Module 5 Flashcards
What is the focus of Job-Based Pay structures?
> Job Evaluation
What is job evaluation?
> Job Evaluation is the process of determining the relative worth of jobs and creates the foundation for the pay structure.
What are three components of job evaluations?
1) How to Determine what to value in a Job;
2) How to Quantify this Value;
3) How to Translate the Value into Job Structure (Hierarchy of All Jobs)
What is job content?
> Refers to all the skills required for the job, its duties and responsibilities.
What is job value?
> Refers to the relative contribution of the job to the organization’s goals.
What is the link to the external market?
> If the skills required to do the job content demand high wages in the market, then skill would be a useful way to distinguish between jobs in the evaluation.
Researchers have their own perspectives on job evaluation; what is it?
> if job value can be quantified then job evaluation also takes on measurement characteristics such as objective, numerical, documented and reliable.
Job evaluation - establishing the purpose involves:
> Supports the organization’s strategy by including what it is about work that adds value contributes to the organization’s objectives.
> Supports the workflow by integrating each job’s pay with its relative contribution to the organization.
> Can reduce disputes and grievances over pay differences that decrease the role that chance, favouritism and bias may play in setting pay.
> Must befair to employees.
What is a single plan?
> A single plan uses the same factors to evaluate all job families across the organization.
What is multiple plans?
> Multiple plans use different evaluation plans for different job families (ie. clerical vs management vs production).
What is ranking? How many ranking methods are there?
> Ranking is a job evaluation method that ranks jobs from highest to lowest based on a global definition of value. There are two common methods: Alternation Ranking and Paired Comparison Methods.
The Alternation Ranking method is:
> The Alternation Ranking method ranks the highest and lowest jobs first whereas in the Compared Comparison Method lists all jobs across columns and down rows of a matrix and compares two jobs in each cell and determines which job is of greater value.
> Then jobs are ranked based on the total number of times each job is ranked of being of greater value.
What are classification methods?
> Classification methods are widely used in the public sector and based on job class descriptions into which jobs can be categorized.
> General class descriptions are created and benchmarked jobs are slotted into each class.
> Then the written job descriptions are compared to the class description, which are anchored with the benchmark jobs.
Benchmark Jobs have contents that are:
> well known and relatively stable over time; the job is common across a number of different employers; it is not unique to a particular employer.
Typically a job evaluation plan is developed using:
> using benchmark jobs, and then the plan is applied to the remaining non-benchmark jobs.
Point Method Plans (Recommended By Pay Equity) all have the following common characteristics:
1) Compensable factors
2) Numerically scaled factor degrees
3) Weights that reflect the relative importance of each factor
What does the point method entail?
> The point method assigns a number of points to each job based on compensable factors that are numerically scaled and weighed. The sum of the points for each job determines its position in the job structure.
What are the six steps in the he Design of a Point Plan?
- Conduct Job Analysis
- Determine Compensable Factors
- Scale the Factors
- Weigh the Factors According to Importance
- Communicate the Plan and Train Users
- Apply to Non-benchmark jobs
What are compensable factors and what are they based on?
> Compensable Factors are characteristics in the work environment that the organization values that help it pursue its strategy and achieve its objectives.
> Factors are based on the work itself, strategy and values of the organization and acceptable to the stakeholders.
What are compensable factors based on / what do they reflect?
> Are based on the strategy and values of the organization: jobs that align more closely to this are evaluated more highly.
> Factors based on the work performed implies that the factors reflect the work performed in the organization
> Acceptable to the stakeholders reflects that all are involved in the process
Factors from existing plans demonstrate four generic groups:
> skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
Scales within the factors need to be enough degrees to do what?
> be enough degrees to adequately distinguish jobs but not so many that it is difficult to determine which degree is appropriate for a given job.
What do weights do?
> Weights reflect the importance of that to the organization and can be done either by committee judgement or statistical analysis.
What are factor weights applied to?
> Factor weights are assigned to each factor to reflect differences in importance attached to each factor by the employer.
What is a criterion pay structure?
> Criterion Pay Structure: The structure may be chosen based on current rates paid for benchmark jobs, market rates for benchmark jobs, rates for predominantly male jobs or union negotiated rates. The Criterion Pay Structure step is key as the weights are based on it.
A job evaluation manual should be prepared for use by what groups?
> for use by employees and managers charged with the responsibility to implement job evaluation (usually a committee).
> Users must be trained to use the manual.
Finally, it is necessary to combine factor scales and weights to translate them to what?
> actual job points.
How are factor scales and weights combined and translated into actual job points?
> This is done by dividing maximum points for the system among the factors according to their weights and each degree of a factor is given an equal number of points based on the points for that factor.
Who should be involved in job evaluations?
> Those involved should be those who require relevant information and can commit a high degree of involvement in the assessment of the evaluation and structures.
What is notable about: evaluation and appeals/review processes?
> Evaluation Usefulness of Results: The Design Process Matters. Make sure you attend to the fairness of the overall design and the approach chosen.
> Appeals/Review Procedures: No matter the process, some jobs are evaluated incorrectly; a review process to handle such cases and to help ensure procedural justice (fairness) is required.
