IMPLEMENTING THE DIFFERENTIATED PAY STRUCTURE MODEL - PROCESS AND OUTCOMES

Objective: A salaried Differentiated Pay Structure (DPS) model based o n the work of Dr.Virginia Cleland was tested on two units. The project objectives were to: 1) create a budget-neutral compensation distincti on for different competencies and educational levels; 2) evaluate the effect of the new salaried model on unit costs and pay; 3) determine t he effect of the DPS model on job satisfaction, organizational commitm ent, and anticipated turnover; and 4) assess the impact of professiona l commitment, professional practice climate, perception of staffing ad equacy, and dispositional optimism on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and anticipated turnover. Background: Although there has been long-standing interest in salaried models and reward methodologie s, there is a dearth of systematic research associated with specific c ompensation models. Methods: A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent cont rol group design was used to examine the effects of the DPS model. Res ults: Findings demonstrated that nurses were paid more under the DPS m odel, and that they were paid for more hours than they actually worked (N = 68). No difference in job satisfaction was found between experim ental and control groups. For all nurses (N = 232) dispositional optim ism was associated with all job satisfaction subscales except pay Orga nizational commitment, professional commitment, professional practice climate, and staffing adequacy were also correlated with job satisfact ion, perceptions of care quality and anticipated turnover. Older nurse s who had worked longer in nursing, and who had more tenure were less satisfied with their coworkers and care quality Conclusion: Further lo ngitudinal research with larger experimental samples is required in or der to fully understand the effects of the DPS model in nursing.