JOB EVALUATION
Job evaluation is alive and well
Job evaluation is finding a "rejuvenated role as a dynamic tool for driving forward changes in organisations' reward structures". But its main function remains the provision of a rational basis for comparing the relative worth of jobs. That's the main message to emerge from a major new report by Incomes Data Services.
Job evaluation has come under increasing attack in recent years. Critics say it is not only bureaucratic and inflexible, but also time-wasting and costly. The concept of paying people for carrying out a tightly-defined job is said to be inconsistent with today’ s flatter, flexible pay structures. As a result, we are supposed to have seen the end of job evaluation. The trouble with much of the familiar criticism is that it is based more on rhetoric than hard empirical evidence. This in-depth IDS research challenges this dogma, drawing on an impressive analysis of what’ s really happening in the workplace.
As IDS highlights, equal pay for work of equal value considerations have had a notable impact on grading structures in the public sector, resulting in a new wave of job evaluation activity. What's more, job evaluation still plays a key role in many parts of the private sector, particularly in harmonising pay arrangements following mergers and acquisitions. According to IDS, it also has a place in younger, rapidly-growing companies, where it is used to underpin the reward system to provide clarity and consistency, while flexibility is maintained.
Job evaluation adapting to changing business needs
The popular idea is that job evaluation is largely irrelevant in the modern workplace where traditional hierarchical arrangements have been replaced by flatter -- sometimes broadbanded -- structures with greater emphasis on lateral career movement. But IDS suggests that job evaluation has shown an ability to adapt to meet changing business needs, embracing contemporary reward practices such as competencies, role profiles and broadbanding.
As the authors of the IDS research put it: "Having extended pay ranges means that the onus moves away from promotion as the only way of progressing, with an expectation that lateral movement between functions may be more common. To further facilitate career management, some companies are establishing generic role profiles, which follow the factors measured during the job evaluation exercise. This allows roles to be compared across the organisation. Some companies seek to strengthen the links between job evaluation and other HR activities by using competency frameworks as a unifying factor."
| What you’ ll find in this IDS StudyPlus |
| The 88-page report offers a comprehensive overview of how job evaluation is adapting to meet changing business needs. Packed with detailed case studies, it provides some fascinating detail on what is happening in the real world, based on a breadth of access to senior managers in seven organisations and reflected in an admirably clear and logical approach. The case studies are supported by in-depth research, with advice on how to design a scheme. It looks at the questions to ask before deciding which jobs to analyse. And then there are numerous practical ideas for those who are trying to make sense of how to implement a scheme. It’ s a thoroughly-researched and highly-authoritative study, written by experts who demonstrate their awareness of the key issues in job evaluation. The report is divided into four main sections: |
| Overview The enduring role of job evaluation as a tool for establishing internal relativities. |
| Analysis Types of job evaluation:
The role of job evaluation:
Project management and design:
The evaluation process:
Applying the results:
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| Case studies Seven detailed case studies of job evaluation in practice:
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| Directory of suppliers Choosing a job evaluation scheme:
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Want to know more?
Title: "Job evaluation", IDS StudyPlus, summer 2003, Incomes Data Services.
Availability: Contact the IDS customer services manager, tel: 020 7324 2599. For a fuller flavour, take a look at the list of recent IDS Studies together with abstracts which can be found on the IDS web site at www.incomesdata.co.uk/studies/subjectlist.htm
Incomes Data Services is an independent research organisation providing information and analysis on pay, conditions, pensions, employment law and personnel policy and practice in the UK and the rest of Europe. To find out more visit www.incomesdata.co.uk
Posted 8 September 2003