Dear Reemegarg,
Performance Review Practice
- Employee's Wage/Salary is reviewed at least once or twice a year unless the maximum pay range of the position has already been reached. The employee's immediate supervisor and at least the next higher supervision level will participate in these reviews. Any increase must be approved by General Manager and including the proposal made by Department Manager.
- In considering a possible increase, a number of factors must be weighted. These include quantity and quality of work produced, cooperative attitude, position in the pay range and time since last increase.
- If agreement is reached that an increase is merited, it will be scheduled to be effective on the first of the month closest to the review date. The employee will not be notified as to an increase until the supervisor has received the approved notice of payroll change.
- If a supervisor wishes to grant a merit increase which HR Manager regards as unwarranted and agreement cannot be reached, the supervisor may continue seeking approval of the proposed increase. The supervisor will then prepare, in writing, the reasons he regards the increase as merited and this written presentation will be reviewed by successive levels of HR and line management until agreement is reached.
Here is Evaluation of Salaried Positions
Evaluation of Salaried Positions
1. Company Policy
To evaluate positions fairly and uniformly throughout the Company.
To establish a level of compensation for each position according to its degree of difficulty and responsibility and the knowledge and skill required to perform it.
To ensure that employees are assigned to salary levels commensurate with their actual duties and responsibilities.
2. Management's Responsibility
Evaluation of salaried positions is a Company program, the success of which depends on the joint action of management and HR Department.
It is management's responsibility to review the job descriptions of all positions periodically and to initiate reevaluation when the circumstances warrant. Reevaluation of an existing position may be in order when there is a change in the duties and responsibilities of the position. An entirely new position would, of course, require the writing of a complete job description so that it may be properly evaluated.
It is most important not only that a job description exist for each position in each department, but also that has the description accurately reflected the functions and duties performed by those in that position. Furthermore, to comply with Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action policies, it is essential that the work actually being performed by an employee be that of the position and level to which the employee is of officially assigned. Only as a temporary emergency measure can an exception to these rules is permitted.
In view of the above, a most important responsibility of management is to periodically compare job descriptions with the actual duties being performed by employees.
Another responsibility of management is to be able to explain the Company's job evaluation policy and general procedures to employees.
3. How Positions are Evaluated
Salaried positions in the different levels are evaluated according to a standard, Company wide evaluation system.
1). Job Description
A concise but complete description of duties and responsibilities is the basis for evaluating a position. Management usually prepares the job description. On request, HR Department will furnish printed guides to help in this endeavor. If additional advice and counsel are needed, management should consult the HR officer who may, in turn call upon analysts in HR Department or outside consulting firms.
2). Request for Evaluation
A memorandum requesting an evaluation together with the new or revised job description should be sent through the appropriate office channels to HR Department.
3). Evaluation Procedure
Analyst in the HR Department analyzes the duties of a position in terms of seven broad characteristics of work called "factors.
These factors are:
- Job Knowledge
- Machine Skills
- Special Mental Abilities
- Special Accuracy
- Public and Internal Relations
- Physical Working Conditions
- Supervision
In terms of these factors, the Analyst analyzes each position individually to determine the relative amount of knowledge, skill, responsibility, etc., it requires. Of course, not all seven factors are found in every position.
The value of each factor in the position under consideration is then determined through a comparison with the same factor in several other benchmark positions whose requirements are well established.
This procedure gives each factor proper weight and ensures evaluations that are consistently fair and uniform. The total of the values assigned to the factors determines the salary level at which the position will be evaluated. To equitably evaluate certain technical and specialized positions, it is sometimes necessary to consider other factors in addition to those shown above.
4). Final Approval
HR Department has final approval authority when its evaluation recommendations agree with those of management. However, evaluations for which agreement cannot be reached, or which cannot be otherwise resolved, may be appealed to the Senior Management Committee or General Manager.
