I was working with an employer client recently and we were comparing the following two survey job descriptions to the work performed by one employee:
Sales Rep III
Develops new prospects and interacts with existing customers to increase sales of an organization's products and/or services. Works with customers to find what they want, create solutions, and ensure a smooth sales process. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. May require a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a supervisor or manager.P03-Senior (Career Level) : Work is generally independent and collaborative in nature. Contributes to moderately complex aspects of a project. Typically requires 4-7 years of related experience.
Sales Rep IV
Develops new prospects and interacts with existing customers to increase sales of an organization's products and/or services. Works with customers to find what they want, create solutions, and ensure a smooth sales process. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. May require a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a manager or head of a unit/department. P04-Specialist : Work is highly independent. May assume a team lead role for the work group. A specialist in complex technical and business matters. Typically requires 7+ years of related experience.
The employee has more than 15 years of experience, so the employer wanted to ensure that they received total compensation in alignment with their expectations.
They chose the Sales Rep IV job because of the employee’s years of experience, but the work was that of a Sales Rep III.
Result: The job was assigned a higher level than was justified. The employer provided higher total compensation than what was needed given the work being performed.
Be careful to ensure that you are evaluating the JOB first and then determining where to pay the employee in the base salary range.
It is easy when you are doing “job evaluations” to over level the job if you prioritize the employee’s expectations over the needs of the business.
Sometimes the employees you currently have aren’t the right fit for the work that needs to be done. And you must make difficult decisions and have conversations that are uncomfortable.
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