A two-year classification and compensation study has kicked off for all Fulton County employees, and it will be the first time such a study has been conducted since 1997.

Chip King, project manager for Archer Company, which has been hired by the county to conduct the study, updated the county commissioners with a presentation last week.

“The purpose is to update the county’s pay plan,” King said. “We want to make sure positions are properly classified and ranked based on current duties and responsibilities, and we want to look at the market and make sure pay ranges are competitive.”

Currently, the county uses the Decision Band Method to classify county positions. County spokesperson Jessica Corbitt said it is a letter and number code which is assigned to each position “based on factors such as responsibility, decision-making authority and supervisory functions.”

Each level, she said, has its own corresponding salary range.

“For example, a position at A13 DBM level generally has less decision-making authority and responsibility than a position at C41 and so on,” she said.

King said the current Decision Band Method will be replaced with the Archer Job Evaluation System, which will “give the county a fresh approach to internal equity and ranking of positions.”

He said representatives with the company have been meeting with department managers and other stakeholders to formulate a plan to implement the study, and two issues have been raised.

“We want to make sure we address that,” King said.

The two issues are making sure that there is flexibility in the class structure and that recommendations in the pay plan be “economically feasible and fiscally responsible.”

King said another aspect of the study is to maintain strong communication with the county throughout.

“This is a very large project, and it’s a highly visible project,” he said. “Fulton County demands a high-level of customer attention and customer service throughout this process. The project plan has been carefully designed to maximize employee participation and get their input.”

Kick off for job analysis will be done in groups and began this week.

King said the commissioners will be given quarterly updates throughout the two-year duration, and the next update will be in January.

The project, which will be examining the county’s 6,000 positions covered by 882 job titles, is expected to be complete by February 2014 for implementation in 2015.