The criteria for job evaluation is the consideration of various factors, which analyse a position in relation to the skills and experience required for competent performance, the demands made on the job and the overall structure and responsibility/accountability involved.
In some cases minor changes to the wording are used to define factors and levels made in order to better align the job evaluation methodology with the client’s culture and environment. Where this is done, great care is taken to ensure inter-organisation consistency is not compromised. The primary factor in determining compensation is an evaluation of work performed. The internal worth of a job is evaluated based upon factors like – Know-How, Problem Solving, Accountability, Education, Experience, Complexity involved in the job, Scope of job, Supervision received and Authority Exercised.
- Know-How — The knowledge, skill and experience required for standard acceptable performance. It considers the requirement for technical and professional skills, expertise and experience, the amount of planning and organizing required and the requirement to work with and through others. The three dimensions of Know-How are listed below:
- Technical Know-How : Measures levels ranging from learning basics work to specialized techniques and knowledge to professional mastery of scientific theory.
- Managerial Know- How : Measures the job’s requirements to integrate diversified types of supervisory or managerial activities.
- Human Relations Know- How : Measures the degree to which the job requires practical person to-person skills in persuasion, motivation, and selection of people.
- Problem Solving — The thinking required for analyzing, evaluating, creating, reasoning, arriving at and drawing conclusions; the extent to which this thinking is covered by precedents or circumscribed by standards; and the degree of creativity or original thought required. The two dimension of problem solving are:
- Thinking Environment : The degree of structure provided by the job in solving problems.
- Thinking Challenge : It is the complexity of the problems in the job assignment and the amount of thinking required to solve job-related problem.
- Accountability — The degree to which the employee is held accountable for taking action and for the consequences of that action. It is the measured effect of the job on end results. The freedom to act measured through the existence or absence of constraints by managers, committees and procedures and the impact of that action on the organization. The three dimensions of accountability are depicted below:
- Freedom to Act : Measures the relative degree to which decisions can be made, the level of authority which is needed, or the precedents, policies, and procedures which must be considered before an employee can take action.
- Magnitude : It is the degree of influence a position has on the organizational operations.
- Impact : It is the degree to which the job affects the organizational operations. Some jobs are directly responsible for actions while others provide counsel and advice, which is used by others to take action.
- Education – The level of formal education required to perform the functions required of a position. There is often an overlap between education and experience, and for this reason it is often advisable to consider the education level that would be expected of a new incumbent recruited externally.
- Experience – The length of practical experience and nature of technical/managerial familiarity required. This experience is in addition to formal education.
- Complexity — Measured in terms of: (a) the time taken to learn and adjust to specific job requirements, (b) the level to which the job functions are defined and follow established and predictable patterns and, (c) the thinking challenge required to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and innovative or conceptual thinking needed to initiate new corporate direction.
- Scope of Job – The complexity and scope of work factors tend to be related to the education and experience level required of a position. The calculation of points for each of these factors is based on the application of a percentage rating of the sum of the points derived in the evaluation of Education and Experience.
- Supervision Received -The extent of supervision, direction or guidance imposed on the job holder and the freedom the executive has to take action.
- Authority Exercised – Authority level expressed in terms of routine expenditure, capital expenditure and investments, granting of loans, hiring and firing staff, etc.
Credit: Compensation Management-CU