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Page updated: 12 May 2004 |
JOB
EVALUATION & NOTTS COUNTY COUNCIL: Lessons Learnt
As the evaluations progress, we are all learning lessons. We are putting advice here. Please click on the links below:
An NJC JE Help Line has been set up and Guidebook produced. For details, click on the links below: As a result of feedback from managers, the Steering Group has produced additional guidance in the packs that are sent out to those arranging preparation meetings. In addition to the advice about arranging the meeting, booking a Trade Union steward and agreeing a date for the interview, the pack now includes a basic questionnaire that can be used to gather information and be taken in to the interview. To ensure fairness and consistency, the questionnaire was sent to those who had held their preparation meeting but not yet been interviewed, and copies were available to those few who had already been interviewed so that they could see if it would have changed how they answered any questions. Reminder You can help reduce the likelihood of being invited to a re-evaluation interview by giving relevant examples to support your answers to questions in the interviews. In the interviews, the analyst will regularly ask for examples to put in the comments section that help the DMPs and Steering Group deal with any concerns raised or clarify why a particular answer has been chosen. The best time to come up with
examples is during the preparation meeting, when the group is together and
everyone can contribute. Writing the examples down on the questionnaire
means that the person chosen for interview will have them to hand in the
interview. Time spent sorting this out in the preparation meeting has been
seen to help the interview run smoother (and quicker).
Where evaluation
interviews have taken place, post holders are receiving copies of their
Job Overviews. The Steering Group has, as part of the Data Monitoring
process, started investigating any concerns raised by those who are not
happy with the content of their Job Overview. In the light of
experience, the Steering Group would like to highlight a few things to
help those who wish to challenge the content of their job Overviews
through the agreed process: Please remember that the Job Evaluation
process is looking at the actual requirements of the job, not the
contribution of the person in the job. Where post holders have challenged the
wording of their Job Overview, on the basis that it does not precisely
reflect their job description, they are being advised that this is not
possible. This is because the wording consists of standard phrases
produced by the Gauge software based on the answers given to questions
in the interview so that the job is described in terms of the 13 JE
factors. Some post holders have challenged the
wording of a JE Factor on the grounds that it does not accurately
reflect their job. If you want to do this for your Job Overview, you can
help the Steering Group by giving examples or evidence of why you
consider the wording is wrong. This is especially important when we
consider cases where a post holder is challenging the wording despite it
being based on the answer they gave in the interview. If you are part of a group, please do
not wait for everyone in the group to return from their holidays before
registering any concerns. The 5 day time limit might have passed and you
will all have missed out on your chance. If someone is on leave and
wants to comment on their return to work, they can do so on an
individual basis and will need to explain that they were on leave when
they register their concern. Where concerns
have been raised, the Steering Group can confirm that there will be a
response to those raising them. If there needs to be a partial or full
re-evaluation, a revised Job Overview will be produced and circulated to
all members of the group.
Advice
about Job Overviews The Steering Group is
dealing with concerns raised by post holders as they receive their Job
Overviews following the interviews. We have noticed a pattern emerging
of some post holders comparing their Job Overviews with others from,
say, a different job but in the same office and then raising concerns.
