Why we should need Job Evaluation?
• Determining pay and grading structures.
• Ensuring a fair and equal pay system.
• Deciding on the benefits provision- for example, Variable bonuses, car benefits and other related benefits.
• Clearly and separately identify the management jobs as well as specialist jobs.
• Comparing rates against the external market.
• Undergoing organisation al development in times of change.
• Undertaking career management and succession planning.
• Reviewing all jobs post-large-scale change, especially if roles have also changed.
It is essential to have clear, detailed and up to date job descriptions on which to base the job evaluation.
Types of JE schemes.
Analytical schemes: Points factor rating and factor comparison.
Non analytical approaches: job ranking, paired comparison ranking and job classification.
Analytical schemes
Point factor is based on breaking down jobs into factors or key elements. It is assumed that each of the factors will contribute to job size and is an aspect of all the jobs to be evaluated but to different degrees. Using a numerical scale points are allocated to a job under each factor heading according to the extent to which it is presented in the job. All the factor points are added to give a total score which represents job size.
Advantages.
• Provide a rationale which helps in design of graded pay structure.
• Provide evaluators with defined yardsticks which should help them to achieve a reasonable degree of objective and consistency in making judgments.
• Adapts well to computerization.
Disadvantage
• It is still necessary to use judgment in selecting factors, defining levels in factors deciding on weightages.
• Assumes that it is possible to quantify different aspects of jobs on the same scale of values, but job characteristics cannot be added together in this manner.
Factor comparison: compares jobs factor by factor using scale of money values to provide a direct indication of the rate for the job. This traditional method now is little used but there are other two forms of factor comparison methods been used at present are the Graduated factor comparison and Analytical factor comparison.
Graduated factor comparison: deals with comparing job factor by factor using graduated scale. The scale can compromise only of three levels of values such as lower, equal, higher and no factor scores are used.
Analytical factor comparison: also analyses number of defined factors Role analysis take place to assess the extent to which each of these factors or characteristics are present in a role and this analysis is recorded in the form of a role profile. Comparisons are done factor by factor between roles but no scale issued.
Advantages
• It is analytical since it compares roles to roles or roles to grade definitions on a factor-by factor basis.
• Can be used in benchmarking exercises by comparing roles in different job categories or families where there is no common system of analytical evaluation.
Disadvantages.
• Evaluators are not provided with defined yardstick in the shape of level definitions to aid the judgment process.
• It can therefore appear to be more subjective and prone to bias than point factor schemes.
Written by
Chamira Morawaka
Solutions Consultant – Enterprise Solutions Team
