Segal audit finds slow reclassification process, recommends market-based pay strategy for Montgomery County

The Montgomery County Council Audit Committee on Oct. 14 heard a presentation of an independent classification and compensation audit ordered by the Merit System Protection Board and conducted by Segal. The audit found outdated job specifications, long delays in handling reclassification requests and a compensation system that is internally consistent but insufficiently tied to external market conditions.

The audit, contracted in 2023 and performed over calendar year 2024, examined classification and compensation processes, an employee survey, market comparisons for 77 classifications, pay-equity metrics and the county’s Qualitative Evaluation System (QES). Paula Singer of the Segal Group summarized the work and initial recommendations. “We think that the processes should be redesigned and shortened in order to give employees responses in a timely fashion,” Singer said.

Segal reported that managers and employees lack consistent access to job documentation: only about 33% of managers knew how to request reclassifications and 65% of employees knew where to find their job descriptions. For reclassification files Segal requested, the average time to complete an individual classification review was…