National Remuneration Centre Comparative salaries for almost any job within an organisation can be obtained from various surveys on a job title/job description match basis. Comparisons can be made based nation-wide or regional data, with organisations of similar size, and with organisations in the same industry.
In many instances this approach is adequate, especially for lower level positions where there may not be a great deal of scope to vary job content for a particular job category. But as the jobs under consideration become more specialised or at a more senior level, matching on job title or even by position description cannot, in all practicality, take into account material differences between what are otherwise seemingly similar job roles across organisations. The NRC's job evaluation system
Jobscore measures a wide range of
skills required by a job to form the basis of its comparisons between jobs, and is judged to be a more accurate method for comparing positions than job description/title matching. This does not however deny that there is also some subjectivity in the job evaluation process regarding the level of skill required by a particular job.
The job evaluation process results in a quantitative measure (called job points) which can then be compared with other jobs, both internal and external to the organisation: other jobs that have been assessed using the same yardstick. Importantly also, through the NRC job evaluated
salary survey, the evaluations can be interpreted into market salaries, and thereby contribute in the formulation and maintenance of
remuneration policy.
A robust procedure for determining evaluations requires a methodical approach. What needs to be created is a framework of evaluations within which the assessments for all positions in the organisation to be evaluated can be determined. The framework to be constructed also helps ensure consistency in the assessments made.
To ensure a robust framework, an evaluation for the most senior position in the organisation is determined at the outset. This position forms a foundation for all other evaluations in the organisation. Successive levels in the organisation, leading down from the most senior position, are then determined in order, to expand and build the foundation upon which successive organisational levels are assessed.
The steps are as follows: Based on the confirmed evaluations, salary levels can be compared with the market and salary policy formulated. Formulation of the salary policy can be aided by the use of a spreadsheet and charts. Materials required for each participant in the process is a copy of the
Jobscore Manual, and sheets to record assessments. Participants should prepare themselves for evaluation sessions by familiarising themselves with the Jobscore evaluation factors, and, as pre-work to the formal evaluation sessions, attempt evaluation of the positions in their areas of responsibility. Other materials include a comprehensive organisation chart including the number of full-time equivalent employees in each area, individual area budgets, and job descriptions. Job descriptions should be worded to address the factors measured by Jobscore and be couched in quantitative terms where ever possible.
The time taken for this process depends upon the number of jobs to be examined, but typically it is expected that the meeting with the most senior position in Step 1 above would take approximately one-half hour, and that at most two such meetings would be required.
Step 2 would require between 1.5 and 2 hours with each second-tier position.
Each moderation session, which requires the presence of the most senior position and the second-tier positions, can be expected to take about three hours. Experience has shown that about three such sessions are required. The times mentioned are for the assessment of about thirty jobs.
Job Evaluation Procedure