Simplified: Employees in the City of Sioux Falls have highly competitive wages, according to a study comparing the city's compensation to others in the market.
Why it matters
- The study was part of the city's "Employer of Choice" plan that came out last spring to bring one-time, $2,000 bonuses to full-time city employees as well as other recruitment and retention incentives.
- The city hired consulting firm Gallagher to conduct the study at the cost of $115,000. Principal Consultant Mike Verdoorn shared findings Tuesday, including an overall trend of employers nationwide focusing more on the need to invest in employees via recruitment and retention.
- The biggest takeaway specific to Sioux Falls was that the city's salary and benefits structures are competitive with peers.
"The city has done a good job of ensuring that we are remaining competitive in the marketplace as a whole," Human Resources Director Bill O'Toole said.
Tell me some of the specifics
Both salaried and hourly employees have highly competitive wages, Verdoorn said.
Sioux Falls also slightly leads the market with vacation leave, though it's a little behind on sick leave.
On the benefits side, Sioux Falls pays a lower percentage of the costs of health care, but the city's out-of-pocket maximum is much lower than peers.
What happens next?
The city is going to take the study and and look at any individual positions that need adjustments. O'Toole said the goal by the end of the first quarter is to have identified all the positions that need a move.
The next step will then be to look at the "inflation side of the equation," O'Toole said, adding that there are more recommendations to come on that front.
All of this information will help inform the city as it prepares to enter union negotiations later this year with different groups.
