Summary of Report 01-702

October 2000

Report Number 01-702

The Position Classification Plan (Plan) should be changed to ensure that it meets the needs of the State. The Plan should adequately cover the jobs state employees perform and provide internal consistency between jobs. It is important that the Plan be broad enough to cover similar jobs at different agencies while maintaining an appropriate number of classes. Fewer classes make the Plan easier and less expensive to manage. The number of classes in Texas' Plan is among the lowest in the nation, as Governing recognized in its February 1999 issue.

• The estimated cost of implementing recommended changes would be between $30,962,361 and $56,002,222 for the biennium. Changing positions to higher salary groups, which provides for competitive salaries and better consistency between classes, accounts for the majority of the estimated cost. The minimum cost to reallocate the MHMR series by two salary groups is $28,050,864.
  
  
• The initial cost of the recommended changes appears to outweigh the cost associated with turnover. The turnover cost in fiscal year 1999 has been conservatively estimated to be between $127 and $254 million. Turnover data collection problems affect data analysis and, in turn, recommendations for appropriate solutions. The recommended changes, however, should help to reduce the significant costs associated with turnover.
  
  
• The cumulative effect of Plan changes would reduce the number of classes in the Plan from 927 to 906. The majority of Plan changes occurred within the Law Enforcement occupational category.
  
  
• Four options are provided for increasing the flexibility of the Correctional Officer series. Additional flexibility is needed to address the difficulty in recruiting and retaining Correctional Officers.

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