Grading of the wage system on an example. Grading system: methodology for determining official salaries
Question about employee motivation existed from the very beginning of the development of capitalist relations. And each time, scientists economists, adjusting to the requirements of society and the existing situation, found various methods of motivating staff.
In our country, there are long-outdated rules for calculating wages and bonuses everywhere. New positions, specialties have appeared, and the question of charging them decent pay arises very often.
In this regard, more and more attention begins to be removed new system, which is called grading.
Grading- This is a method of motivating personnel, which is based on the assessment of an employee in terms of the value of his position for the enterprise. Based on the data obtained through analysis, wages are calculated, which takes into account many points, ranging from the strong-willed qualities of the employee himself, ending with his direct contributions to the development of the company.
Grading system is the process of ranking all positions in terms of their importance to the company. Thus, not a vertical hierarchical structure is formed, but a horizontal one, in which a simple welder can receive a higher salary than his foreman. Within the same position, you can improve your skills, grow and get more pay.
Grading system- it's completely new approach, which has already managed to appeal to many modern firms seeking to maintain a competitive position in the market.
Types of grading systems
Popular in our country three types of grading systems:
- The first level of difficulty. This is a fairly easy method based on the definition of several job ranks (from 5 to 10). Through a meeting, managers distribute all the existing positions in the company into groups and accrue their own salary level for each of them. The method is suitable for small firms with up to 100 employees.
- The second level of difficulty was developed by American scientists and adapted specifically for the CIS countries. To implement it, you need to evaluate and set points for each of the positions, and only then rank and set the level of wages.
- The third stage of complexity is an incredibly deep and laborious method, which can take several months to implement. But large companies cannot do without it.
The difference between grades and the tariff system
Many companies are slowly phasing out the tariff system. They think it's outdated. 
methods that do not evaluate either the professional skills of the employee or his value to the company as a whole. So, in the tariff system, payroll will depend on knowledge, experience, and the tariff scale adopted back in the days of the Soviet Union.
In order to make an objective gradation, it is necessary to develop a system of evaluating factors. The more there are, the better the indicators will be, but the more difficult it will be to analyze. The most commonly used criteria are:
- the need to manage staff;
- public relations;
- risks;
- responsibility;
- qualification level;
- quantity and complexity of work, etc.
In the tariff system, all positions are arranged in a vertical hierarchy: from a worker to a manager. This structure is based on the tariff scale. And if a worker is entitled to one salary, taking into account various coefficients, then his immediate supervisor will have a higher salary only because he takes the highest position. In the grading system everything is different.
The hierarchy is built horizontally. So a labor protection specialist, a lawyer, a personnel officer can be in the same grade and receive their own salary level. And a worker, due to his professionalism and personal qualities, can have a higher salary than an accountant, who is higher up the ladder in the pay scale.
All positions in the grading system are evaluated according to point scale The higher the score, the greater the value of the employee to the company.
Which companies should introduce grades?
First of all, large and medium-sized companies should pay attention to such a system. If the company has many employees, a complex structure and many departments, then grading will help to equally divide salaries. Among those who successfully use this approach, one can see Gazprom, Rusal, Rosatom, RusHydro, Aeroflot and others.
Small firms with a small staff of up to 50 people should not choose this method, because the costs of its implementation may turn out to be greater than the expected results from its results.
The procedure for developing a grading system
The introduction of a new methodology in the enterprise is very laborious process.
Before you start to change, you need to clearly analyze the situation in the team, and set yourself specific tasks and goals.
But now let's take a closer look at how the ranking and gradation of positions takes place.
Stage 1
Identification of key factors
In order to be able to evaluate, it is necessary to determine what criteria will be fundamental. They may be 5-6 , and maybe much more, it all depends on the size of the company. In order not to complicate the task, consider an example with several criteria:
- Whether it is necessary to manage subordinates, and in what quantity.
- Does the position have responsibility for the financial result of the company.
- To what extent an employee can make decisions independently.
- Is experience required for the position?
- What qualifications should an employee have to be able to take this position.
