Factors in Job evaluation
Job evaluators often assess jobs based on these factors:
- Training level or qualifications requirements
- Knowledge and skills requirements
- Complexity of tasks
- Interaction with various levels of the organization
- Problem-solving and independent judgment
- Accountability and responsibility
- Decision-making authority
- Degree of supervision required
- Cross-training requirements
- Working conditions
- Degree of difficulty in filling job
Analyze Job evaluation Methods
Before implementing job evaluation in your organization, select the most appropriate job evaluation method. Hundreds of job evaluation systems exist. Research the job evaluation methods and resources available online. Five job evaluation systems are most commonly used:
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Ranking - Ranking jobs is the easiest, fastest, and least expensive approach to job evaluation. It is also most effective in smaller organizations with few job classifications. To rank positions, order jobs from highest to lowest based on their relative value to your organization. The process of job ranking typically assigns more value to jobs that require managerial or technical competencies. More value is also assigned to jobs that supervise, exercise decision-making authority, or rely on independent judgment. For example, a job-ranking system might rank the job of CEO as the most valued job within the organization and the job of product assembler as the least valued.
Advantages: Simplicity is the main advantage in using a ranking system. It is also easy to communicate the results to employees, and it is easy to understand.
Disadvantages: Ranking jobs is subjective. Jobs are evaluated, and their value and complexity are often assessed on the basis of opinion. Also, when creating a new job, existing jobs must be reranked to accommodate the new position.
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Classification - The general purpose of job classification is to create and maintain pay grades for comparable work across your organization.
To conduct a job classification: First, write descriptions for a category of jobs; next, develop standards for each job category by describing the key characteristics of those jobs in the category; finally, match all jobs to the categories based on the similarity of tasks, the decision-making exercised, and the job's contribution to the organization's overall goals.
Universities, government employers and agencies, and other large organizations with limited resources typically use job classification systems. These types of organizations have many types of jobs at diverse locations and must maintain equitable and fair standards across all work settings.
Advantage: Job classification is simple once you establish your categories. You can assign new jobs and jobs with changing responsibilities within the existing system.
Disadvantages: Job classification is subjective, so jobs mightfall into several categories. Decisions rely on the judgment of the job evaluator. Job evaluators must evaluate jobs carefully because similar titles might describe different jobs from different work sites.
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Point evaluation - Point evaluation is the most widely used job evaluation method. In a point evaluation system, you express the value of a particular job in monetary terms. You first identify compensable factors that a group of jobs possess. Based on these factors, you assign points that numerically represent the description and range of the job.
Examples of compensable factors are skills required, level of decision-making authority, number of reporting staff members, and working conditions.
Advantage: This method is often viewed as less biased than other methods because the job evaluator assigns each job's total points before the compensable factors become part of the equation.
Disadvantages: Subjective decisions about compensable factors and the associated points assigned might be dominate. The job evaluator must be aware of biases and ensure that they are not represented in points assigned to jobs that are traditionally held by minority and female employees.
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Factor comparison - Job evaluators rank jobs that have similar responsibilities and tasks according to points assigned to compensable factors. The evaluators then analyze jobs in the external labor market to establish the market rate for such factors. Jobs across the organization are then compared to the benchmark jobs according to the market rate of each job's compensable factors to determine job salaries.
Advantage: This method results in customized job-ranking.
Disadvantage: Compensable factor comparison is a time-consuming and subjective process.
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Market comparison - Job evaluators compare compensation for your organization's jobs to the market rate for similar jobs. This method requires accurate market-pricing surveys.
Contributing in Developing Salary Scales
Job evaluation is a powerful tool in determining the compensation and benefits of the employees. With the help of Job evaluating method like Job classification, where in the jobs are grouped together on the basis of difficulty level and responsibility helping it to grade it accordingly. This intern determines the salary scale of that grade therefore developing the salary structure of an Organization. A job evaluation scheme, with an exact procedure, can help maintain the credibility and acceptability of a grading structure. Properly introduced and maintained, job evaluation can help lay the foundation of fair and orderly pay structures and thus improve relationships. It helps gather information to develop job descriptions that meet the changing needs of the organization which helps in redefining the pay structure so that the new employees are happy as well as old employees are easily fitted into it. Thus by implementing a successful job evaluation, an organization can develop an equitable compensation plan and attract and retain high-performing and talented employees.
Conclusion
From this we can say that job evaluation provides a transparent framework, which helps in creating the foundation of fair and appropriate pay structures giving an environment where in discrimination cannot take place against any employee as far as the pay, and kind of work is concerned.
