1. How do I know if and when my employees will move into a new job family? 

A job family is a group of jobs grouped by the nature of the work performed. Jobs are grouped by work, not department. Depending on your unit/department you may have impacted employees in one, two, or three waves. For each wave, HR Partners will reach out to you prior to implementation with a list of potential impacted employees. You can view examples of functions included in each job family and the proposed implementation schedule on the job family website.  

2. How can I view my direct reports roles in the new job family? 

The job family implementation will occur in three waves. Wave 1 implementation begins on December 1 and will continue through January 2025. Job families in Wave 1 include Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology and Research Administration. A position crosswalk will “walk” currently filled staff positions from the current Job Classification and Compensation System (JCCS) to an updated position in a new job family. 

• Nov 22 – Dec 11, 2024 – Wave 1 executive sponsors will conduct their final review of their job families and position crosswalk with their senior leadership teams, critical stakeholders, and HR Partners. 

• Dec 2 – Dec 13, 2024 – HR Partners will contact Wave 1 leaders to review the crosswalk and list of impacted employees. 

• December 18 – Wave 1 crosswalk and job profiles available on the job family website  

 People leaders can view the crosswalk to locate their employees’ current titles and view their title in the new job family.  

 Position crosswalks for Wave 2 and Wave 3 will be released in 2025. People leaders in Wave 2 and Wave 3 will be engaged by their executive leaders and HR partners during their waves. 

3. I currently have employees who are not in the correct role, what should I do? 

Employees will move from their current role into an equivalent role in the new job family. If you have an employee who is in the incorrect role now, their role must be addressed before moving into a new job family.  

 For Wave 1 Supervisors: From December 2-December 13, HR Partners will work with their business leaders to review all impacted employees. Working together, they will identify each employee as “Wave 1 Ready” or “Not Ready.” All supervisors of employees in an incorrect role should partner with their direct manager, unit executive, and finance and HR partners to identify a solution. This option represents a possibility of a reclassification due to a strategic need of the unit/department or identifying the correct role for the employee. For each employee identified as “NOT READY”, the unit should have a solution for how they plan to navigate forward by Friday, Dec. 13. 

4. I do not agree with my employee’s new job titles, what should I do? 

Job titles reflect the purpose and level of the role as captured in the job profile (job responsibilities + career level).  

• If the job responsibilities and career level are correct, consider leveraging a working title. Working title guidelines can be found here.  

• If the job responsibilities or career level are inaccurate you should partner with your direct manager to discuss further.  

5. I was not consulted about my employees’ new roles and do not agree with where they are mapped in the position crosswalk, what can I do? 

The position crosswalk “walks” current staff roles from the Job Classification and Compensation System (JCCS) to the equivalent role in the new job family.  

• If an employee is in the correct role today, they will be in the appropriate equivalent role in the new job family. 

• If an employee is in an incorrect role today 

• Wave 1 Supervisors – From December 2-December 13, HR Partners will work with their business leaders to review all impacted employees. Working together, they will identify each employee as “Wave 1 Ready” or “Not Ready.” All supervisors of employees in an incorrect role should partner with their direct manager, unit executive, and finance and HR partners to identify a solution. For each employee identified as “NOT READY”, the unit should have a solution for how they plan to navigate forward by Friday, Dec. 13. 

• Wave 2 & 3 Supervisors – Partner with their direct manager, unit executive, and finance and HR partners to identify a solution. 

6. I need to create a new job to hire a new position that doesn’t exist today, can I create the new job profile/description? 

Yes. Please proceed with job creation and/or hiring as usual for your unit or department as your strategic business needs and budget permits.  

1. How do I know which job family I am in, and which wave will include my job? 

The Institute’s existing five staff job families are expanding to twelve. You can view examples of functions included in each job family and the proposed implementation schedule on the job family website.  

2. My current job appears to fall into multiple job families, what will happen to me? 

Every staff position across the Institute will have a defined job family. Refer to the job family website to view the twelve job families.   

3. How can I view my role in the new job family? 

The job family implementation will occur in three waves. Wave 1 implementation begins on December 1 and will continue through January 2025. Job families in Wave 1 include Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology and Research Administration. A position crosswalk will “walk” currently filled staff positions from the current Job Classification and Compensation System (JCCS) to an updated position in a new job family. 

