Job evaluation methods [Study from Ashwathapa] 1]Ranking This method is one of the simplest to administer.

Jobs are compared to each other based on the overall worth of the job to the organization. The 'worth' of a job is usually based on judgements of skill, effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. Advantages Disadvantages Simple. Difficult to administer as the number of jobs increases. Rank judgements are subjective. Very effective when there are relatively few jobs to be evaluated (less than 30). Since there is no standard used for comparison, new jobs would have to be compared with the existing jobs to determine its appropriate rank. In essence, the ranking process would have to be repeated each time a new job is added to the organization. Ranking Methods 1. Ordering Simply place job titles on 3x5 inch index cards then order the titles by relative importance to the organization. 2. Weighting 3. Paired Comparison 2]Job Classification Jobs are classified into an existing grade/category structure or hierarchy. Each level in the grade/category structure has a description and associated job titles. Each job is assigned to the grade/category providing the closest match to the job. The classification of a position is decided by comparing the whole job with the appropriate job grading standard. To ensure equity in job grading and wage rates, a common set of job grading standards and instructions are used. Because of differences in duties, skills and knowledge, and other aspects of trades and labor jobs, job grading standards are developed mainly along occupational lines. The standards do not attempt to describe every work assignment of each position in the occupation covered. The standards identify and describe those key characteristics of occupations which are significant for distinguishing different levels of work. They define these key characteristics in such a way as to provide a basis for assigning the appropriate grade level to all positions in the occupation to which the standards apply. Advantages

Simple. The grade/category structure exists independent of the jobs. Therefore, new jobs can be classified more easily than the Ranking Method.

Disadvantages Classification judgments are subjective. The standard used for comparison (the grade/category structure) may have built in biases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or minorities). Some jobs may appear to fit within more than one grade/category.

3]Point method

Job evaluation is a systematic method by which compensation professionals compare jobs to determine pay rates that are internally equitable and externally competitive. The point method is a widely used technique in which factors that are important to the job are rated numerically. 1. Compensable Factors The job evaluation analyst begins by identifying compensable factors which are common across the jobs being evaluated. These are grouped in categories such as skill, responsibilities, effort and working conditions, each with several subfactors. For example, the "skill" category might be divided into experience, education and ability. Assigning Points The analyst divides each factor to be used into levels and defines and assigns points to each. For example, he could define the "experience" factor into 5 levels with points distributed as follows: No experience (entry level) = 10 points 1-3 years experience = 30 points 4-6 years experience = 50 points 7-10 years experience = 75 points Over 10 years experience = 100 points The job evaluation analyst continues defining and assigning points to all the compensable factors, distributing points across the levels as determined by the differences between the levels. For example, for the factor "education" the difference in value between "some high school" and "some college" might be much less than the difference in value between "some college" and an "undergraduate degree," thus accounting for the point spread. Some high school = 5 points High school graduate = 15 points Some college = 20 points Undergraduate degree = 60 points Graduate degree = 100 points 3. Weighting Once this is done for all the compensable factors to be used, the analyst examines individual jobs to determine which factors are most important, assigning weights to these categories. For example, if an office manager position requires four to six years of experience, it would be assigned a preliminary value of 50 points for this factor. However, if experience is among the most important factors, it might be weighted at 1.5, and thus the final value of the experience factor for the office manager job would be 75 (50 points x 1.5 weighting factor = 75). If the office manager job requires an education level of college graduate, but education is less important, it might be weighted at a smaller number, such as 0.75, resulting in a value of 45 for education (60 points x 0.75 weighting factor = 40). The analyst continues until all factors are rated for the office manager job. Categorizing the Job

2.

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In the final step, the job evaluation analyst totals the points for the office manager job and groups it with other jobs with similar job totals. This group will eventually become the job pay grade, ensuring that even dissimilar jobs can be compared equitably. Advantages and Disadvantages

4]Factor Comparison A set of compensable factors are identified as determining the worth of jobs. Typically the number of compensable factors is small (4 or 5). Examples of compensable factors are: 1. Skill 2. Responsibilities 3. Effort 4. Working Conditions Next, benchmark jobs are identified. Benchmark jobs should be selected as having certain characteristics. 1. equitable pay (not overpaid or underpaid) 2. range of the factors (for each factor, some jobs would be at the low end of the factor while others would be at the high end of the factor). The jobs are then priced and the total pay for each job is divided into pay for each factor. See example matrix below: Job Evaluation: Factor Comparison Hourly Rate $9.00 $11.00 $15.00 $21.00 The hourly rate is divided into pay for each of the following factors: Pay for Pay for Pay for Pay for Working . Skill Effort Responsibility Conditions 4.50 5.50 6.00 9.00 2.00 2.50 3.50 3.50 2.00 2.50 4.00 7.00 0.50 0.50 1.50 1.50

Job Secretary Admin Assistant Supervisor Manager

This process establishes the rate of pay for each factor for each benchmark job. Slight adjustments may need o be made to the matrix to ensure equitable dollar weighting of the factors. The other jobs in the organization are then compared with the benchmark jobs and rates of pay for each factor are summed to determine the rates of pay for each of the other jobs. Advantages The value of the job is expressed in monetary terms. Can be applied to a wide range of jobs. Can be applied to newly created jobs. Disadvantages The pay for each factor is based on judgements that are subjective. The standard used for determining the pay for each factor may have build in biases that would affect certain groups of

employees (females or minorities).