JOB ANALYSIS, JOB EVALUATION & JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Job analysis, evaluation and development of accurate job descriptions support many critical aspects of an organization’s human capital management

The list goes on. Regardless of the need, completing job analysis or evaluation or developing job descriptions effectively is of the utmost importance and requires specific expertise and knowledge. ME CAREER has been providing these services to our clients since 2007. Our experts continuously stay abreast of changes in legislation as well as industry best practices to ensure both the processes and resulting job documentation can withstand legal scrutiny and protect our clients, while supporting the backbone of their operations.

Job Analysis - What does it take to be successful in a particular position?

Jobs are analyzed to identify the requirements needed for employees to be successful on the job – helping both the employer and the employee. There are numerous methods of analyzing jobs including observation, interviewing, questionnaires, competency profiling, etc. Regardless of the method used, ME CAREER focuses on the job itself and not the person performing the job. This ensures accuracy of job function regardless of who is performing it. Depending on the nature of the job as well as project specifications, ME CAREER typically applies our proprietary Foundation of Measured Success job analysis approach, which incorporates a two-fold, cross-referencing solicitation and validation of the job by both the job incumbent and supervisor, ensuring consistency by title and/or work area. Other methods are incorporated into the analysis process as needed to develop a comprehensive job profile.

Job Descriptions - Why are they important and what should they include?

Job descriptions are the foundation of organizational performance, serving in a variety of HR functions. At ME CAREER, the development of effective job descriptions is a critical part of our Foundations of Measured Success philosophy. ME CAREER-developed job descriptions:

1. Define the jobs for performance planning, transfer, promotion, staff planning, career, and disability accommodation purposes
2. Use standard formats that allow for consistent application
3. Give employees written definitions of their jobs
4. Provide reliable sources for compensation plan design and establishing internal equity
5. Help organizations move swiftly to increase or replace staff due to increased business or turnover
6. Help those responsible for work flow to perform systematic analyses of organizations’ work processes from start to finish
7. Assist in meeting important compliance obligations.

At ME CAREER, we develop job descriptions that are broad, descriptive, and flexible to enable adaptation to your organization’s changing needs. We work with our clients to develop effective templates, identify critical goals and unique qualifiers of their organization, and then we help to establish and connect each job’s duties back to the critical goals of the organization. This ensures alignment of each job to the overall success of the organization, while providing the details needed to support effective job performance. At the same time, every job description developed by ME CAREER includes the minimum criteria needed to successfully perform in the job such as required knowledge, skills, and abilities, responsibilities, reporting structure, and typical mental and physical requirements of the job.

Job Evaluation - What is the value of each job within my organization?

Job evaluation is a systematic process of determining the relative value of various jobs within an organization, and assigning jobs to a hierarchical index of job value. Effective job evaluation enables an organization to:

1. Provide fair pay to its employees
2. Attract and retain its needed talent
3. Identify duplication of tasks and gaps between jobs and function allowing it to make strategic alignment decisions
4. Identify qualification requirements
5. Place jobs in salary structures
6. Maintain internal equity.

At ME CAREER, our trained and well-experienced staff provides an unbiased, holistic approach to evaluation of an organization’s jobs.

• We focus on only the job itself, not the person performing the job – something that can be very difficult to do if you are an employee of the organization
• We understand the effects a job evaluation process can have on the employees such as job insecurity or fear of pay cuts – so we assist in using an organization-wide involvement and continuous communication process helping to ease concerns and establish a sense of ownership from the results of the job evaluation
• We know the struggles that can occur with management involvement and we take a proactive approach from the onset to help ensure the cooperation needed for successful project completion

We complete job evaluations using current industry best practices in alignment with the requirements of equal pay legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and Equal Pay Act. Typically, job evaluations are completed after the job analysis and job descriptions are complete. ME CAREER employs both non-quantitative methods of evaluation such as job classification, as well as quantitative methods such as a job point-factoring which utilizes compensable factors to determine internal worth – a key to establishing an internally consistent compensation (HL to Compensation Analysis & Design) system that can serve as a strategic tool for the organization.