Compensation Philosophy

As an organization, we value change and innovation, different perspectives, and openness to new ideas. We strive to create and maintain a culture of professionalism, collaboration, transparency, inclusivity, people development, and process improvement. We believe in assuming best intentions and being empathetic and open in our interactions. We want a positive and healthy work environment where employees feel valued, connected to each other, and have the knowledge that they make a meaningful difference in the lives of students and communities.

• We want to be an employer of choice in our community.
• We believe compensation is an important tool in a system for supporting, reinforcing, and aligning employees with our mission, vision, values, and long-range plan. 
• We strive for fair and equitable pay programs that are easily understood and financially sustainable.
• We are committed to practicing equity and providing equal opportunity.
• We strive for transparent, two-way communication while practicing active listening. 
• ESD 105 is built on stability, reliability, and longevity, and we want to provide that in our relationship with our employees.

• To attract and retain qualified and dedicated employees passionate about the mission.
• To have a competitive and fair compensation and benefits package.
• To comply with laws and regulations.
• To be easy to administer, understand, and apply consistently.
• To be transparent, we provide communication about our compensation practices and processes. 
• To be financially sustainable within available resources.

We want our compensation package to be competitive in our labor market and to help our employees meet their financial goals. We will periodically research pay and benefits for similar jobs to ensure we know relevant compensation trends and remain competitive. Market data, internal value of our positions, stewardship of our funding, and sustainability will inform our pay structure and the pay range for each job.

Market Position
We want our compensation package to be competitive in our labor market and to help our employees meet their financial goals. We will periodically research pay and benefits for similar jobs to ensure we know relevant compensation trends and remain competitive. Market data, internal value of our positions, stewardship of our funding, and sustainability will inform our pay structure and the pay range for each job.  

At ESD 105, internal equity means compensating employees similarly when they perform comparable work. We recognize there are valid reasons for pay differences, such as work experience, job longevity, education, and certifications. We will consider those factors when determining employees' pay. 

We are committed to:

• Following laws, regulations, and our policies and procedures.
• Making pay decisions without regard to protected characteristics and maintaining pay equity.
• Providing clear and concise policies that show how pay is determined.

The benefits program is a vital component of any compensation package. We strive to provide a competitive benefits program that meets the needs of employees and is financially sustainable. Our robust benefits package gives us a competitive edge. We support work-life balance and strive to provide offerings that are relevant to all employees at every stage of life. 

We believe that providing growth and development opportunities for our employees attracts and retains talent that supports the organization's mission and values. We also want internal growth and promotion opportunities to contribute to the enrichment of the whole person. We are building a leadership learning framework to develop technically sound, adaptive, people-centric, and growth-minded leaders. We plan to create and implement tools for leaders to use while providing coaching and professional development conversations with employees. 

We are passionate about recognizing employee contributions and service and do so using a variety of methods in our agency recognition program. ESD 105 is a government agency funded primarily by grants, and strict requirements regarding how money is spent limit opportunities for monetary recognition. We will continue to examine ways of recognizing efforts while adhering to funding requirements.

We value transparency, and that extends to compensation. We will demonstrate this by sharing compensation policies and practices, pay ranges, and job levels, and we will ensure this information is accessible to all staff. 

We recognize that employees have options regarding where they work. We strive to be an employer of choice in our geography. We want a total compensation package that helps attract and retain skilled employees while remaining competitive. Therefore, we will review our compensation and benefits program periodically.