• Nov 22 – Dec 11, 2024 – Wave 1 executive sponsors will conduct their final review of their job families and position crosswalk with their senior leadership teams, critical stakeholders, and HR Partners. 

• Week of Dec 16 – Wave 1 crosswalk available on the job family website.

 The position crosswalk will show current and future titles. The job profile structure tool allows employees to review their new job profiles. A job profile brings together the job responsibilities and career level for a job to outline the general duties of the role. 

 Position crosswalks and job profiles for Wave 2 and Wave 3 will be released in 2025.  

 4. Will my job responsibilities change when I move into the new job family? 

Detailed tasks, expectations, and goals for the role are set at the manager level and are connected to the organization’s strategic goals. One of the benefits of a job framework is that it creates a consistent approach to all staff positions at Georgia Tech, regardless of department or unit. This consistency helps create clear professional growth opportunities and support wage equity.  

 Every job has a job profile which includes the job responsibilities (day-to-day job duties) and career level (degree of responsibility and decision-making authority) for a job. With a goal of creating a more consistent approach, individual employees may notice some job responsibilities have changed in the updated job profile.  

5. Will my salary change when I move into the new job family?  

No, there will be no salary increases or decreases for employees as a direct result of the job family implementation.   

6. I am not in the “right” role now, will that be addressed when I move into the new job family? 

No, the job family implementation is moving an employee from their current role into the equivalent role in the new job family. If you want to understand your current role including view your job description and understand your salary, visit the Compensation website. If you believe your current role is incorrect, reach out to your direct manager to discuss further.  

7. I like my job title now, can I “opt out” of the job family implementation? 

No, employees cannot “opt out” of the job family implementation. Job families are one part of a comprehensive career system and approach we are building at Georgia Tech. The new career system will fully integrate job responsibilities, performance management, and career development for staff roles. Staff employees will have a clear framework to plan, navigate, and advance their career at GT. Job families are the first step on our collective journey to building this modern, comprehensive career system. 

1. What does a promotion look like in the future state?

The Job Families structure will increase transparency, simplify promotions, and enable the equitable recognition of work performance, skills, knowledge, or education/certification attainment. After the implementation, employees will be able to identify possible career paths and promotional opportunities. These opportunities may include progressing from an entry-level to a manager position over time within their department; progressing from manager to director in a different department; or quality and efficiency of work recognized with an increase in pay grade while retaining the same job title.

Annual performance evaluations measure an employee’s work performance and provide feedback to help them improve and grow. The performance evaluation captures how employees apply their knowledge, skills, abilities, and relevant experience to their current role. Once the job family structure is implemented, leaders will use performance evaluations to make informed decisions about promotions, compensation, and development plans.

Reminder: The Job Families structure implementation is not a salary exercise. Guidance and resources to align employee salary with their job responsibilities, expectations, and experience will come later.

2. Are there options to gain the skills and credentials necessary to progress in my career besides obtaining an advanced degree?

GT is committed to developing a world-class workforce committed to enhancing employees’ skills. As part of this commitment in 2023 a multi-year plan was created to improve GT’s ability to develop our employees. Four distributed teams have merged to form a central GTHR Learning & Development (L&D) team to lead a unified approach to employee development. Required and preferred certifications, certificates, and education will be updated as part of the Job Family project. The GTHR L&D team will work on a coordinated effort to create learning programs and tools that support employee’s ability to “upskill,” earn certifications, and continue advancing their career.

1. How will job family salary adjustments be funded? 

The job family initiative and its implementation are a budget-neutral exercise which means no salary increases or decreases will occur as a direct result of a job family. Some salary grades may expand their range, but there will be no changes to the current minimum salaries for any salary grade.  

 Policy states no Georgia Tech employee should be paid below the minimum of their salary grade. It is standard practice for GTHR to regularly run a report to identify employees who fall below the minimum of their salary grade. GTHR then notifies the HR Partner and the unit is responsible for partnering with GTHR and the Budget Office to ensure funding is available to increase employees’ salaries to the minimum of the range. Job family implementation does not impact this practice.  

 Units may conduct an organizational review to identify salary adjustments or reclassifications based on the new job family, but waiting to see the results of job families is not necessary. Unit leaders should partner with their Finance and HR contacts to plan accordingly.  

