Brand Architecture

Job Evaluation

Job Evaluation - What is it ?

Job evaluation is a practical technique, designed to enable trained and experienced staff to judge the size of one job relative to others. It does not directly determine pay levels, but will establish the basis for an internal ranking of jobs.

The two most common methods of job evaluation that have been used are first, whole job ranking, where jobs are taken as a whole and ranked against each other. The second method is one of awarding points for various aspects of the job. In the points system various aspects or parts of the job such as education and experience required to perform the job are assessed and a points value awarded - the higher the educational requirements of the job the higher the points scored. The most well known points scheme was introduced by Hay management consultants in 1951. This scheme evaluates job responsibilities in the light of three major factors - know how, problem solving and accountability.

Some Principles of Job Evaluation

* Clearly defined and identifiable jobs must exist. These jobs will be accurately described in an agreed job description.

* All jobs in an organisation will be evaluated using an agreed job evaluation scheme.

* Job evaluators will need to gain a thorough understanding of the job

* Job evaluation is concerned with jobs, not people. It is not the person that is being evaluated.

* The job is assessed as if it were being carried out in a fully competent and acceptable manner.

* Job evaluation is based on judgement and is not scientific. However if applied correctly it can enable objective judgements to be made.

* It is possible to make a judgement about a job's contribution relative to other jobs in an organisation.

* The real test of the evaluation results is their acceptability to all participants.

* Job evaluation can aid organisational problem solving as it highlights duplication of tasks and gaps between jobs and...