Dear colleagues,

I am writing to update you on a critically important university effort, our Career Path Development project. This project is designed to provide university employees an understanding of where their current position fits within the broader university-wide structure and, more importantly, a clear pathway toward their professional goals and career advancement at the university.

As announced in October 2022, this project will create a new job classification structure that helps the university meet its goal of building effective, best-in-class human resource programs to attract and retain top talent. Human Resources is partnering with Mercer Consulting, a leader in the successful implementation of similar efforts at higher education institutions across the country. Mercer’s expertise, coupled with the range of perspectives on UVM’s project steering committee (pdf), continues to guide the university’s design, development, and implementation of this modern new structure. The project has benefitted from the input of many on campus, including early opportunities for review and input from each of our employee unions.

At this time, the project’s initial planning and discovery phase is complete and the project team is working to create a sound job architecture. The architecture organizes university positions into “job families” and creates various “sub-families” and “career streams” within those families. This structure will enable employees and managers to engage in meaningful conversations about how UVM staff can grow their careers and gain recognition for their professional accomplishments during their years of service.  

In the coming weeks, the project team will work to align the proposed structure to existing positions and organizational structures. Throughout this process there will be opportunities for all employees to learn more and provide input regarding the final structure. I encourage you to stay informed about the project’s progress by visiting the Career Path Development website. Specific questions or input may be submitted via this Qualtrics Form.  

Sincerely,

Suresh V. Garimella
President