What is Job Evaluation? Features, Process, Benefits, Methods

What is Job Evaluation?

Job evaluation aims to provide this equity and consistency by defining the relative worth of different jobs in an organisation. Job evaluation is the process of determining the relative worth of different categories of job by analyzing their responsibilities and consequently, fixation of their remuneration.

Features of Job Evaluation

The purpose of job evaluation is to produce a defensive ranking of jobs on which a rational and acceptable pay structure can be built. The important features of job evaluation may be summarized thus:

• It tries to access jobs, not people.
  
  
• The standards of job evaluation are relative, not absolute
  
  
• The basic information on which job evaluations are made is obtained from job analysis.
  
  
• Job evaluations are carried out by groups, not by individuals.
  
  
• Some degree of subjectivity is always present in job evaluation.
  
  
• Job evaluation does not fix pay scales, but merely provides a basis for evaluating a rational wage structure.

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Process of Job Evaluation

The process of job evaluation involves the following steps:

Gaining acceptance

Before undertaking job evaluation, top management must explain the aim and use of the programme to the employees and unions. To elaborate the programme further, oral presentations could be made. Letters, booklets could be used to classify all relevant aspects of the job evaluation programme.

Creating job evaluation committee

It is not possible for a single person to evaluate all the key jobs in an organization. Usually a job evaluation committee consisting of experienced employees, union representatives and HR experts is created to set the ball rolling.

Finding the jobs to be evaluated

Every job need not be evaluated. This may be too taxing and costly. Certainly key jobs in each department may be identified. While picking up the jobs, care must be taken to ensure that they represent the type of work performed in that department.

Analyzing and preparing job description

This requires the preparation of a job description and also an analysis of job needs for successful performance.

Selecting the method of evaluation

The most important method of evaluating the jobs must be identified now, keeping the job factors as well as organizational demands in mind.

Classifying jobs

The relative worth of various jobs in an organisation may be found out after arranging jobs in order of importance using criteria such as skill requirements, experience needed, under which conditions job is performed, type of responsibilities to be shouldered, degree of supervision needed, the amount of stress caused by the job, etc.

Weights can be assigned to each such factor. When we finally add all the weight, the worth of a job is determined. The points may then be converted into monetary values.

Installing the programme

On the evaluation process is over and a plan of action is ready, management must explain it to employees and put it into operation.

Reviewing periodically

In the light of changes in environmental conditions (technology, products, services, etc.) jobs need to be examined closely. For example, the traditional clerical functions have undergone a rapid change in sectors like banking, insurance and railways, after computerization.

New job description need to be written and the skill needs of new jobs need to be duly incorporated in the evaluation process. Otherwise, employees may feel that all relevant job factors – based on which their pay has been determined – have not been evaluated properly.

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Essentials for the Success of a Job Evaluation Programme

Following are the essentials for the success of a job evaluation programme:

• Compensable factors should represent all of the major aspects of job content. Compensable factors selected should (a) avoid excessive overlapping or duplication; (b) be definable and measurable; (c) be easily understood by employees and administrators; (d) not cause excessive installation or administrative cost; and (e) be selected with legal considerations in mind.
  
  
• Operating mangers should be convinced about the techniques and programme of job evaluation. They should also be trained in fixing and revising the wages based on job evaluation.
  
  
• All the employees should be provided with complete information about job evaluation programme.
  
  
• All groups and grades of employees should be covered by the job evaluation programme.
  
  
• The programme of – and techniques selected for – job evaluation should be easy to understand by all the employees.
  
  
• Trade unions acceptance and support to the programme should be obtained.

Experts have advanced certain guidelines for conducting the job evaluation programme in a systematic way:

• Rate the job – not the person or employee on the job.
  
  
• Strive to collect all the facts accurately.
  
  
• Look especially for distinguishing features of jobs and for relationship to other jobs.
  
  
• Study jobs independently and objectively, and then discuss views thoroughly and open- mindedly before reaching final decisions.
  
  
• Job evaluation must be conducted systematically, based on factual and accurate information.
  
  
• The results of job evaluation must be fair and rational and unbiased to the individuals being affected.

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Benefits of Job Evaluation

The pay offs from job evaluation may be stated thus:

• It tries to link pay with the requirements of the job.
  
