Everything you need to know about the principles of job evaluation. Job Evaluation is the rating of different jobs in an organisation in objective and scientific manner to ascertain the relative worth or importance of each job.
Job Evaluation arranges the jobs in order of importance or payment. It refers to rating of different jobs but not to the rating of the employees.
Job Evaluation has been defined as “the process of analysis and assessment of jobs to ascertain reliably their relative worth, using the assessments as a basis for a balance wage structure”.
Some of the principles of job evaluation are:-
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1. Consideration of Job 2. Clarity of Job Information 3. Pooling of Knowledge 4. Grouping of Jobs 5. Selection of Job Factors and a Few Others.
Principles of Job Evaluation
Principles of Job Evaluation – With Main Features of Job Evaluation
Following are the principles and objectives of job evaluation:
1. Rate the job, not the man. Achievement should be rated on the basis of which the job actually requires.
2. Element marked for rating need to be explained without any difficulty in terms of remaining numbers. It will cover the requisite jobs without overlapping.
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3. The elements should be carefully selected and clearly defined.
4. Any job rating plan must be sold to foremen and employees. The success in selling will depend on proper explanation and illustration of the plan.
5. Foremen should take part in the rating of jobs in the department.
6. Maximum cooperation is received from workers since they themselves have an opportunity to discuss job rating.
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7. There should not be any discussion on money value with foreman and employees. Only point values and degrees of each element should be discussed.
8. Avoid establishment of too many occupational wages. It would not be worth to adopt an early occupational wage for total points of value.
Principles of Job Evaluation – Consideration of Job, Clarity of Job Information, Pooling of Knowledge, Grouping of Jobs and Selection of Job Factors (With the Factors)
In establishing the systematic approach to measuring job worth, there are certain principles which must be followed.
They are discussed below:
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i. Consideration of Job:
The job evaluators must rate the job and not the employee. In deciding how much money a particular job is worth, there is always a temptation to be influenced in one’s judgement by the qualifications and calibre of the individual who is presently performing the job. But he may be either over or under-qualified. So the job evaluators should not commit the error of rating the individuals.
ii. Clarity of Job Information:
Job analysis must be done before job evaluation is initiated. Clear and accurate job descriptions and specifications must be available to provide data concerning the factors to be measured.
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iii. Pooling of Knowledge:
As far as possible, the pooled or combined judgements of several persons should be employed in evaluating jobs. Job evaluation is a systematic, orderly, and logical way of setting the rates of wages within a firm. However, it is not exact measurement, it is grading or rating. The decisions of a number of qualified persons will reduce the likelihood of serious errors.
iv. Grouping of Jobs:
A decision must be made concerning what jobs are to be covered by a single evaluation system. Only similar jobs should be grouped together for the purpose of evaluation.
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v. Selection of Job Factors:
Job evaluation should involve the evaluation of various jobs in terms of certain factors.
The important factors to be considered under job evaluation may be grouped under the following heads:
(a) Skill – mental and manual,
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(b) Experience,
(c) Efforts and initiative required,
(d) Responsibility to be undertaken,
(e) Working environments, and
(f) Supervision needed.
There is no standard classification of factors to be considered under job evaluation. The list of factors to be adopted for job evaluation will generally depend upon the kind of jobs to be evaluated.
Principles of Job Evaluation – As per the Views of Kress
There are certain broad principles which should be kept in mind before putting the job evaluation programme into practice.
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As per the views of Kress these principles are:
1. Rate the job and not the person. Each element should be rated on the basis of what the job itself requires.
2. The elements selected for rating purposes should be easily explainable in terms and as few in number as will cover the necessary requisites for every job without any overlapping.
3. The elements should be clearly defined and properly selected.
4. Any job rating plan must be sold to foremen and employees. The success in selling it will depend on a clear cut explanation and illustration of the plan.
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5. Foremen should participate in the rating of jobs in their own departments.
6. Maximum cooperation can be obtained from employees when they themselves have an opportunity to discuss job ratings.
7. In talking to foremen and employees, any discussion of money value should be avoided. Only point values and degree of each element should be discussed.
8. Too many occupational wages should not be established. It would be unwise to adopt an occupational wage for each total of point values.
Principles of Job Evaluation – According to A.R. Kress
Job evaluation is the pre-requisite of wage and salary administration of a business organization. It utilizes as a basis of personnel policies.