Define job evaluation:
> process of systematically determining the relative worth of jobs to create a job structure within an organization
The evaluation is based on:
> on a combination of job content, skills required,
value to the organization, organizational culture, and the external market
What is considered a strength and a challenge to job evaluation?
> This potential to blend organizational forces and external market forces is both a strength and a challenge of job evaluation.
Major Decisions in Job Evaluation:
Establish purpose of evaluation
Decide whether to use single or multiple plans.
Choose among alternative approaches.
Obtain involvement of relevant stakeholders.
Evaluate the usefulness of the plan.
A structure is aligned if it:
supports organization strategy,
supports work flow,
is fair to employees, and
motivates behavior toward organization objectives.
Establishing a purpose helps ensure the evaluation is:
> is a useful systematic process.
The number of job evaluation plans hinges on:
> how detailed it needs to be
to make pay decisions, and how much it will cost.
What is job ranking and what are two types:
> Raters examine job description and arrange jobs according to their value to the company
Types: Simple, Alternation & Paired Comparison
What is job classification?
> Classes or grades are defined to describe a group of jobs
What is the point method?
> Numerical values (points) are assigned to specific job components; sum of values provides quantitative assessment of the job’s worth
What is simple ranking?
> Orders job descriptions from highest to lowest based on relative value
What are the advantages and disadvantages to simple ranking?
Advantages:
Simple, fast, and easy to understand and explain to employees; least
expensive, initially.
Disadvantages:
If ranking criteria is poorly defined, evaluations become biased.
Evaluators must be knowledgeable about every job.
Results are difficult to defend and costly solutions may be required.
What is alternation ranking?
Orders job descriptions alternately at each extreme.
Evaluators agree on which jobs are the most and least valuable, then the next, etc
What is Paired Comparison?
Uses a matrix to compare all possible pairs of jobs.
When all comparisons are completed, the job judged
“more valuable” becomes the highest ranked job, and so on.
What is involved in the classification method?
A series of classes covers the range of jobs.
Class descriptions are the labels which capture general nature of work.
Job descriptions are compared to class descriptions to determine class level.
Greater specificity of the class definition improves the reliability of the
evaluation.
To determine the number of classes and to write class descriptions,
define boundaries between each class.
The end result is a job structure made up of a series of classes with a
number of jobs in each class.
What is the point method?
This method allows the assignment of a numeric score to each job in an organization, through the identification of factors that are valued by the organization.
This procedure results in a relative ordering of jobs based on the number of points that each job “scores”.
What is involved in Step 1: Conduct Job Analysis?
> A representative sample of benchmark jobs is drawn for analysis.
What are notable things about benchmark jobs?
Its contents are well known and relatively stable over time.
The job is common across employers.
A reasonable proportion of the work force holds this job.
Should capture the diversity of work
What are compensable factors?
> Characteristics in the work that the organization values, that help it pursue its strategy and achieve its objectives.
Compensable factors should be:
based on the strategy and values of the organization,
based on the work performed, and
acceptable to the stakeholders affected by the resulting pay structure.
The four universal compensable factors are:
> Skill, Effort, Responsibility and
Working Conditions.
Number of Compensable Factors –
Challenges
Some factors may overlap or fail to account for unique criteria.
The belief that factors capture divergent aspects of a job.
Another challenge is called “small numbers”.
If even one job has a certain characteristic, it is used in the entire work
domain.
What is involved in Step 3: Scale the Factors?
Factors are scaled for presence
Most factor scales have 4 to 8 degrees
What is the criteria for scaling factors?
ensure the number of degrees is necessary to distinguish jobs,
use understandable terminology,
anchor degree definitions with benchmark job titles and/or work
behaviors, and
make it apparent how the degree applies to the job
What is involved in Step 4: Weight the Factors?
Factors are weighted for importance
Factor weights reflect the relative importance of each factor
Weights are often determined through an advisory committee – a priori
judgment approach
Statistical modeling techniques determine the weight for each factor –
this statistical approach is called policy capturing
What is involved in Steps 5 & 6 Communicate, Train &
Apply?
Step 5: Communicate the plan and train users
Prepare a manual and train users.
An appeals process may be included for employee recourse.
Employee acceptance is crucial.
Step 6: Apply to remaining jobs
Who Should Be Involved?
> Design should involve managers and employees with a stake in the results
> A common approach is to use committees, task forces, or teams that
include:
Employees from key operating functions
Union representatives
Compensation professionals
Consultants
The Design Process Matters - Why?
Fairness of the design process helps achieve:
employee and management commitment, trust, and acceptance of results.
Appeals/review procedures are required.
This ensures procedural fairness.
Procedures should be judged for their susceptibility to political influences
The final result of the job evaluation process is:
> is a hierarchy of work, or a job structure
Although the point method allows an organization to develop one job evaluation plan for all jobs in the organization, most times it is difficult to:
> identify one set of compensable factors that is applicable for all jobs
Balancing Chaos and Control:
Complex procedures and bureaucracy can cause users to lose sight of the
objectives.
Allow flexibility to adapt to changing condition.
Flexibility without guidelines increases chaos.
Balanced guidelines ensure employees are treated fairly.
