All jobs in an organization will be evaluated using an agreed job evaluation scheme.

Job evaluators will need to gain a thorough understanding of the job

Job evaluation is concerned with jobs, not people. It is not the person that is being evaluated.

The job is assessed as if it were being carried out in a fully competent and acceptable manner.

Job evaluation is based on judgments and is not scientific. However if applied correctly it can enable objective judgments to be made.

It is possible to make a judgment about a job's contribution relative to other jobs in an organization.

The real test of the evaluation results is their acceptability to all participants.

Job evaluation can aid organizational problem solving as it highlights duplication of tasks and gaps between jobs and functions.

Job Evaluation - The Future

As organizations constantly evolve and new organisations emerge there will be challenges to existing principles of job evaluation. Whether existing job evaluation techniques and accompanying schemes remain relevant in a faster moving and constantly changing world, where new jobs and roles are invented on a regular basis, remains to be seen.

The formal points systems, used by so many organisations is often already seen to be inflexible. Sticking rigidly to an existing scheme may impose barriers to change.

Constantly updating and writing new jobs together with the time that has to be spent administering the job evaluation schemes may become too cumbersome and time consuming for the benefits that are derived.

Does this mean that we will see existing schemes abandoned or left to fall into disrepute ? Will providers of job evaluation schemes examine and, where necessary, modify them to ensure they are up to date and relevant ?

Simply sticking rigidly to what is already in place may not be enough to ensure their survival.

Job Evaluation - More

Job evaluation is essentially one part of a tripartite subject, which is collectively referred to as Job Study (other names exist). The three parts are Job Analysis; Job Evaluation - the information collected is evaluated using a numerical scale or ranking and rating methodology; and Merit Rating - BSI definition (32542).

BSI definition - 32529 – "Any method ranking the relative worth of jobs which can then be used as a basis for a remuneration system"

It is essentially a comparative process.

Job evaluation evaluates selected job factors, which are regarded as important for the effective performance of the job, according to one of several alternative methods.

The resulting numerical gradings can form the basis of an equitable structure of job gradings. The job grades may or may not be used for status or payment purposes.