Moule 1 - Strategic Overview 14% Flashcards
What are the Elements of Compensation?
Fixed Pay & Variable Pay
nondiscretionary compensation that does not regularly vary according to
performance or results achieved.
Fixed Pay
compensation that is contingent on discretion, performance or results achieved. It
may be referred to as “pay at risk.” Much of the innovation in compensation occurs in the variable
pay element.
Variable Pay
statement of what the
organization believes about how people should be paid. It should support the business strategy and
be a good fit with the organization’s culture. A key component is how the organization intends to pay
relative to its competitors for people – i.e., the desired market position.
compensation philosophy
the principles that guide the design,
implementation and administration of a compensation program in an organization. It may also
specify what programs will be used and how they will be administered.
Compensation strategy
Compensation Program Objectives
• Internally equitable • Externally competitive • Affordable • Understandable • Legal / defensible • Efficient to administer • Capable of being reshaped for the future • Appropriate for the organization • Attract, motivate, engage and retain employees • Create alignment of employee efforts and business objectives
provides key information about the nature and level of work performed
Job analysis (ADEWH - TEST)
Job Analysis
Job Documentation
Job Evaluation
Job Worth Hierarchy
includes written information about job content or the functions of the job
and required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs)
Job documentation (ADEWH - TEST)
creates a job worth hierarchy using a market data or job content approach
job evaluation (ADEWH - TEST)
illustrates where each job fits, relative to other jobs
job worth hierarchy (ADEWH - TEST)
After the job worth hierarchy is built, a base pay structure can be created
and utilized as a framework for pay decisions
base pay structure
A generalized job or job family common to multiple industries / organizations.
Occupation
A group of jobs having the same nature of work (e.g., engineering) but requiring different levels
of skill, effort, responsibility or working conditions (e.g., entry-level vs. senior engineer).
job family
The total collection of tasks, duties and responsibilities assigned to one or more individuals
whose work is of the same nature and is performed at the same level.
job
A standard job used for making pay comparisons to develop or validate a job
worth hierarchy. Pay data for these jobs are readily available in published surveys.
Benchmark Job (TEST)
The total work assignment of an individual employee, comprised of a specific set of duties /
responsibilities. The total number of ___ in an organization equals the number of employees
plus vacancies.
Positions
Employees + Vacancies (TEST)
Positions
A duty or group of duties which describes the (major purpose or reasons for the existence of a job)
Job responsibility
A group of tasks that constitutes one of the distinct and major activities involved in the work
performed.
Job Duty
One or more elements constituting a distinct activity that forms a logical and necessary step in
the performance of work by an employee.
Task (Check vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature)
The smallest step into which it is practical to subdivide any work activity without analyzing
separate motions, movements or mental processes.
Task elements (TEST) (Place blood pressure cuff on patient, Record blood pressure reading)
Job Specifications - KSABs
Knowledge + skills + abilities + behaviors
Defines mental aspects of job, What employee must know (through education, training or experience), Example: Accounting principle
knowledge
Defines manual and/or applied mental aspects of job, What employee must be
able to do (typically experience or training), Example: Maintain general ledger
skill
Natural talents or developed proficiencies, Defines aptitudes normally present at birth in job incumbent, but may in some cases be acquired, Example: Balance multiple priorities
abilities
Behaviors required for performing the job, Defines how the employee should act in support of organizational goals, Example: Positive interaction with members of organization
Behaviors
Define and explain the steps that must be completed before building a base pay structure. (ADEWH)
Job analysis
Job documentation
job evaluation
job worth hirearchy
When is the base pay structure created?
After the job worth hierarchy is built
The phrases “lifts cover, lays paper on glass, closes cover and presses start button” are examples
of which of the following?
Task elements
An operations team has five data entry clerks, one proofreader and one supervisor. How many
jobs are in the unit?
3
What job specification describes what the employee should be able to do based on his or her
experience or training?
skills
Develop job worth hierarchy • Document work methods • Provide basis for performance appraisal • Identify job families • Identify qualifications • Provide basis for legal and regulatory compliance • Determine if a job should exist • Identify design elements
Job Analysis
Incumbents – have the most detailed information about their own duties and responsibilities
■ Analysts – can provide a more objective and consistent approach to analyzing job content
■ Supervisors – can provide important validation of incumbent input
■ Local or centralized staff – depends on company policy
■ Employee representatives – useful but not mandatory
Who should be involved in job analysis (TEST)
■ Determine the level of participation according to management philosophy and/or current
contractual agreements
■ Describe the project to any third-party representatives prior to the general announcement
to employees
■ Emphasize the role of job analysis in providing third-party representatives and management with
data on which to base pay decisions
■ Discuss the various approaches to job analysis
■ Discuss where joint participation would be appropriate.
