Growing Company Dilemma: Should I Set Up a Job Grading System Now or Wait?

Hi all, I'm managing a company that is bound to grow next year as our signed projects are yet to be started. Currently, there are only a very few staff available. Is it advisable for me to come up with a Job Grading System now, or should I wait until later when I have more staff?

Implementing a Job Grading System

If I need to implement it now, considering the limited number of staff at the moment, how should I go about it?

Please advise. Thank you!

Can you please advise the total number of staff and the nature of the business? Currently, what system are you following? I hope that you have assigned designations to your employees.

I hope I can simplify it as best as possible. I'm employed under the holding company which holds Company A (Oil & Gas) and Company B (Network Securities). Company A is not even a year old, and Company B's projects will kick off next year. Currently, Company A has a few projects going on, and they don't require a lot of staff, so there's only a Project Manager on board for now. Soon, there will be a Business Admin cum Clerk and a Despatch.

Company B's project will be kicking off in the second quarter of next year, so hiring will start at the end of this year or early next year. We have an Accounts Manager for both companies, but he is outsourced. So, really, there are only two of us, me (HR) and the Project Manager for Company A.

So, I'm wondering if I should start developing a Job Grading system now (if it's possible) or should I wait until later once we start hiring? Also, if you have any suggestions on what the processes are.

Thanks!

Without a sufficient number of employees, it's not advisable to implement a grading system. At this point, it would be more appropriate to focus on establishing a designation system. A designation system can adequately cater to the needs of small and mid-sized organizations.

For your immediate requirements, you should plan the necessary positions, their respective roles, and the required job knowledge.

Thank you.

Like Jeevarathnam P suggested, for a company of your current size, it's not really necessary to have a grading system. In a way, it would add to your workload and process without the associated gains. The core issue here is not if it's 'possible', but if it's 'necessary'.

Could you please clarify or confirm how this thought originated in the first place? There must be a reason why you believed that grading may be needed.

Considering your plans, I am not sure if implementing a grading system, even when you hire in end-2012/early-2013, will be truly necessary unless you plan to hire a large staff at once.

All the Best.

Regards, TS

Hey, thanks so much for your feedback. I will take into consideration all your suggestions and advice. As for your query, TS, the reason why I was thinking of implementing a grading system is that, if possible, I want everything to start as organized as possible. That's the thing; I'm not sure exactly how many people I will be hiring by the end of 2012 or early 2013, but it could be quite a number of people at a time. Hence, I thought if a job grading system is already in place, I wouldn't have to worry about it then. What I would probably need to do is just amend where needed. By the way, what is your idea of a large staff? How many people are we talking about?

Regarding what Jeevarathnam P mentioned, I do already have the designation system, just not in-depth as I'm still researching and trying to put together their responsibilities and such.

Sorry, all of this is quite new to me, and I have the opportunity to build something from scratch, so I want to do everything as right as possible rather than wrong (which, of course, along the way, I will incur some).

Regards,
LM

There are many types of grading systems, sir. However, I prefer using the comparison system based on documented duties and responsibilities. I then establish the salary system attached to the job classification system.