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

• Up to supervisor & employee to keep job description current based on reclassification, obsolescence, removal or addition of job duties, combining of jobs, etc.