4. Present Occupant Only Positions
On occasion, HR Department will, at management's request, establish certain special classified positions, commonly referred to as present occupant only (POO).
Basically these positions fail into three major categories:
- Positions established at salary levels lower than their evaluations call for;
- Positions established at salary levels higher than their evaluations call for;
- Positions established because of reorganizations or additions of new functions prior to job descriptions being prepared and format point evaluations being completed.
As these practices are beneficial for the effective utilization and placement of employees within the Company, they are used subject to the following provisions.
1). Positions Established at Salary Levels Lower Than Their Evaluations
* Clerks-in-training
A Clerk-in-training position is usually established to accommodate special situations involving the transfer of an individual on a trial basis whose salary level is lower than that of the job he or she will occupy. It is established for a maximum of six months after which the individual must be promoted to the correct level of the job or transferred to a different job.
* Exceptions to supervisory or trainee guidelines
Exceptions to the supervisory or trainee guidelines usually occur because the individuals currently have salary, levels much lower than called for by the supervisory or trainee positions they will occupy. In these cases, POO positions are established to provide an interim step to the proper level. These positions are closely monitored and depending upon the situation, time restrictions of six months to a year are placed on them.
2). Positions Established at Salary Levels Higher Than Their Evaluations- A position may be established at a salary level higher than called for because the individual has unique qualifications and brings more expertise to the job than would normally be expected. These cases are reviewed annually by HR Department to assure that the circumstances have not changed.
- Positions are occasionally established to accommodate an individual being trained on lower level work in another unit. Since it is felt that this assignment is part of the employee's development and will be useful to the individual and the Company at a later date, these employees are paid based upon the higher salary level. These cases are reviewed annually by HR Department to assure that the circumstances have not changed.
- The salary levels for Secretary to Officer Positions are established based upon the organizational ranking of the principal to whom the secretary is assigned.
- These assignments, however, frequently change (due to a principals retirement, transfer, resignation, etc.) and while every effort is made to place the secretary at the same or higher level, this is not always immediately possible. In these instances positions called Secretarial Assistant or Staff Secretary are established until the secretary can be placed with someone entitled to that level.
- Occasionally, positions are established at levels higher than called for because of unique personal reasons (physical or mental disability, job dissatisfaction, problems with superiors or subordinates, etc.). These situations are handled on an individual basis by HR Department.
- Positions are often established at salary levels higher than called for to accommodate individuals whose responsibilities are diminished due to reorganization. Effective immediately, the procedure for these cases is as follows:
- Management should review the Company's policy and procedures for handling
- Employees available for reassignment as contained in the booklet.
- Under normal circumstances, if attempts to transfer an employee to a position with an equivalent level are not successful within a reasonable period (not to exceed 3 months) the employee's level of record will be reduced. The employee's salary will not be affected but future salary increases will be controlled by the new level of record.
- For these types of POO positions already in existence, employees are paid based upon the higher levels. Until that date management should seek positions of equivalent salary level for these employees.
3). Positions Established Without Formal Evaluation
Positions are of ten established on a POO basis resulting from reorganization or the addition of entirely new functions.
The procedures for these situations are:
- The position will be established at the current salary level of the individual (or the agreed upon level for a new appointee).
- Management must submit a job description to HR Department within six months. A special call-up system is maintained for all such positions. If the job description has not been submitted, HR Department will assign conservative temporary salary levels based upon whatever information is available. In no case will these assigned salary level be higher than those that existed prior to any organizational change. Until such time as position descriptions are received, employees' salaries will be controlled by the new temporary, salary levels.
- If a job description has been submitted the incumbent will retain his or her current salary level until the formal evaluation is completed and approved (this includes the time necessary for appeals).
- If the position evaluates at a salary level lower than that of the incumbent salary will not be reduced.
However, the employee's level of record will be reduced immediately to the lower level and future salary actions will be restricted by the appropriate performance maximum of the lower level.
Best regards,
John