Total Rewards

Now, and Into the Future

In July 2018, City of Portland’s Bureau of Human Resources, recognizing the challenges the current labor market presents, made the strategic decision to take a "total rewards" approach. As a result, the department of Total Rewards was created; Occupational Health, Benefits, and Classification and Compensation were merged into one, more agile team.

Our goal is to use the key elements of Total Rewards: Work/Life effectiveness, benefits, and compensation to attract, motivate, engage, and retain employees. In the short-term, primary focus will be on the following three categories: 

• System and Data structure - Maximizing use of current and new systems that will allow BHR to collect and analyze data to better support the decision-making process.
• Communication – Exploring and using all communication outlets such as social media, web sites, and physical postings, to empower current, new, and potential employees to understand all offerings related to well-being, benefits, and compensation.
• Policy Design – Fortifying City of Portland with policies around Total Rewards programs that will offer transparency and clarity while complying with federal, state, and City laws.

We have begun meeting with bureau directors and managers, gathering feedback on how the department can better serve business needs, areas that need attention, and ideas that can eliminate unnecessary steps in the overall review process. Feedback has enabled us to make progress in successfully attracting new talent, improving relationships, and providing context. Enhancing efficiencies and promoting innovation through new systems will allow us to deliver further outcomes on all fonts.

We have a lot of important issues and changes to communicate, such as job architecture and pay equity, deferred compensation, benefits information, and most importantly well-being initiatives that will allow you to be at your best every day you come to work, whether it is in the new Portland Building or in any other of the City's 169 work locations. More to come....

Total Rewards Leadership Team

Nicolle.Wynia-Eide@portlandoregon.gov Class Comp Supervisor

Michelle.Taylor@portlandoregon.gov Benefits Supervisor

Joel.Michels@portlandoregon.gov Occupational Health Manager

Mike.Fryer@portlandoregon.gov Data Analyst