Job Evaluation and Job Levelling

What is job evaluation and why is it important?

Job evaluation, or job levelling, is a systematic way of determining the relative value of different jobs in an organisation. The purpose of job evaluation is to help you to assess individual jobs objectively and avoid discrimination or prejudice. The relative worth of a job is assessed irrespective of the qualities of the job holder.

Employers evaluate jobs for a number of reasons, including to address issues over equal pay and equal value, understand new job design after organisational change, or improve recruitment and retention.

The job evaluation process can be complex as it involves working out a systematic method for assessing a wide range of jobs to make decisions about their relative value. It is used as a consistent approach to form the basis for a fair pay system, role hierarchy and job grading structure.

Rationalising your pay structures

A key element of the job evaluation process is understanding the different types of pay structures an organisation can implement and what they are designed to achieve. You may also need to consider whether new or updated job descriptions should be incorporated into the job levelling process.

Our specialist consultants use job evaluation methods that involve statistically-valid research to help you examine and rationalise the pay and grading structures in your organisation. A job evaluation scheme, implemented correctly, should address gender bias and comply with equal pay law.

A data-driven approach

Our rigorous, analytical job evaluation methods allow you to accurately determine the relative value of job roles across your organisation.

Rather than a bureaucratic, points-based process where judgements are subjective, our data-driven approach is based on broad research and meticulous interpretation – helping you make objective decisions on your organisation’s pay and grading structures.

Through research-based discussion with line managers, we understand the key differentiators and internal relativities across the organisation, and develop a set of bespoke job levelling factors that are recognised as being important to your roles.

Career framework design and reward integration

Following the job evaluation process we will provide you with a transparent, straightforward infrastructure on which to build your pay structures, job roles and organisational design, and to map and explain career paths. The job levelling framework can integrate with and support your talent, reward, resourcing and performance programmes.

We can also use the results to integrate and rationalise your employee benefit programme design with clear eligibility rules.

Failing to correctly implement a review process or using bad data can fuel employee dissatisfaction and disputes, so it is important to seek the advice of a specialist who can provide comprehensive job evaluation services and job levelling design – from initial research to implementation of the scheme.

We will support you throughout the process

A successful job levelling framework provides a straightforward method of job evaluation which is fair and easy to maintain, and our specialist team has helped many organisations achieve this through our bespoke job levelling tool. We will work closely with you and engage your senior managers throughout the process, presenting you with the data you need to make objective decisions on the pay and grading structure within your organisation.

Our robust, transparent and consistent approach not only forms the foundations for a clear career framework which is easily understood by managers and employees, it can also help protect you against equal pay claims and employment tribunals.

Our job levelling framework can be owned and managed in-house, and is simple to maintain without the need for ongoing support from consultants.