the executives (deputy director and above)
for all of the appointed departments.
C. For the purposes of this plan, employees’ salaries may exceed the maximum of the market
range with the concurrence of Employee Compensation. In situations where the market range is
current and the employees are considered “red lined”, a one-time lump sum may be offered.
D. The County Manager may approve variations to the plan that are within the department’s
allocated funding.
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