Who Should be Involved in Job Evaluation?

If the internal structure’s purpose is to aid managers those managers should be involved in the process of designing it. A common approach is to use committees, task forces, or teams that include representatives from key operating functions, including nonmanagerial employees. In some cases, the group’s role is only advisory; in others, the group designs the evaluation approach, chooses compensable factors, and approves all major changes. Organizations with unions often find that including union representatives helps gain acceptance of the results. Research suggests that attending to the fairness of the design process and the approach chosen, rather than focusing solely on the results, is likely to achieve employee and management commitment, trust, and acceptance of the results. Additional research is needed to ascertain whether the payoffs from increased participation offset potential costs. No matter what the technique, no job evaluation plan anticipates all situations. It is inevitable that some jobs will be incorrectly evaluated—or at least employees and managers may suspect that they were. When the evaluations are completed, approval by higher levels of management is usually required. An approval process helps ensure that any changes that result from evaluating work are consistent with the organization’s objectives. It is the decision-making process, rather than the instrument itself, that seems to have the greatest influence on pay outcomes.