Our advice to all post holders who receive a Job Overview is: Do not wait for other Job Overviews to
arrive, you have 5 working days from when you receive yours to register
your concerns. The key question you need to answer is
"is the Job Overview correct
for MY job?" Comparison of Job Overviews for other
posts is carried out by the Steering Group as part of the data
monitoring process that we explained in the third JE Newsletter. The Job
Evaluation process will identify previously undervalued jobs. Please consider the confidentiality of
the Job Overview. They are sent to members of the job group plus the
manager and trade union steward who supported the group through the
process. Before you share the contents with post holders who are not
part of your group, please make sure that you have the permission of the
rest of your job group to share their details. New sources of information on the Intranet The Steering Group has set up an online document store, available to those of you with access to the County Council’s Intranet. When you log in to your personal portal, you usually get a grey screen with two lists. You should see the phrase "Document Stores" in the right hand list. If you click on the adjacent arrowhead, a hyperlink appears for "National Job Evaluation Document Store". Please click on this, and once you enter the document store, click on "all documents" to see a list. You then click on the title of the relevant document to read it. The Document store includes various JE documents such as a sheet of Frequently Asked Questions, the Questionnaire for preparation meetings, the flow chart for dealing with vacant posts, and copies of the JE newsletters. If you have a query about the National JE scheme, you might find the answer you need in the Document Store, so please look there before contacting the JE Help Line. Some of you will have been through the process of preparation meeting, selecting someone to be interviewed, and received your job overview. That is not necessarily the end of the process because you might be asked to meet an analyst for a re-evaluation interview. This is part of the data verification process that we are using to ensure that NJC JE is fair, consistent and transparent. In JE News 3, we explained this Data Monitoring process, with your right to raise concerns about your Job Overview, and the role of the Data Monitoring Panels (DMPs). So far, many re-evaluations have been partial re-evaluations of one or two factors with specific points about a particular question in the Gauge software where giving the relevant evidence could change the answer to the question, resulting in a change of level attained for that factor. We have also dealt with several instances where factual matters have needed to be clarified such as identifying the particular budget (and/or its size) for which a post is responsible, or whether a particular post supervises others. In the first instance, the DMPs ask for evidence from departmental management. If this satisfactorily clarifies the position, it can save the need for a re-evaluation of that factor by interview. If you have raised a concern that needs to be addressed, a member of your group has raised a concern, or a DMP is seeking clarification of a Job Overview, you will get a letter explaining what is to happen and what factors need to be re-evaluated. You will then be contacted to arrange an interview to deal with just the relevant factor(s). The same team that were at the original interview will need to attend: the interviewee, manager, trade union rep and analyst, to ensure consistency. Although you might already have had a re-evaluation interview, or it is several months since your interview, you should be aware that there might be another round of re-evaluations when the Steering Group goes through the vertical and horizontal data verification process. The Steering Group regrets that it is not possible to go into detail when replying to each concern raised by a post holder, or issue raised by a DMP. Given the numbers involved, we have to use standard letters that identify the factors that need to be addressed in the re-evaluation interview and the analysts are told which particular question(s) need to revisited. So, although you will not get a personal reply addressing each point of your concern, you can be assured that each point will have been addressed by the Steering Group and that the system we have set up is robust enough to ensure fairness and consistency. Over the summer, many meetings were held to brief managers throughout the County Council about their role in NJC JE. At each of these briefings, the same questions usually came up. In order to ensure consistency, the Steering Group has collated the questions and answers. Some of my staff took part in a benchmark interview, what happened to the outcomes? Can they have a copy of the Job Overview? The benchmark interviews were used to test our local conventions to ensure they are robust and appropriate to the Nottinghamshire context, prior to our embarking on the actual interviews. The benchmark Job Overviews will not be used to establish rankings for the jobs concerned. All rankings will be determined using the final Job Overviews for each job resulting from the actual JE interviews and the Data Monitoring process. Feedback from the benchmark interview process was also used to tailor the approach before the interviews proper. Given this, the benchmark Job Overview will not be relevant or of use to the post holders concerned. How will workplace preparation sessions be managed for very large job groups such as Library Assistants, Cleaners and Community Care Assistants? Departmental managers have been advised to set up a series of pre-meetings, in appropriate locations across the county, where the job group is spread throughout the County. It is not essential to have a trade union representative at these initial meetings. Representatives from each of these meetings will then go forward to a formal preparation meeting, with a trade union representative and an appropriate manager present. The required number of group representatives will then go forward for evaluation interviews along with the trade union representative and manager. How has the number of group representatives for each job type been determined? A formula had been agreed and applied consistently by the joint Steering Group:
