Job evaluation as evident from the word itself aims at evaluating the job and no t the person.

It is a process of evaluating and determining the value of the job for an organisation. The evaluation is always in relative and not absolute term s. The idea is evaluate a certain job against other jobs in the organisation so that a fair compensation system against various bands or levels can be establish ed. Organisations use various ways to evaluate jobs for arriving upon a compensation scheme. They vary with the size of the organisation and the kind of industry th ey operate in. Job ranking, pair comparison and benchmarking are the various way s of evaluation. The simpler or the easiest to perform is the job ranking method. In this method the jobs are taken as a whole and ranked against each other. The jobs are ordere d according to perceived seniority. Such method is easier to apply in a small or ganisation but gets complicated once used for large corporations. The other method is the pair comparison method where jobs are compared in pairs. It is more structured approach to comparing jobs. Yet another method is benchma rking where certain jobs are slotted and then examined in detail. These are then used as benchmarks in evaluating various jobs. In addition Point Factor Analysis is also used to evaluate various jobs. The met hod is an old and tested one. In this method jobs are broken down into various f actors such as skills required, experience, education required. A set of questio ns is framed against each factor and the response determines the score. Each fac tor is allotted a certain weight. Principles of Job Evaluation Definition: Jobs must be clearly defined such that they are identifiable and easily distinguishable. These jobs must then be part of the job description. Evaluation: A job evaluation scheme must be arrived upon and used as a stand ard and all jobs in the organisation must be evaluated as per that scheme only. Job Understanding: Job evaluators need to have deep insights into the job de sign process. They must have a methodical understanding of various tasks involve d. Concern: Job evaluation must be concerned with the job and not with the pers on. i.e. it is the job that has to be evaluated and not the person Assessment: The assessment has to be carried out in an acceptable manner and by competent people. Further, it is based on judgement and is not scientific bu t can however be used to make objective judgements if used correctly. With organisations changing continuously in every sphere of operations, be it th e way they conduct their business, they way they hire and manage people, there i s a huge change in the processes that drive this change. Job evaluation and its technique are not immune to it. The techniques are changing very fast. There are organisations still that stick to existing schemes of job evaluation. Evaluatio ns based upon old existent standards are time consuming in many cases. Organisat ions do not want to spend time on writing new jobs and making evaluations afresh . Those that do this may need to rethink!

method

Job Ranking The job ranking method is the simplest and easiest job evaluation method ; jobs and the employees who perform those jobs are ranked from highest to lowes t depending on their quality and value to the organization. Job Classification The job classification method uses job classes or job groups to provide more customization in the evaluation. This method also uses scales to measure pe rformance rather than comparing and ranking employees. Sponsored Links Berkeley Innovation Class Award Winning Innovation Courses. Led by top VCs. Learn More Now. executive.berkeley.edu/ Factor Comparison The factor comparison method is more scientific and complex than any oth er method. Each job is ranked according to a specific set of factors, such as ph ysical effort, mental effort, or responsibility, all of which have predetermined weights indicating their importance to success. Point Method The point method measures performance through scales and job factors rat her than focusing on entire job functions and ranking employees against each oth er. Considerations The point method is usually seen as the most reliable and valid evaluati on method by employees compared to more subjective methods such as the job ranki ng method.

ob Evaluation Methods There are 4 basic and traditional systems of job evaluation: The Ranking System, Job Classification or Grading system, the Factor Comparison System, and the Point System.

i) 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 'w orth' of a job is usually based on judgements of skill, effort (physical and men tal), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. Advantages : * Simple. * Very effective when there are relatively few jobs to be evaluated (less than 3 0). Disadvantages : * Difficult to administer as the number of jobs increases. * Rank judgements are subjective. * Since there is no standard used for comparison, new jobs would have to be comp ared with the existing jobs to determine its appropriate rank. In essence, the r anking process would have to be repeated each time a new job is added to the org anization. Ranking Methods * Ordering Simply place job titles on 3x5 inch index cards then order the titles by relative importance to the organization. * Weighting * Paired Comparison ii) Classification - Jobs are classified into an existing grade/category structu re or hierarchy. Each level in the grade/category structure has a description an d associated job titles. Each job is assigned to the grade/category providing th e closest match to the job. The classification of a position is decided by compa ring the whole job with the appropriate job grading standard. To ensure equity i n job grading and wage rates, a common set of job grading standards and instruct ions are used. Because of differences in duties, skills and knowledge, and other aspects of trades and labor jobs, job grading standards are developed mainly al ong occupational lines. The standards do not attempt to describe every work assi gnment of each position in the occupation covered. The standards identify and de scribe those key characteristics of occupations which are significant for distin guishing 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 po sitions in the occupation to which the standards apply. Advantages * Simple. * The grade/category structure exists independent of the jobs. Therefore, new jo bs 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. iii)Factor Comparison - A set of compensable factors are identified as determini ng the worth of jobs. Typically the number of compensable factors is small (4 or 5). Examples of compensable factors are: o Skill o Responsibilities o Effort o Working Conditions Next, benchmark jobs are identified. Benchmark jobs should be selected as having certain characteristics. o equitable pay (not overpaid or underpaid) o range of the factors (for each factor, some jobs would be at the low end of th e factor while others would be at the high end of the factor). This process esta blishes the rate of pay for each factor for each benchmark job. Slight adjustmen

ts 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 o The value of the job is expressed in monetary terms. o Can be applied to a wide range of jobs. o Can be applied to newly created jobs. Disadvantages o The pay for each factor is based on judgements that are subjective. o The standard used for determining the pay for each factor may have build in bi ases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or minorities). iv) Point Method - A set of compensable factors are identified as determining th e worth of jobs. Typically the compensable factors include the major categories of: * Skill * Responsibilities * Effort * Working Conditions These factors can then be further defined. * Skill * Experience * Education * Ability * Responsibilities * Fiscal * Supervisory * Effort * Mental * Physical * Working Conditions * Location * Hazards * Extremes in Environment The point method is an extension of the factor comparison method. Each factor is then divided into levels or degrees which are then assigned points. Each job is rated using the job evaluation instrument. The points for each factor are summe d to form a total point score for the job. Jobs are then grouped by total point scores and assigned to wage/salary grades so that similarly rated jobs would be placed in the same wage/salary grade. 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 bi ases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or minorities). Attribution: http://www.citehr.com/308400-job-evaluation-methods.html#ixzz26Kb8k vpg