General Use of the Hay Scheme
The nature of job evaluation schemes is such that only those
schemes that compare jobs against jobs are universally applicable
at any level in an organisation. The Hay scheme
has found widespread acceptance because it:-
*
is based on the step difference
principle;
* it measures any job from
office junior to the Chairman;
* will relate different cultures and styles
of organisation; and
* is effective in all market
sectors.
Consequently, it is now used by more organisations on a
worldwide basis than any other single type of evaluation
scheme. Hay has over 1000 consultants working
from 76 offices in 36 countries around the
world. In the British Isles, the HayGroup are
working with over 1000 clients. Wherever the Hay
Guide Chart-Profile Method of Job Evaluation is used it employs a
number of well tried procedures and rules.
Procedures
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1.
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Jobs must be properly understood before they can be evaluated
hence, good quality information is required in the shape of job
descriptions which make the content and context of the job
clear.
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2.
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Job evaluation is a judgmental, not a scientific, process thus
every effort must be made to minimise
subjectivity. This is achieved by having people
with knowledge of the sector, function or organisation involved and
by having a number of factors to make judgements about.
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3.
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The task of the evaluators is to make consistent judgements
and the use of the evaluation method is the tool which enables this
to happen.
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4.
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Each evaluation is checked using the profiling
techniques.
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5.
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As patterns of relativities begin to emerge they are reviewed
on the basis of reason and fairness using the step difference and
profile techniques to clarify judgements.
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6.
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Each decision is properly recorded in order that the reasoning
is documented for future use when maintaining the scheme as jobs
change, or dealing with appeals when job holders consider the
evaluators are at fault.
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Rules
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1.
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It is jobs that are evaluated not job holders.
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2.
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The evaluation is based on a fully acceptable level of
performance by occupants of the job.
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3.
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The job is evaluated as it exists today.
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4.
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Present pay, status or grading are not relevant.
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5.
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Jobs can only be evaluated if they are understood.
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The Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method has been developed
empirically over a period of 50 years and has a number of key
features:-
a) the three elements common to all
jobs which facilitate comparison;
b) the step difference principle, which is the tool of
comparison;
c) the numerical scale for relating
different levels of jobs; and
d) the profiling technique for checking the consistency of
each evaluation.
The Common Element
There are a number of different methods of job
evaluation. Some compare whole jobs, the
majority look at factors or elements which are common between jobs,
such as knowledge, skills, experience, mental effort and
responsibility. The Hay scheme is based on the
analysis of three common elements, each element being measured on a
separate guide chart which is set out like a
grid. The elements are:-
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* KNOW-HOW
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The sum total of every kind of capability or skill, however
acquired, needed for acceptable job performance.
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* PROBLEM SOLVING
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The original, self-starting use of KNOW-HOW required by the
job to identify, define and resolve problems. "You think with what
you know." This is true of even the most
creative work. The raw material of any thinking
is knowledge of facts, principles, and means.
For that reason, PROBLEM SOLVING is treated as a percentage of
KNOW-HOW.
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*ACCOUNTABILITY
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The answerability for action and the consequences
thereof. It is the measured effect of the job on
the end results of the organisation.
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The Step Difference Principle
Some job evaluation schemes compare job factors against
pre-determined scales. These are known as points
rating schemes. The Hay scheme compares jobs
against jobs using the step difference principle which works as
follows:-
* if the difference between an element in two jobs is
immediately evident and requires no consideration at all, then it
is probably three steps or more;
* if, after some consideration,
the difference is reasonably clear, it is probably two steps;
* if, after very careful consideration and scrutiny, a
difference can just be discerned, then the difference is one
step;
* if, after very careful
scrutiny and consideration, no difference can be detected between
the element in the jobs, then they are, for evaluation purposes,
identical.
The Numerical Scale
Each intersect on the grid contains two or three numbers which
overlap other intersects in order to provide the finest of tuning
in evaluation judgements. The numbers themselves
are directly proportional to each other in a geometric progression
e.g. 100, 115, 132, 152. This avoids the
difficulty that in an ordinary progression e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, the
numbers are in a constantly diminishing relationship to each
other. The Hay scale of progression is 15% and
means that each judgement is given this constant relativity
wherever it falls on the scale.
Profiling
The Hay scheme also has a facility for checking the soundness
of an evaluation by considering the shape or profile of the
job. This is accomplished by testing the
distribution of the three elements of Know-How, Problem Solving and
Accountability in the evaluation of each job to see if it makes
sense.