According to A.R.Kress, following are the principles of job evaluation.
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(1) Job evaluation rates the job and not the man- Under this techniques the evaluator has to rate the job by considering the requirements of the job.
(2) Job factors should be clearly defined- The job factors should be in limited numbers should be clearly defined and explained.
(3) Consistency in definition of job factors and degrees allotted on it- A job rating will be successful if there is a consistency in definition of job factors and degrees allotted on these factors.
(4) Acceptability- A job evaluation plan must be approved and supported by the top management and should be accepted by the employees in general.
(5) Co-operation from employees- The highest degree of co-operation from employees is required and there will be no money values assigned on job factors.
(6) Participation of foremen- Foremen should participate in the rating of jobs in their own department.
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(7) There should not be too many occupational wages- Too many occupational wages or rate ranges for given labour grades should not be established. To achieve rationality in wage structure too many categories of jobs should be avoided.
Principles of Job Evaluation – (With the Factors Affecting Job Values)
Job evaluation is a complicated process. It is not an exact science; it is an art and, therefore it is not possible to formulate right and set principles for it.
However the following general principles need to be observed in this respect:
(a) The job evaluation is executed by the mutual cooperation of employers and employees and on the basis of job studies. Therefore, the members selected must be approved by all concerned.
(b) Conclusions and final appraisal of jobs should be formalized only after the judgments of different raters agree.
(c) It is advisable to appraise all the concerned parties about the type of system being used, reasons for its choice and its working procedure so that there may not be any misunderstanding of the job evaluation system and its working.
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(d) Since the job evaluation is an objective technique it aims at studying the worth of the job, which in turn is based on job studies. The experts have to be very careful in such matters.
(e) The level of wage rates for the jobs to be evaluated must be in accordance with those of the jobs prevailing in the company and in the industry.
(f) The objectives of job evaluation process should be ascertained and explained to the different parties which may be influenced by the programme. The decisions in respect of the use of financial resources should be made, keeping the objectives in mind.
(g) The different forms in job evaluation process and the various terms in such forms shall be used only subsequent to their explanation to the workers prior to commencement of the work.
(h) When the job evaluation programme is being installed, overpayments may be made initially for short period so that employee’s faith in the system can be developed and the chances of labour problems reduced.
(i) Whenever the companies make use of labour grades in the job evaluation process, they should also include a provision for merit increases within such grades and length of service. This is essential because when labour grades are introduced, the employees may react to such grades under an impression that merit and seniority have no place in the organisation.
(j) It is worthwhile if the different interested parties get an opportunity to engage in the job evaluation system, in order to ensure its smooth functioning.
The main factors influencing job values are, market rates, negotiated pay scales, internal relatives and feelings about equity in that order.
(a) Market Rates:
It can be said that a job is worth. There will be difficulties in procuring or retaining people if their pay do not fall in line with such rates introduced in the local and national labour markets from which the employees are recruited.
In case of specialized jobs it may be possible to have a comparison of the rates within the company with those paid outside. Hence in such cases, the rates will be determined more by internal rather than external comparisons. The information regarding the differentials between jobs as also actual level of pay is provided by the market rates.
(b) Internal Relativities and Equity:
The framework of pay scales should be such that it can reflect differences in the comparative skill and responsibility of jobs. The attainment of equity should be their aim, i.e., the individuals can realize that their rewards are in conformity with both-their own production in the form effort, skill and contribution and also with the rewards paid to others according to their production.
Thus equity can be regarded as the feeling that justice and fairness are only attained when same pay is paid for a similar work. Also if there are any pay differentials, they are due to definite variations in the degrees of responsibility and also in accordance with individual capacity and the level of work carried out.
Generally it can be stated that the use of job evaluation is for the creation of two dimensions of relationships, – (i) the vertical relationship which is the department of an organisation where the basic skill is similar. Here obviously the seniority has role to play but the seniority ladder rings spacing has to be established e.g., how much more, the accountant no. one should be paid as compared to no. two? (ii) The lateral relationship between jobs of a different nature, e.g., how should the values of similar jobs between the personnel and finance departments be related?
Thus the job evaluation basically refers to an attempt to ascertain a measure which can help to determining that the relative payments made to different jobs are internally consistent.