Working with Unions / Employee Representatives (TEST)
___ needs to be collected about the jobs (based on the type of job evaluation plan used)
To establish relative internal job worth, it is necessary to identify, collect and analyze critical data
about the job. Critical data fall into two major categories:
■ Nature of work
• Duties
• Responsibilities
■ Level of work
• Skill
• Effort (mental, physical)
• Responsibility (i.e., accountability)
• Working conditions
Job Analysis Process (TEST)
• Plan
- Identify information (critical data)
Information obtained from sources other than incumbent or supervisor INTERNAL work flow studies policies and procedures manuals org charts existing job docs org goals and objectives EXTERNAL industry association materials commercially available materials salary surveys government publications
secondary sources of job information
Direct observation – observing one or more cycles of work to learn where the work comes from,
what is done with it and where it goes after the operation is complete
■ Individual interviews – includes an in-depth discussion with job incumbent to provide
information about what he/she does, how and why
■ Group interviews – process of interviewing several incumbents at the same time
■ Technical consultation – process of interviewing technical experts to obtain information
■ Questionnaires – Often replace interviews as a source of gathering data when there are many
jobs to be analyzed. Questionnaires attempt to capture the same information as a one-on-one
interview. (TEST)
• Open-ended – Questions are structured to allow job incumbents increased latitude
in responding.
• Highly structured – Questions limit responses and focus mainly on the frequency of tasks or
responsibilities.
Primary sources of job information
Description
• Observing workers in order to understand job duties, responsibilities, tasks and
task elements
■ Application
• Most appropriate for manual and repetitious work that occurs in short cycles
■ Procedure
• Gather information from the appropriate secondary sources
• Identify desired work activities to observe
• Explain the process to the employee before observing
• Be as unobtrusive as possible and observe through the entire work cycle
• Conduct a follow-up interview with the incumbent to understand work observed
• Verify results with the supervisor
■ Advantages
• For short-cycle work, observations can be done fairly easily to identify tasks and
confirm behaviors
■ Disadvantages
• Can be a time-consuming and costly process in terms of resources used (i.e., manual labor to
observe job duties)
• May not be sufficient enough information to write a job description
• May intimidate employees by creating a “big brother” atmosphere
• Not as useful in higher level jobs
Direct Observation
Application
• When an individual interview with all incumbents is impractical
• When a sample of incumbent responses is desirable
• When the information indicates the jobs are basically the same in terms of the nature and
level of work (or only minor differences)
Group Interview
Description
• A structured review of job content between a job analyst and several experts
■ Application
• For a newly created technical position, best understood by people other than incumbents
• For jobs in a new or emerging field
• Typically used when the job has no incumbents
Technical Consultation
Description – A written set of questions regarding job content that requires a narrative response
■ Application
• For most job families, except production and maintenance jobs. Best for those jobs that are
professional, managerial and executive level.
• When the organization lacks the internal resources for individual interviews
• When the time frame is too short for individual interviews
• A useful supplementary tool to be used in conjunction with individual interviews
• To gather information to determine legal compliance
Open-Ended Questionnaires
• May require a follow-up if the questions are not clearly defined / answered
• Variations in incumbent writing skills can be misleading and can produce
inconsistent results.
• Assessment of questionnaire output can be time-consuming and tedious.
• A poor command of the language could limit the ability to communicate effectively.
Disadvantages of Open Ended Questions
■ Description
• A written set of questions regarding job content that limits responses to a predetermined set
of answers (e.g., behavioral and task)
■ Application
• All job families, although typically not used for lower-level, production-type jobs
• When highly detailed data on job tasks, skills or behaviors are desired for multiple human
resources purposes
• When organizations have sufficient computer capabilities, personnel and financial resources
■ Procedure
• Develop the questionnaire
• The questionnaires are completed by the incumbents, approved by supervisors and returned
to human resources.
• Responses from multiple incumbents of the same job are reconciled to a common set
of answers.
• The responses are entered into the computer and scored.
Advantages
• Flexibility; can be tailored to the job group being analyzed
• Consistency; everyone answers the same questions
• Can cover a large number of jobs
• Database of responses can have multiple uses
■ Disadvantages (TEST)
• Time-consuming and expensive to develop
• Often lengthy and time-consuming to complete
• Questions usually need to be validated first
• If too long, individuals may complete without care
Highly Structured Questionnaire
the most common method for collecting job
analysis information.
• The questionnaires are generally completed by the incumbent without the job
analyst present.
• The principal advantages are speed, minimal cost of collecting data and the incumbents’
detailed knowledge of duties.