2. Will my salary change in the new job family? 

No, the job family initiative and its implementation are a budget-neutral exercise which means no salary increases or decreases will occur as part of the job family implementation.  

3. Will the salary ranges change in the new job families? 

Some salary grades may be updated to reflect how the position is currently graded in the external market.  

4. Will there be a plan for annual salary increases with the new job families?  

There are two types of annual salary increases – Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and Merit increases. Both COLA and Merit increases are approved by the State of Georgia and must be approved by the state legislature.  

 Job families are one part of the comprehensive career system we are building that will fully integrate job responsibilities, performance management, and career development. Once implemented, annual performance evaluations will allow leaders to make informed decisions about promotional opportunities.   

5. Will the job families impact “exempt vs. non-exempt status”? 

A role’s exempt or non-exempt status is based on job duties. Learn more about exempt and non-exempt classification status on the GTHR Compensation website. 

6. Will my updated title impact my vacation and sick leave accrual rates? 

Vacation and sick leave accrual rates are determined by a position’s classification type, not the job title. Learn more about vacation and sick leave accruals on the GTHR Benefits website. 

7. Will my current salary impact my new job title? 

No, job titles reflect the purpose and level of the role as captured in the job profile (job responsibilities + career level). Each job is assigned a salary grade which has a salary range. Employee’s salaries must fall within the salary range of their job.  

1. What is the “crosswalk,” what is “reclassification,” and what is the difference?

The Job Families crosswalk is a table that shows jobs at Georgia Tech in their current state, title, description, and responsibilities and what that same job will look like after the Job Families implementation. Some job titles, descriptions, and responsibilities could stay the same, while others will change to better align to their true responsibilities, expectations, and complexity, as well as their job family and job level.

A reclassification is a change to the classification of a staff position which may include changes to the job code, position title (job duties), and pay group. This occurs when there is an authorized and necessary significant change in a role’s scope, impact, complexity, responsibility, and accountability. A unit reclassifies a position to strengthen the connection between the role and the unit’s strategic goals. The difference is that the crosswalk shows how all positions may change as job families are implemented, while a reclassification changes a specific position based on strategic need.

2. How do job descriptions and salaries work for people being hired today?

Employees hired today should proceed with the current job description until further notice. Employees hired today are hired with a job code, position title, and associated salary on the current Job Classification and Compensation System (JCCS). That will not change. Upon implementation we will have updated job codes, position titles, and levels for institute-wide use. As each stage of the Job Family implementation rolls out, all job descriptions within each family will be aligned.

3. Why do some positions seem to be disappearing?

Jobs are not being eliminated, however, job titles may be updated to reflect the job duties and career levels. We are working closely with the executive sponsors of each job family to understand their needs.

Titles are being level-set to ensure Georgia Tech is competitive with the external market in title and salary and will be condensed into fewer titles for accuracy and external alignment. This process will not eliminate any person’s position.

4. What does a promotion look like in the future state?

Currently, Georgia Tech does not have a promotional procedure for staff employees. Job families is the foundation that will allow Georgia Tech to create a fair and equitable promotional pathway for staff employees. The next critical step after establishing job families is implementing a performance evaluation model that supports and promotes career growth. Once fully implemented, leaders will use performance evaluations to make informed decisions about promotions, compensation, and development plans.

Reminder: The Job Families structure implementation is not a salary exercise. Guidance and resources to align employee salary with their job responsibilities, expectations, and experience will come later.

5. Are there options to gain the skills and credentials necessary to progress in my career besides obtaining an advanced degree?

GT is committed to developing a world-class workforce committed to enhancing employees’ skills. Job families are one part of a comprehensive career system and approach that will fully integrate job responsibilities, performance management, and career development. During the Job Family implementation, required and preferred certifications, certificates, and education will be updated for all jobs. As we continue to build our updated career system, the job family updates will inform new and updated learning programs and tools that support employee’s ability to “upskill,” earn certifications, and continue advancing their career. Learn about current opportunities for professional development here.

6. Why isn’t my current title on the published crosswalk?

The transition into the new job family includes assigning a new job code to each job. The live crosswalk is actively being updated as new job codes are confirmed. If you do not see a specific position listed – please stay tuned as it’s being updated in “real-time” as the job codes are finalized. I recognize you are anxious to see your current role listed in the crosswalk and thank you for your patience.