The primary objective of job classification is to accurately define and describe the current duties and responsibilities of jobs for purposes of:
- Determining compensation levels and competency requirements.
- Identifying career ladders and promotional lines.
- Translating broad company plans into the assignment of duties and responsibilities to individual jobs (job descriptions).
The classification of work is fundamental to any HR management system. In large and complex companies, both public and private, it provides a means of grouping similar types of work together so that they can be ranked by levels of difficulty and differentiated from other work.
Factors that are considered include such elements as the:
- Nature, scope and level of the duties and responsibilities
- Relationship of the job to other jobs in the department
- Supervision given or received
- Exercise of independent judgment
Impact of the work performed to the organisation – both of scope and duration
Classification is based upon the objective elements of a job and does not consider the status of an incumbent. Typically, the employee’s length of service, time spent at the maximum salary level of the job, or the quality of performance is therefore not considered in determining the appropriate classification of a job.
When the work is properly defined and classified, managers are able to determine the skills needed to perform the work.
Grouping similar work and the employees who do that work, provides unions and the employer with a practical means of collectively bargaining appropriate employee wages and terms and conditions of employment.
Alignment of the work and the skills required to perform it is essential for the effective:
- Recruitment
- Selection
- Retention
- Professional development of employees.
Job classification for scheduled jobs in the metal and engineering Industry is done according to the Main Agreement where the current 13 grade structure is still applicable.