Is it time for a job evaluation? Or would you like to learn more about the topic so that next year's pay equity analysis goes smoother than the last time? Then you've come to the right place. Here, we’ll take a look at what a job evaluation is and how it works. Let's dive in!
According to the Discrimination Act (Diskrimineringslagen in Swedish), all employers in Sweden must conduct a yearly pay equity analysis. The pay equity analysis is a process that consists of several parts. First, a workgroup should be assembled, and pay agreements and practices should be compiled. Then, differences in equal and equally valued work should be mapped out and analyzed. The work process should also be documented if the workplace has ten or more employees.
Check out our pay equity analysis quick guide.
The actual job evaluation comes into play during the mapping and analysis of equally valued work, where you will evaluate the job roles in the company. So what does this mean, more specifically?
Job Evaluation – Evaluating Equally Valued Work
First of all, what does equally valued work mean? Well, equally valued work is work that places equal demands on employees who perform it. Conducting a job evaluation simply means assessing the requirements for job duties and roles in the company to determine which jobs should be considered to be of equal value.
So, How Does the Assessment Process Work?
It is crucial that all jobs are included in the assessment, including managerial positions. When conducting your job evaluation, you also need to consider the criteria listed in Chapter 3, Paragraph 10 of the Discrimination Act: “ The assessment of the demands of the work shall be made taking into account criteria such as knowledge and skills as well as responsibility and effort. In assessing the nature of the work, particular consideration shall be given to the working conditions.” (Editor’s translation)
Most people would probably agree that the criteria above are pretty broad. To make the process easier and more tangible, it is therefore usually best to break down the criteria into smaller parts. A common method for doing this is to make a point assessment, where you simply assign points to different factors relevant to the role, such as experience, education, knowledge level, and level of responsibility.
In the point assessment, you also consider whether any of the factors are more important than any other and therefore should be given a higher score, also known as weighting. You can find more information on how to perform a job evaluation at the Discrimination Ombudsman (in Swedish).
When all the factors have been evaluated, it is time to summarize the points for each role. Once you have done this, you rank the roles.
Here are some things to consider when making your assessment:
– Structure, structure, structure. Do the job properly from the start – you will benefit from it later! A carefully conducted job evaluation can also be reused in part at your next pay equity analysis. Convenient, right?
– Ensure that you have the necessary knowledge. Those involved in the workgroup should understand the business well while being able to stay objective during the assessment.
– Think positions, not individuals. Your focus should be on the job's requirements, and the assessment should be independent of who performs the job.
– Finally, set aside enough time! It can be difficult at first to know how long each part takes, but it’s better to set aside a little extra time the first time to ensure that the job is thoroughly done.
Checklist: Getting Started With the Job Evaluation
- Prepare yourself by gathering plenty of information about the nature of the different jobs to make the proper assessments.
- Agree on which factors to use to evaluate the jobs.
- Consider whether any factor carries more weight than another.
- Time to evaluate the jobs! Go through each factor and assess the requirements in all the jobs. How high are the demands when it comes to problem-solving and collaboration skills? What level of education or experience is required? Are there factors that make the job extra physically or mentally demanding?
- Sum up the total score of the job evaluation.
- Rank the company's jobs based on the total score.
Let Smart Tools Facilitate the Work with Your Pay Equity Analysis
We get it, job evaluations and pay equity analyses can be complicated and time-consuming. But did you know that there are smart tools that make the job easier – while ensuring that everything is done correctly according to the law? Our web-based personnel system, Flex HRM, has system support that guides you through all the steps of the pay equity analysis – from job evaluation to action plan.
Contact us if you want to know more!