Open-ended questionnaires
Used most frequently in conjunction with job evaluation programs which use
statistical methods
• Ask very specific questions and have a predetermined set of responses
• Often requires the job analyst to complete the document using an interview format with
the employee (TEST)
Highly structured questionnaires
(TEST)
Sampling errors – example: selecting the first ten job incumbents from a list arrayed by hire date,
so that the sample represents incumbents with the shortest tenure
■ Incumbent bias – an individual in the job may not accurately represent all facets of the work
Inadequate communication – example: failure to explain what the information will be used for
■ Misinterpretation of questions – example: failure to explain the level of responsibility associated
with “budget accountability”
■ Bias in recording or coding information – example: job analyst, incumbent or supervisor
■ Misuse of statistical procedures – example: construction of questionnaires. It is important
to account for the entire job group being evaluated before constructing the questionnaire. If
the questionnaire is constructed based on the input from too small a sample of the group, the
questionnaire will be non-representative of the group and the results could be skewed.
Possible Sources of Error in Job Analysis
Describe the purpose of job analysis and the people who may be involved
to define the most desirable KSAB required to perform a job. Incumbents and supervisors are involved
Explain the process of getting to the job worth hierarchy
Job analysis > Job documentation > job evaluation > Job worth hierarchy
Plan
• Identify what information (critical data) needs to be collected about the jobs (based on the
type of job evaluation plan used)
• Determine the sources of information to be used and who will conduct the data collection
• Develop a communication plan
■ Action
• Communicate what you are doing and why
• Collect critical data on the actual nature and level of work
• Verify the data and augment it through management review
• Revise and reconcile the data as required and inform the job incumbent of any revisions
Job Analysis Process
Identify and explain the various sources of job information.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources of job information include the following:
Internal sources
■ Work flow studies may have been conducted in an attempt to analyze which jobs can be
automated. Incumbents may prepare diaries or logs.
■ Policies and procedures materials of the group can sometimes be an indication of the work
process, training and knowledge requirements of the various jobs in the group.
■ Organizational charts can provide some indication of the level of the job and reporting
relationships.
■ Existing job documentation is an effective way to obtain background information on the job.
■ Organizational goals or objectives discuss the responsibilities and the achievements which are
measured for performance purposes.
External sources
■ Industry association materials – Some associations have standard job descriptions to provide
benchmark information.
■ Commercially available materials – Many books are available for purchase that include sample
job descriptions.
■ Salary surveys have some generic job descriptions in the survey materials. These typically are
benchmark jobs.
■ Government publications are generally inexpensive and comprehensive in sampling a large
number of jobs.
Primary Sources
■ Direct observation – observing one or more cycles of work to learn where the work comes from,
what is done with it and where it goes after the operation is complete
■ Individual interviews – includes an in-depth discussion with job incumbent to provide
information about what he/she does, how and why
■ Group interviews – process of interviewing several incumbents at the same time
■ Technical consultation – process of interviewing technical experts to obtain information
■ Questionnaires – Often replace interviews as a source of gathering data when there are many
jobs to be analyzed. Questionnaires attempt to capture the same information as a one-on-one
interview.
• Open-ended – Questions are structured to allow job incumbents increased latitude
in responding.
• Highly structured – Questions limit responses and focus mainly on the frequency of tasks or
responsibilities.
Explain considerations related to job analysis communication
Audience • Who has to be informed? ■ Media • What media should be used? ■ Message • What message will be communicated? ■ Timing • When should various elements of communication take place?
Process
• Design a communication plan
– Who, what, where, when, why, how
– Identify responsible parties
■ Methods
• Group meetings
– Conduct group meetings with managers and supervisors
– Arrange and conduct information sessions
• Written communication
– Send a general announcement letter to employees from senior management
– Publish article(s) in employee newsletters
• Feedback
– Provide participant feedback at the appropriate intervals
– Send a letter of thanks from senior management to participants and committee members
■ Identify and describe possible sources of error in job analysis.
Sampling errors – example: selecting the first ten job incumbents from a list arrayed by hire date,
so that the sample represents incumbents with the shortest tenure
■ Incumbent bias – an individual in the job may not accurately represent all facets of the work
■ Incomplete information – where incumbent leaves blank or insufficient responses to questions
for a variety of reasons, particularly illiteracy (i.e. inability to understand what is written)
■ Illogical question order and sequence – where the incumbent is confused or misled by the order
of the information and therefore provides inaccurate data
Inadequate communication – example: failure to explain what the information will be used for
■ Misinterpretation of questions – example: failure to explain the level of responsibility associated
with “budget accountability”
■ Bias in recording or coding information – example: job analyst, incumbent or supervisor
■ Misuse of statistical procedures – example: construction of questionnaires. It is important
to account for the entire job group being evaluated before constructing the questionnaire. If
the questionnaire is constructed based on the input from too small a sample of the group, the
questionnaire will be non-representative of the group and the results could be skewed.
