LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACADEMY Designing and Implementing Compensation Plans for Non-Uniform Employees...
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Transcript of LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACADEMY Designing and Implementing Compensation Plans for Non-Uniform Employees...
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACADEMY
Designing and Implementing Compensation Plans
for Non-Uniform Employees
March 19, 2008
Presenters:Michael Foreman
Governor’s Center for Local Government Services-DCED
Michael Weir, Ph.D
Consultant, Local Government Academy
John McCreary, Esquire
Babst Calland Clements & Zomnir
TOPICS:
• JOB CONTENT/ANALYSIS AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS
• EXTERNAL COMPETITIVENESS
• INTERNAL CONSISTENCY
• ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
JOB CONTENT/ANALYSIS:
• Means for establishing base pay performing wide variety of duties and responsibilities
• To show relationship between job content information and differences in rates of pay
• Procedure for collecting job content information is job analysis• Systematic process of collecting, recording and effectively
describing information that facilitates an accurate identification of responsibilities, duties and qualification requirements of a jobholder
USES OF JOB ANALYSIS/CONTENT INFORMATION
• Involves all aspects of staffing – requires valid information about necessary knowledge and skills, responsibilities, training & development of employee
• Pay assigned a particular job – determining worth of position within organization
• Performance appraisal – identification of desired results and establishment of acceptable standards
• If staffing, pay and appraisal decisions are not rooted in content of job, likelihood of staffing decisions based on highly subjective criteria almost certain
JOB CONTENT COLLECTION PROCEDURES
Four basic collection procedures:
1. Questionnaires
2. Observation
3. Interview
4. Diary/Log
QUESTIONNAIRE
• Most useful approach in terms of amount of information collected and time required to collect it
• Critical questionnaire be designed to be easily understood by all who complete it
• Collect information needed for its intended use on all aspects of job
• Be properly completed• Design varies from use of open-ended questions to checklist
statements• Risk that it will not be complete, inaccurate or take excessive
time to return
OBSERVATION
• Analyst observes and records what employee is doing – entire work cycle or all activities to perform
• Be mindful that some assignments performed on irregular basis, because of situational requirements, occur at definite periods of time or conclusion of specific set of activities
• Likelihood of missing activities or occur infrequently may result in less than complete picture of content of job
• Issue of perception – Is what observer sees and records actually happening? Does observer’s interpretation and description of what is visualized validly describe what actually occurred?
• Observations normally link with interview procedure - to clarify aspects of job not completely understood - inquire about activities performed not detected or not performed while observer on scene and - include comments or feelings of worker as to which aspects of job should be emphasized or deemphasized
INTERVIEW
• Face to face discussion and interaction with who have knowledge of job to gather information
• Conduct with worker - group performing same or similar jobs - with supervisors of jobs or - with those who do not perform job but are very familiar with job activities, behaviors demonstrated by proficient workers and results expected when performed satisfactorily
• Group interviews with worker and supervisor or higher level – be mindful that presence of management may inhibit worker providing valid and useful information related to job content (threatening, coercive or chilling effect)
• Issues that affect value and usefulness of questionnaire also affect design of interview
• Kinds of questions to be asked and sequence of questions have influence on quality of information collected
• Extreme care in determining who will and will not be members of group to be interviewed
DIARY/LOG
• Least used • When worker changes from one work activity to
another, description of new activity recorded along with time of occurrence
• As with observation, critical worker record all significant work activities including those that occur infrequently or at irregular intervals
• Primary advantage is comprehensiveness
• Requires much effort and diligence • Many people do not like to spend time writing• Could use tape recorder but need transcribed
USE OF TWO OR MORE INFORMATION COLLECTION PROCEDURES
• Multiple approach to achieve quality and quantity of information has benefits
• Questionnaires provide largest amount of information in shortest amount of time and is probably least costly
• Observation provides deeper understanding and appreciation of job
• Interviewing provides specific kinds of information not readily obtainable through questionnaire or observation and permit validation of information and interpretation gathered through other procedures
• Diary/Logs provide specific and more detailed information than obtained through any other procedure
• Multiple collection techniques that involve more than one worker frequently used
DESIGNING JOB ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE
• Most commonly used procedure for collecting job content information to write job description and eventual evaluation of job
• Links determination of rate of pay for jobs based on their worth
FORMAT CONSIDERATIONS
• Questions and flow should direct attention to job/work activities – both obvious and obscure
• Four distinct sections1. Identification – name, job title and other individual
& organizational data2. Job activity information3. Compensable information indentifying significant
features or qualities of job4. Review section (immediate supervisor or manager
review information provided for completeness and accuracy – reviewer completes separate section describing inaccuracies or providing additional information)
• Second and third sections are heart of questionnaire
• Open-ended Questions
1. Find out what is happening now – description of all work activities including those worker believes should be doing as part of job but aren’t and those not doing but should be
2. Disadvantage is often answered sketchily, not at all or too verbosely
Checklist Statements• Allows worker to make choice among number of
potential or alternative responses rather than having to write detailed answers to open-ended questions
• Provide broad spectrum of possible responses• Obtain task or job activity information and features
or qualities of job that include environmental conditions influencing performance
Task or Activity Checklist Statements• Must be extensive if are to cover essential tasks/activities
performed by worker• Develop different set of checklist statements for each
occupational group• Will require some open-ended questionnaire or interview
session• Place on scale to identify tasks/activities part of particular
job and level or degree of task/activity• Scales relate to dimensions of task as relates to job –
criticality – complexity – importance – frequency of occurrence – difficulty = weighting each task statement
Job Features or Quality Checklists
1. Relate to specific compensable factors used in job evaluation method
2. Focus on specific kinds and degrees of information needed for job evaluation purposes
3. Related to description of various degrees/levels of compensable factors used in job evaluation method
WRITING JOB DESCRPITIONS
• Next step is writing job description• Links employer obligations to employee
responsibilities• Outline of job requirements and typical activities
expected of worker in performing job assignments• May contain sections that identify job specifications
and general list of desired end results
DESIGN OF TYPICAL JOB DESCRIPTION• Five basic sections
1. Identification
2. Summary
3. Responsibility and duty statements
4. Minimum qualifications or specifications
5. Accountabilities
JOB IDENTIFICATION SECTION• Job title, department, name of supervisor, date
written, etc. Most important are title and date written
JOB SUMMARY SECTION
Consist of two to five sentences that provide thumbnail description of essential parts or functions of job
RESPONSIBILITY AND DUTY SECTION• Heart of job description to identify primary reasons
for existence of job or its major activities
• Describe major functional areas of assignments & duties – three to seven responsibility statements
• Identifies major knowledge and skills required of worker – relate to operational, technical, financial and interpersonal
• Establish what, how and why job exists – what, how & why work is being performed
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS SECTION• Identifies knowledge and skills candidate should
have prior to being selected for job• May include listing of certifications or licenses
required before job may be performed
ACCOUNTABILITIES SECTION• Identifies desired results in general terms
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITING JOB DESCRIPTIONS
• Have valid and sufficient job content information• Job responsibility, duty or activity statement should – tell what
action is being performed – tell to whom or what action is directed – tell what is produced by action – tell how it is done
• Establish ordering of responsibilities• Establish ranking of duties for each responsibility