  
• It offers a systematic procedure for determining the relative worth of jobs. Jobs are ranked on the basis of rational criteria such as skill, education, experience, responsibilities, hazards, etc. and are priced accordingly.
  
  
• An equitable wage structure is a natural outcome of job evaluation. An unbiased job evaluation tends to eliminate salary inequities by placing jobs having similar requirements in the same salary range.
  
  
• Employees as well as unions participate as members of job evaluation committee while determining rate grades for different jobs. This helps in solving wage related grievances quickly.
  
  
• Job evaluation, when conducted properly and with care, helps in the evaluation of new jobs.  It points out possibilities of more appropriate use of the plant’s labour force by indicating jobs that need more or less skilled workers than those who are manning these jobs currently.

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Job Evaluation Methods

There are three basic methods of job evaluation:

Ranking Method

Perhaps the simplest method of job evaluation is the ranking method. According to this method, jobs are arranged from highest to lowest, in order or their value or merit to the organisation. Jobs can also be arranged according to the relative difficulty in performing them. The jobs are examined as a whole rather than on the basis of important factors in the job; the job at the top of the list has the highest value and obviously the job at the bottom of the list will have the lowest value.

Jobs are usually ranked in each department and then the department rankings are combined to develop an organizational ranking. The variation in payment of salaries depends on the variation of the nature of the job performed by the employees. The ranking method is simple to understand and practice and it is best suited for a small organisation. Its simplicity however works to its disadvantage in big organizations because rankings are difficult to develop in a large, complex organisaiton. Moreover, this kind of ranking is highly subjective in nature and may offend many employees.

Classification Method

According to this method, a predetermined number of job groups or job classes are established and jobs are assigned to these classifications. This method places groups of jobs into job classes or job grades. Separate classes may include office, clerical, managerial, personnel, etc. Following is a brief description of such a classification in an office.

• (a) Class I – Executives: Further classification under this category may be Office Manager, Deputy Office Manager, Office superintendent, Departmental supervisor etc.
  
  
• Class II – Skilled workers: Under this category may come the Purchasing assistant, Cashier, Receipts clerks, etc.
  
  
• Class III – Semiskilled workers: Under this category may come Stenotypists, Machine- operators, Switchboard operator etc.
  
  
• Class IV – Semiskilled workers: This category comprises Daftaris, File clerks, office boys etc.

Factor Comparison Method

Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of factors. These factors include mental effort, physical effort, skill needed, responsibility, supervisory responsibility, working conditions and other such factors (for instance, know-how, problem solving abilities, accountability etc.)

Pay will be assigned in this method by comparing the weights of the factors required for each job, i.e. the present wages paid for key jobs may be divided among the factors weighted by importance (the most important factor, for instance, mental effort, receives the highest weight). In other words, wages are assigned to the job in comparison to its ranking on each job factor.

Point Method

This method is widely used currently. Here, jobs are expressed in terms of key factors. Points are assigned to each factor prioritizing each factor in order of importance. The points are summed up to determine the wage rate for the job. Jobs with similar point totals are placed in similar pay grades.

The procedure involved may be explained thus:

• Select key jobs. Identify the factors common to all the identified jobs such as skill, effort, responsibility, etc.
  
  
• Divide each major factor into a number of sub factors. Each sub factor is defined and expressed clearly in the order of importance, preferably along a scale.
  
  The most frequent factors employed in point systems are:
  
  
  • (i) skill (key factor): Education and training required, Breadth/depth of experience required, Social skills required, problem-solving skills, Degree of discretion/use of judgement, Creative thinking
    
    
  • (ii) Responsibility/Accountability: Breadth of responsibility, Specialialised responsibility, Complexity of the work, Degree of freedom to act, Number of nature of subordinate staff, Extent of accountability for equipment / plant, Extent of accountability for product/materials;
    
    
  • (iii) Effort: Mental demands of a job, physical demands of a job, Degree of potential stress.
    
    
• Find the maximum number of points assigned to each job (after adding up the point values of all sub-factors of such a job). This would help in finding the relative worth of a job.
  
  
• Once the worth of a job in terms of total points is expressed, the points are converted into money values keeping in view the hourly/daily wage rates. A wage survey is usually undertaken to collect wage rates of certain key jobs in the organisation.