On April 10, University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe endorsed the Total Rewards Ad Hoc Task Force recommendations, which were also presented to the UM Board of Curators. The recommendations are directional in nature. They call for the university community collectively to reimagine its university experience, and they focus on benefits such as medical plans, retirement, time-off and more.
Visit the Reimagining Our University Experience webpage to read the task force’s full report, watch an introductory video and provide feedback. During the coming months, university leadership, the Retirement and Staff Benefits Committee and Total Rewards staff will gather faculty, staff and retiree input to further define new directions for Total Rewards. Implementation of plan changes will be ongoing.
The task force’s recommendations are to:
• Treat benefits and pay as interrelated parts of overall Total Rewards strategy
• Establish a benefits rate cap
• Increase flexibility within Total Rewards programs
• Utilize medical plan options to lower costs and encourage healthy behavior
• Leverage marketplace opportunities for retiree medical benefits
• Evaluate additional Retirement Plan options
• Evaluate time off plans for staff
• Invest in communication, education and behavior change
Formed in June 2013, the task force was composed of faculty, staff and retirees from all campuses who reflected the diverse experiences and perspectives of the university population, particularly across generations, length of service and types of employees. While they have concluded their work, task force members identified a number of findings during their 11 months of work and summarized them in the full report. Two important findings were that:
• A 2010 survey of university employees in all age groups indicated that pay was by far the most valued component of their Total Rewards Package.
• Employees indicate that they often do not understand the benefits available to them.
The findings also revealed other aspects of Total Rewards—beyond pay—that are important to faculty, staff and retirees. University leadership is focused on gathering input from across the university community in order to understand and place importance on what employees value most.
Task force members reviewed relevant literature, listened to presentations from experts across the campuses and outside the university, and interviewed leaders from each campus and MU Health Care. They also reviewed workforce demographics and extensive data on university pay and benefits programs. The task force did not receive personal information about any faculty or staff member during their work. The group worked with the UM System’s vice president of human resources to develop and communicate their recommendations.