(c) Negotiated Pay Scales:
Normally in many cases the pay structures are fixed up around negotiated pay scales either at plant level or national level. The market rates, the comparative strength of employers and employees’ unions, the economic situation, and legislation and government anti-inflationary pay regulations are important factors which affect negotiated rates. More than the local or nationally negotiated minimum rates might have to be paid as a result just to keep above market rates or as a result of union pressures.
Principles of Job Evaluation
The following are principles of job evaluation:
i. Each job should be rated in terms of demands of the job.
ii. The criteria of evaluation need to be explained and defined.
iii. Employees concerned should participate in the job evaluation exercise.
iv. The process of job evaluation should be already communicated to employees across the hoard.
v. Employee concerned should be provided an opportunity to discuss job rating.
vi. Too many occupational wages should not be established. It should be unwise to adopt an occupation wage for each total of point values.
Principles of Job Evaluation – 9 Important Principles
1. Clearly defined and identifiable jobs must exist. These jobs will be accurately described in an agreed job description.
2. All jobs in an organization will be evaluated using an agreed job evaluation scheme.
3. Job evaluators will need to gain a thorough understanding of the job.
4. It is concerned with jobs, not people. It is not the person that is being evaluated.
5. The job is assessed as if it were being carried out in a fully competent and acceptable manner.
6. Job evaluation is based on judgement and is not scientific. However if applied correctly it can enable objective judgements to be made.
7. It is possible to make a judgement about a job’s contribution relative to other jobs in an organization.
8. The real test of the evaluation results is their acceptability to all participants.
9. Job evaluation can aid organizational problem solving as it highlights duplication of tasks and gaps between jobs and functions.
Principles of Job Evaluation – 12 General Principles of Job Evaluation
The following are the general principles of job evaluation:
1. Great care must be exercised by the management since the job evaluation aims at studying the worth of the job estimated by job studies.
2. There should be a mutual co-operation between the management and workers.
3. There are different terms used in the job evaluation process. These are fully explained to workers before the work actually starts.
4. Conclusion of a job is done only after all the raters agree.
5. Size and type of the organisation are also to be considered before setting job evaluation process.
6. The objectives of job evaluation may be determined and they may be explained to these persons who are likely to be affected.
7. The management should take a decision regarding the use of financial resources.
8. The selected job evaluation system and its workings should be communicated to all the concerned parties to avoid misunderstanding.
9. Interested parties are encouraged to engage in the job evaluation system to facilitate smooth functioning.
10. The level of wage rates of jobs must be equal to the same kind of jobs existing in the same company and industry.
11. Company may use the labour grades in the job evaluation programme and make a provision for merit which increases within labour grades and length of service.
12. Short-term over-payments may be made to exhort employee’s faith in the job evaluation system.
Principles of Job Evaluation
Job Evaluation is the rating of different jobs in an organisation in objective and scientific manner to ascertain the relative worth or importance of each job.
Job Evaluation has been defined as “the process of analysis and assessment of jobs to ascertain reliably their relative worth, using the assessments as a basis for a balance wage structure”.
Another definition is “Job Evaluation is the evaluation or rating of jobs to determine their position in a job hierarchy”.
Job Evaluation arranges the jobs in order of importance or payment. It refers to rating of different jobs but not to the rating of the employees. Rating of employees is known as merit rating. This evaluation makes “an attempt to determine and compare the demands which the normal performance of particular job makes on normal worker, without taking account of the individual abilities or performance of the worker concerned”. So, it is the evaluation of demands of each job of the organisation on the normal employees.
The basic purpose of such evaluation is to find out the relative importance of each job so that relative remunerations may be fixed for different jobs separately. In its absence, the management would fix the remunerations arbitrarily without taking them to the requirements of different jobs and it might have caused resentments among the employees or it would have been that the workers’ unions would have forced the management to accept their dictation as to the fixation of remuneration of worker.
Each job has certain characteristics. These characteristics create difficulty in performing the job. The purpose of job evaluation is to analyse these characteristics and thus to find out a fair and representative base rate of monetary compensation of jobs. Mathematical precision cannot be expected in formulating principles of job evaluation because it is not an exact science, but a broad set of principles can be followed.
We may formulate the principles as under:
1) Job evaluation programme should contain in it the elements of over-payments at the initial stage to infuse confidence among the workers.
2) Job evaluation based on grades should aim at merit increase within labour grades and length of service.
3) Details of the job evaluation process should be made known to all the parties concerned.
