Aerial view of the Madison isthmus with Lake Mendota on the left
Human Resources
Erin Hillson, Human Resources Director

Compensation Study

Background

HR has partnered with Baker Tilly to conduct a Classification and Compensation Study. This includes:

  • A review of positions to ensure internal equity and external competitiveness within our labor market.
  • A comparison of our benefits offerings.
  • A review of our pay policies and pay practices.
  • A review of pay equity with regards to gender, race, and age.

November 2025 Update

Below you will find the tentative findings of the city-wide Compensation and Classification study which has been conducted over the past year. Some of the key highlights of the study’s findings include:

  1. In general, City compensation is very similar to that of our closest market competitors, even when not factoring in the up to 12% longevity that City employees benefit from
  2. Notably, 86% of City positions are “at” or “leading” market at the midpoint.  This means that the vast majority of our positions are paid about the same, or even more than the organizations we were compared to.
  3. Only 3.5% of City positions were significantly lagging the market, and most of those were hourly positions.  
  4. The benefits we provide are equivalent to, or better than, that of most of the other Cities we were compared to.

Before going through these, there are a few things I need to remind you of:

  • These proposed pay plans need to be aged forward to add the (generally 3%) wage increases employees received at the beginning of this year.
  • These findings are still being finalized and the report completed.  
  • The changes proposed as a result of the compensation study, including the new pay plans, will need to be implemented as part of next year’s budget process, including approval by the Common Council. Before that occurs, HR will develop a training and implementation plan that they will use to provide recommendations to decision makers. 

Recommendations: Final Title and Grade Recommendations

Access the November 2025 Recording & Slide Deck: November 2025 Listening Sessions

Process Outline

The compensation and classification study will be completed in 6 phases, including:

  1. Project Initiation
  2. Market Assessment
  3. Position Review
  4. Pay Plan Development
  5. Additional Deliverables
  6. Project Completion

If you have any questions, please reach out to HR@cityofmadison.com. 

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Compensation