What best describes one of the purposes of job analysis?
To document work processes for training purposes
Prior to conducting a job analysis interview, where might one obtain secondary job information?
Organizational charts
Which job analysis technique is best suited to assembly line workers?
Direct observation
Which of the following would be the best source of job information for a job in a new or
emerging field?
Technical consultation
How could sampling error affect the potential outcomes of a job analysis?
The results may not be representative of the entire group.
Types of Job Documentation
■ Job analysis questionnaires
• In many cases, questionnaires completed by incumbents and/or supervisors, may contain
more specific and extensive data about a particular job than a formal job description.
■ Job family matrices (TEST)
• Information on multiple levels within the same job family.
■ Job descriptions
• A formal documentation of duties and responsibilities as well as job specifications.
Job Descriptions
(TEST)
Important features included on a job description:
■ The general nature of the work
• Duties
• Responsibilities
■ The level of the work performed
• SERWC (skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions)
■ The specifications for the job
• Employee characteristics required for competent performance of the job.
Developing a job worth hierarchy ■ Identification of performance standards ■ Organizational design uses ■ Salary survey exchanges ■ Legal defenses ■ Job assignments ■ Selection / recruitment ■ Establishment of career paths and succession planning
Role of Job Descriptions in Pay Programs
If a job is occupied by more than one person (if there are two or more positions), there may be some
differences between the way in which incumbents perform the work. In this case, incorporate
principal elements of the job into a single description. (TEST) Ignore those minor differences in the way work
is performed which may be inappropriate for all job incumbents.
Job Description format
Reflect nature / level of work
• Are “politically correct”
• Avoid unnecessary inflation
• Avoid discrimination
• Consider internal and external status issues
• Consider HRIS Capabilities – and/or Limitations
job titles
Use titles which describe the general nature and level of work performed.
• Titles such as “Clerk,” “Instructor,” “Analyst” and “Mechanic” indicate the general nature of
the work (that is, the principal duties and responsibilities of the incumbents).
• Other components of the job title such as “Senior,” “Specialist” and “Lead” indicate the level
of the work.
job titles
(TEST) ______ to ensure that the nature and level of work is easily understood.
• Titles which overstate the importance of the job can contribute to difficulty in matching jobs
to surveys and create pressure to change titles among other job families.
Refrain from inflating titles
A job description typically indicates whether the job is exempt from, or not exempt from overtime
requirements.
Criteria for exemption – When classifying jobs into a job group category in the U.S., it is
important to consider the primary duties of the job, as well as other criteria specified by the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Department of Labor (DOL).*
(TEST)
Indicate the job title of the supervisor to whom this job reports.
■ Indicate the title(s) of any employees directly supervised by this job.
■ Address dotted-line reporting relationships and informal “lead” duties in the duties and
responsibilities section.
Reporting relationships
The general nature and level can sometimes be indicated by starting
the summary with a phrase like “under the direction of…” Because this is a summary, it is usually
easier to write after completing other sections of the description.
general summary
(TEST)
The general summary states the general nature, level and purpose of the job.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
(TEST)
Include current duties and/or responsibilities which account for more than 5% of the
incumbent’s time or are critical to the successful performance of the job.
(TEST)
Identify essential functions in the job to meet legal requirements could include:
The reason the job exists
• A limited number of employees available to perform the function
• Functions are highly specialized and require expertise.
Example: When reviewing return to work situations after someone has been on short-term
disability
Level Cutters
When describing jobs having a similar nature but a dissimilar level of work, indicate the different
levels through the use of appropriate modifying words or phrases. Sometimes a table referred to as a
“level cutter” is prepared to assist in the writing of job descriptions. A level cutter usually indicates a
change in compensable factors from the lowest job level to the highest.
(TEST)
This section of the job description identifies the minimum job specifications required to
perform the job.
■ Identify the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs), and behaviors necessary to perform the job
competently.
Job Specifications
An employer may not refuse to hire an individual
because of his or her religion, sex or national origin unless that limitation is reasonably necessary
to the normal operation of the employer’s business. Race can never be a BFOQ.
Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs)
Working Conditions
■ Describe the physical environment in which the work is performed:
• Hazardous or dangerous environment (i.e., working with chemicals)
• Adverse conditions (i.e. temperature extremes)
• Unpleasant environment (i.e. strong or unpleasant odors)
■ Describe working conditions in the following terms:
• Level / intensity
• Frequency
• Duration
(TEST)
Most professional and executive job descriptions do not include this section
because work is assumed to be performed under normal office conditions.
TEST
Some additional nonessential functions may be covered by disclaimer statements.
Examples:
• “May perform other duties as assigned.”
• “The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being
performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all
responsibilities, duties and skills required.”
Disclaimer Statement