4) Evaluation process, to ensure smooth functioning, should give opportunity to all interested parties to involve themselves in the process.
5) Wage rate levels should be comparable with the jobs prevailing in the organisation and in other organisations of the industry.
6) The merits of the job evaluation system introduced should be explained to all the parties concerned.
7) Since job evaluation is done by a committee with members from the workshop and management, the members so selected should be acceptable to all the parties to be affected by job evaluation method.
8) Job evaluation being an objective technique, the worth of every job should be very carefully studied by experts.
9) The size and type of organisation must be taken into consideration before a particular method of job evaluation is put to practice.
10) Job evaluation uses different forms and different terms are used. It must be a matter of principle for the management to see that the process of job evaluation will start only after the terms have been completed and explained.
11) The judgments of different rates should agree before conclusions and final appraisal of jobs.
Principles of Job Evaluation – 9 Principles Relevant to All Jobs and in All Organizations
There are certain principles of job evaluation, which are relevant to all jobs and in all organizations.
The following principles must be kept in mind before putting the job evaluation programme in actual practice:
1. Execution of job evaluation programme is a mutual cooperation of management and employees; so chosen members of committees must be agreeable to all concerned.
2. Objectives of job evaluation process should be well determined and communicated to all concerned parties.
3. The system should be transparent. Decision regarding the evaluation system (type of system, why it is chosen, and its procedure) should be communicated to concerned parties to avoid misunderstanding.
4. The level of wage rates for the selected jobs must be in conformity with the jobs prevailing in the company and in the industry.
5. It is advisable to see that all the concerned parties have an opportunity to fully engage themselves in the job evaluation process.
6. Job evaluation is concerned only with the job, i.e. its contents and not the person or job-holder.
7. Final appraisal and conclusion should not be formalised until and unless the judgements of different raters agree.
8. There should be provision for consistency checks in the operating procedure.
9. Special care should be taken in developing a grade structure following a job evaluation exercise to ensure that grade boundaries are placed appropriately and that the allocation of jobs to grades is not in itself discriminatory. The system should be regularly reviewed in order to ensure that it is being properly operated and it serves its objectives.
Principles of Job Evaluation
Following are the important principles of job-evaluation:
(1) Job must be rated and not the job-holder.
(2) Reasonably clear and accurate job description and job specifications must be available to provide the data concerning the factors to be evaluated.
(3) The factors to be evaluated must be ascertained and defined clearly. Further, the various factors should be grouped under the following heads – (a) skill (b) experience (c) responsibilities (d) efforts and initiatives (e) working conditions and (f) supervision needed.
(4) There must be a list of too many pay-scales in the organisation.
(5) The greatest degree of co-operation from employees, in job rating, will be achieved where they themselves have an opportunity to discuss the rating.
(6) Foreman or the supervisor should participate in rating of jobs in their own departments.
These principles of job evaluation can be applied to all kinds of employees, operative as well as executives. They can be applied to businesses of all sizes.
Principles of Job Evaluation – 8 Main Principles on Which the Job Evaluation Programme Should be Based
The following are the main principles on which the job evaluation programme should be based:
1. Rate the job and not the job holder. Rate the elements on the basis of the job demands or job requirements.
2. The elements selected for job rating should be easily understood.
3. These elements should be defined clearly and properly.
4. The job holders concerned and their supervisors should be educated and convinced about the programme.
5. Supervisors should be encouraged to participate in rating the jobs.
6. Employee co-operation should be secured by encouraging them to participate in the rating programme.
7. Discuss with the supervisors and employees in the organisation about the rating but not about assigning money values to the points.
8. Do not create or establish too many occupational wages.
Principles of Job Evaluation – 8 Principles that Help in Successful Implementation of the Programme
Job evaluation programme should be implemented carefully:
The following principles help in successful implementation of the programme.
(i) Rate the job but not the employee. Rate the elements on the basis of job demands.
(ii) The elements selected for rating should be easily understood.
(iii) The elements should be defined clearly and properly selected.
(iv) Employees concerned and the supervisors should be educated and convinced about the programme.
(v) Supervisors should be encouraged to participate in rating the jobs.
(vi) Secure employee cooperation by encouraging them to participate in the rating programme.
(vii) Discuss with the supervisors and employees about rating but not about assigning money values to the points.
(viii) Do not establish too many occupational wages.