Preparing for the job evaluation and classification
Following Tool 1, Anna appointed a focused, two-person team, in line with the guidance for small organisations, including:
- Herself (the clinical director), bringing practical knowledge of patient care and workers’ supervision, providing strategic insight and ensuring alignment with legal compliance and clinic priorities
- Peter Bauer (the office manager), adding expertise on administrative processes, data management and workers support roles
They completed the project outline template and set the following goals:
- Conduct a gender-neutral job evaluation and classification across all jobs in the clinic
- Ensure compliance with pay transparency rules
- Establish a fair, gender-equal pay structure based on objective job evaluation criteria
Their timeline for the job evaluation and classification process was as follows:
- Month 1 (preparation and information gathering) – inform the team, plan communications and gather initial data
- Month 2 (job evaluation and classification) – categorise job roles, define criteria, conduct pair comparisons
- Month 3 (implementation and review) – review results, set the new pay structure, update titles/descriptions, plan follow-up actions
For resources and costs, Anna budgeted for five of her own working days and four of Peter’s over three months to review the toolkit, gather job information and conduct the job evaluation and classification.
Peter designed a poster to share information about the process. They printed a few copies and displayed them around the clinic. The cost was minimal and covered under the general stationery budget. Anna wanted to ensure the process was low-cost and minimally disruptive for the team.
Anna emailed workers to explain the process, emphasising that the focus was on jobs, not on individual performance, and inviting questions through an open-door policy.
Anna and Peter shared progress updates in monthly workers’ meetings. Then, the job evaluation committee read the toolkit, met for an afternoon to review the factor and subfactor plan, discussed common gender biases in healthcare (e.g. undervaluing emotional effort required in care roles and acknowledging physical efforts involved in nursing work, such as lifting patients) and agreed on next steps. They also familiarised themselves with Tool 4 – Supporting Excel (small and medium-sized organisations).