Employer Profile

Top 10 ranking: No. 9 for retention, No. 5 benefits, No. 1 for diversity, No. 5 career development Any IT employee who works after-hours, puts in on-call hours or responds to after-hours problems will appreciate the latest changes at this prestigious university in Coral Gables, Fla. This past year, the University of Miami completely restructured its compensation plan to convert IT staff members who handle after-hours tasks to hourly paid employees. In 2008, in addition to an annual 3% salary merit raise, many IT staffers received thousands of dollars in incremental pay for the duties they were responsible for in 2007. The university also completely restructured its employee benefits offerings in 2008, adopting a new program called UMatter. All employees, IT staffers included, now enjoy a more comprehensive set of coordinated, enhanced plans that the employees themselves played a role in developing. The restructuring was the result of feedback from faculty and staff, which included focus groups, an online survey completed by more than 3,000 employees and discussions with the newly formed Employee Benefits Advisory Council. The UMatter Wellness program, in particular, is a staff favorite. The wellness centers on both the Coral Gables and Miller School of Medicine campuses have developed programs to better meet the needs of faculty and staff. The Coral Gables campus wellness center now opens a half-hour earlier and offers a revitalized curriculum of weight management and nutritional courses. IT staffers are given the flexibility to arrange their work schedules so they can go the wellness center throughout the day.