Job Evaluations and Classifications

Job evaluation and classification determines applicable wage or salary structures used to pay employees. This evaluation and classification role is closely related with the industrial engineering duties of manufacturing operations. In many companies the wage payment activity is performed by the industrial engineering department.

Job analysis refers to the procedure of making a thorough appraisal of each position and recording details of the work so that the job can be evaluated.

Job evaluation is a technique for equitably determining the relative worth of different work assignments within an organization. This technique establishes fair base rates for different work assignments. In general, job evaluation procedures consider what the employee brings to the job in the form of education, experience, and special skills, and what physical and mental effort the job requires. A third important factor is the amount of responsibility the job requires.

Some of the information needed for job analysis/evaluations includes the following:

The nature of the work activities, including work procedures or processes, human behavior, physical job demands, personal responsibility and accountability.
The machinery and equipment used.
The nature of the work inputs and outputs, e.g. raw materials and finished goods.
Work performance, including productivity standards and product quality specifications.
Job context, incorporating the work, the organizational environment, compensation and motivational factors.
Personal requirements of incumbents, including requisite knowledge and skills, aptitudes, physical and psychological characteristics.