The State Personnel Board should engage in strategic planning, improve the sophistication and technical precision of staff operations, and increase its level of communications and services to state agencies. The board’s strong posturing in salary budget control and its regulatory activities clash with the board’s mission to assist state agency heads in organizing and motivating the state work force. The variable compensation plan as designed was a model program, but in recent years the board has not administered the “realignment” feature in accordance with the original concept. Although conducted in good faith by the board’s staff, labor market surveys are methodologically flawed by sample selection oversights, subjective adjustments, and erroneous interpretations which result in incomplete and inaccurate comparative data on the salary levels needed to attract applicants and retain state employees.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.