- Are there external connections?
Stage 2
This step is designed to highlight sub-items for each factor:
| Personnel Management | |
|---|---|
| BUT | There are no people under control |
| B | No direct reporting, but consultations or occasional coordination are needed. |
| C | There is a working group for 2-3 people |
| D | subordinate group of people |
| E | Manages a structural unit |
| F | Management of several structural divisions, branch |
| Level of responsibility | |
| BUT | Duty to do your job |
| B | The work is related to the income of the company, but the results are monitored by the head |
| C | Work is directly related to the financial result |
| D | Decisions are made that affect the profit of the company |
| E | Responsibility for the financial result of a group of subordinates |
| F | Responsibility for the financial result of a group of units |
| Independence at work | |
| BUT | No need to make decisions |
| B | All decisions made are indicated by instructions |
| C | Preparing decisions for management, who can approve it or not |
| D | A goal is set for the employee, and he himself decides how to achieve it. |
| E | The employee sets goals |
| F | The worker develops a strategy |
| experience | |
| BUT | No experience |
| B | Yes, but in a different industry |
| C | Have 1 to 2 years of work experience |
| D | Have a lot of work experience (from 3 years) |
| E | Have extensive experience not only in one but also in related industries |
| F | There is not only a huge professional experience, but also excellent practical skills in managing a group of units |
| Skill level | |
| BUT | Welcome secondary vocational |
| B | Higher education is required, non-core is allowed |
| C | Higher education is required, but you can do it without special skills |
| D | Higher profile with additional knowledge of related industries |
| E | Degree required |
| F | Some higher education, one of which is mandatory in the field of management |
| External contacts | |
| BUT | No external contacts |
| B | Occasional contacts unrelated to the main work |
| C | The need to negotiate with representatives of other firms from time to time |
| D | Communication with heads of other organizations |
| E | Close ties with senior executives of other firms |
| F | Contacts with the highest officials |
Stage 3
Now each position needs to be assigned points. Since we have 6 letters in each category, we will give marks from 1 to 6.
| BUT | 1 |
|---|---|
| B | 2 |
| C | 3 |
| D | 4 |
| E | 5 |
| F | 6 |
Evaluation of positions should be carried out as objectively as possible. Companies often outsource this task to outside consulting firms.
Stage 4
At this stage, we must evaluate each position by scoring points. Another important point is the value of each criterion for this position. This point must be taken into account and added to the assessment. Points for it are set on a five-point scale
Let's start with chief accountant:
| BUT | AT | With | D | E | F | Criterion value | Total score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| personnel Management | 3 | 4 | 12 | |||||
| level of responsibility | 4 | 5 | 20 | |||||
| autonomy at work | 3 | 5 | 15 | |||||
| skill level | 4 | 5 | 20 | |||||
| experience | 4 | 5 | 20 | |||||
| external contacts | 2 | 2 | 4 |
The overall score for this position is 91
Let's evaluate the work division director:
| BUT | AT | With | D | E | F | Criterion value | Total score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| personnel Management | 5 | 5 | 25 | |||||
| level of responsibility | 5 | 5 | 25 | |||||
| autonomy at work | 4 | 5 | 20 | |||||
| skill level | 6 | 5 | 30 | |||||
| experience | 6 | 5 | 30 | |||||
| external contacts | 5 | 5 | 25 |
The overall score for this position is 155
All positions are evaluated in the same way. As an example, we use the following data:
- cleaner - 10;
- working locksmith - 37;
- secretary - 65;
- master - 75;
- lawyer - 115;
- labor protection engineer - 100;
- marketer - 70.
Stage 5
Grades should be distributed according to the results obtained. If the enterprise is large, they make a gradation about 10 groups. But this is optional. The approximate distribution is as follows:
- 1st grade - from 8 to 25 points;
- 2nd grade - from 26 to 40 points;
- 3rd grade - from 41 to 65 points;
- 4th grade - from 66 to 85 points;
- 5th grade - from 86 to 100 points;
- 6th grade - from 101 to 125 points;
- 7th grade - from 126 to 160 points;
- 8th grade - from 161 to 180 points;
- 9th grade - from 181 to 190 points;
- 10th grade - from 200 points and above.
