The nine-month-long Public Service compensation review, which is being conducted by consultancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Limited (PwC), has been categorised into six essential phases.
The phases have been outlined in a Project Inception Report submitted to the Government of the Virgin Islands. The six phases include project planning, current state assessment, compensation philosophy & revised classification system, compensation review, job evaluation methodology and project close.
The project planning phase began on November 2, 2022 and has already been completed. As such, PwC is now in the current state assessment stage which began on November 24 and is scheduled to conclude on January 10, 2023. The compensation philosophy & revised classification system phase will begin on December 20 and conclude on March 30, 2023 and will immediately be followed by the fourth phase.
While the project planning phase set the tone for engagement, via a kick-off meeting with the project sponsor and key stakeholders as well as the development of the inception report, the current state assessment phase will focus on the “as is” state of the Public Service. During this phase, potential issues will be identified and key documentation will be reviewed to build an understanding of the Public Service, the purpose of the compensation review, the benefits and the desired outcomes. This also includes conducting interviews with key public officers and engaging union groups.
In the third phase, a compensation philosophy revised classification system will be developed and will encompass a review of leading practice classifications and Job coding frameworks such as The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
From March 31 to July 24, 2023 a Compensation Review Report will be drafted during the fourth phase which will include survey instrument design, sample of jobs, comparator organisations, analysis of raw data, and pension structure assessments.
Meanwhile, the fifth step will begin immediately following the completion of the Compensation Review Report on July 25, 2023 and entails developing an understanding of the Public Service’s current approach to job evaluation. Limitations or areas of concern will be assessed. Inception and implementation will be reviewed and key Stakeholders will be engaged to offer feedback.
Finally, the sixth and last phase will consist of project close-out meetings and next steps for implementation. The final phase will be carried out from August 22 – 29, 2023.