How will posts on established career grades be evaluated? Where there is an agreed progression criteria from one stage of a career grade to another, there will need to be an evaluation of each level by interviewing an employee (or employees, depending on the size of the job group) who was working at the relevant level as at 1.4.2002. The linking of any career grades into the new pay structure will be subject to ongoing corporate discussions. What happened if a post is currently vacant, was vacant at 1.4.2002, or is currently occupied by an employee who started after 1.4.2002? There are a number of agreed alternative arrangements to ensure that all posts within the scope of the scheme are properly evaluated and the Steering Group has produced a flow chart. Your departmental personnel team can advise further. What if an individual post holder in a unique job is off long term sick, on career break, or the job is being covered by a temporary employee? The substantive post holder might be willing and/or able to attend a preparation meeting and interview. Alternatively, a previous post holder or manager could be interviewed, as indicated on the flowchart. What happens if a job is externally funded? Provided the employee(s) are contracted to Nottinghamshire County Council and are covered by NJC terms and conditions of service, their job will be evaluated. When and how will posts that were established or have changed since 1.4.2002 be evaluated? Phase 1 of the NJC implementation project in this Authority is concerned with evaluating the job requirements of posts that were established as at 1.4.2002. There will be a second phase of evaluations for those posts that were established or changed (perhaps due to departmental restructuring). This will commence after the evaluation part of Phase 1 has been completed, probably after March 2004. My staff’s Job Overview doesn’t include details that are in their job description, why not? The Job Overview describes your job in terms of the 13 Job Evaluation Factors rather than the duties of your post. The answers to questions in an interview are used by the Gauge software to produce a Job Overview that reflects the job in terms of those factors. The answer to a particular question gives the same form of words to everyone who answers it in the same way. For example, in the Working Conditions factor, the first question is “Does the jobholder have to work outdoors?” Every jobholder who answers “no” in the interview will have the phrase “The jobholder does not have to work outdoors” at the start of that section of the Job Overview and they will then be asked a question about exposure to disagreeable, unpleasant or hazardous situations. Again, the answer given will decide the wording of the Job Overview. Those who give the same answers to the same questions will have the same wording in their Job Overview. In this way, very different jobs in different departments can be evaluated fairly, all being measured against the same criteria. Why will some employees be called for re-evaluation? This can be because one of the job group or the interviewee has raised concerns, or that the Steering Group has approved a DMP recommendation to reconsider a factor (or factors) given the job description or the available evidence. As a manager, I’ve been asked to sort out a workplace meeting, is there any central pot of money to pay for venues for meetings? In most cases, a no cost venue should be available. Your departmental Personnel team can advise you. Who should attend the pre-meeting and interview from the management side? The manager who knows the duties of the job best. N.B. If there is a large group, it doesn’t have to be the individual representative’s line manager but it is recognised that this may be more personally supportive. What do we do if the post holder works beyond their job? It is important to reflect the duties of the post as required, not the abilities of the individual in the post. If the job description needs updating, this can be acknowledged at the interview on the pro forma for further action by the relevant manager. What if I have a question that isn't covered here? There is a Help Line for individuals to register questions or queries. Main
lessons learnt from Stage 1 The Gauge Help Text needs clarifying. The Joint Steering Group has
recognised that the Gauge Help Text needs clarifying in a few places to reduce
the likelihood of confusion in the interviews. Two members of the Steering
Group (one from the trade unions and one from the management) are to go
through the text to sort this out in time for Stage 2. The task will need to
be carried out carefully so as to avoid affecting the locally agreed
conventions. Hold a thorough preparation meeting The Steering Group has had
reports that the best interviews have followed those preparation meetings
where post holders have been guided through the process by a manager who has
read and understood the guidance provided in their pack. As part of such a
meeting, the members of the group have identified relevant examples for each
of the factors (and written them down) and found a volunteer to be
interviewed. Those interviewed after such thorough preparation meetings have
gone on to report that they have had a positive interview experience. The
Steering Group has found that providing relevant examples helps to minimise
the likelihood of a re-evaluation interview being needed An easier booking system would help. One of the hardest
administrative tasks in Stage 1 has been the logistics of having workplace
preparation meeting followed by the interview. This has involved managers
finding a venue and getting employees and a trained trade union steward
together for a workplace preparation meeting. The Project team then had the
task of getting the person chosen for interview by the group, the manager and
the trade union steward together with an analyst for the interview. Stage 1
involved about 1700 interviews and a similar number of associated preparation
meetings. To make it easier under Stage
2 it is proposed that the scheduling process and support resources are
streamlined. The intention is to include more structured release of trade
union Stewards to support the process and a set number of venues available for
meetings Countywide. Job Descriptions need sorting out. As we have gone through the Data Monitoring Process we have found many jobs where the job description needs to be updated to reflect the duties actually carried out or the name of the department or team following a restructuring. In addition, the Joint
Steering Group will be making some recommendations about job descriptions to
the County Council in light of our experiences of managing the NJC JE process.
These will include the recommendations that:
You can also visit the other NJC JE pages: |