Stage 6
Only after passing through all the previous stages can we talk about the procedure for the formation of wages, which consists of two main parts.
First – stable - is calculated by summing up the official salary and allowances guaranteed by law.
Second part consists of various awards of a personal and corporate nature.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main benefits of grading include:
- Effective reward scheme.
- Improved organizational structure.
- Transparent payroll system.
- Grading helps to form a personnel development strategy.
- Reduces staff turnover.
- Contributes to the professional growth of employees.
- Thanks to grades, such a phenomenon as “burnout” of employees disappears, when one person has been in the same position for many years, and loses initiative and qualifications.
- The system helps to determine the relationship between the position of an employee and his value to the company, so a person understands his importance and works better.
However, there are significant drawbacks that cannot be ignored:
- First of all, this is a high level of costs for the development, implementation and maintenance of the system.
- If the company does not have personnel who can conduct a qualified analysis, then it is necessary to attract experts from outside, and these are additional costs.
- Sometimes it is very difficult to conduct an objective assessment of a position. After all, it is required to take into account not 5-6 factors, but sometimes several dozen.
- The system needs to be constantly changed and improved. If an employee moves from one position to another, which is in a different grade, this will create new problems.
We invite you to watch a summary video on how to build a grading system algorithm.
Thus, on the one hand, the grading system is a modern and good way to increase staff motivation, and on the other hand, it is a laborious and expensive method, the implementation of which requires a lot of resources.
28.08.2019
In our time, innovative technologies are actively introduced into the lives of modern people.
They have not bypassed the labor market, as new rules have appeared here.
A novelty is the system of remuneration by the grading method, which has its own characteristics and nuances.
What is it - the concept and essence of the new method
The grading form of remuneration (graded or graded) implies taking into account the results of the work of a particular professional.
But that's not all he pays attention to. The work experience of a person, his culture of behavior in a team and labor discipline, general qualifications can affect the salary. Often, employers even pay attention to appearance employee and his behaviour.
What is the new grade type of wages? This is a kind of table of ranks, in which all employees of the organization are listed. Each person is assigned a certain rank. These indicators affect the size of the wages that will be accrued to the employee at the end of the month.
Thanks to the grading system, you can correctly form rewards.
A transparent and understandable system does not leave unresolved issues that may cause confusion among employees. Everyone understands what and how to do in order to increase wages.
Payroll rules for the grading system
With the grading form of payment, the amount of salary to be paid to employees is calculated according to established rules.
The maximum number of points that can be set is 10. Employees of the organization are evaluated according to various criteria, such as responsibility, experience, knowledge, adverse work factors. Each column is assigned a certain number of points.
After the assessment is completed, the scores are added up. Wages are set according to the following rules:
- 1-11 points - 1 grade;
- 12-20 points - 2nd grade;
- 21-30 points - 3rd grade.
But the average market salary level for cleaners and department heads is different. That is why the rewards will vary.
For technical staff of grades 1, 2, 3, it will be from 10,000 to 12,000 rubles. For the head of the department, this figure increases to 25,000-30,000 rubles.
Thanks to the ranking, you can divide the employees of the organization into several groups:
- Grade A - these are professionals who provide the highest value for the company. These are the leaders of various links, the developers of ideas that implement them in the enterprise;
- grade B - a team of experienced professionals who belong to the middle level. They are engaged in the sales process, looking for business partners, advertising the organization. This grade includes marketers, managers and lawyers. Their level of sociability and responsibility should be high;
- grade C - this is the main labor personnel of the company. He also has a good potential for further development in a certain area, so people can count on an increase in wages;
- grade D - these are positions that are characterized by a minimum level of responsibility. This includes service personnel who do not have to have special professional knowledge and skills.
This is the main classification of grading classes. It depends on what salary a certain employee of the company will receive.
When is the graded form used?
The grading uniform is an innovative method that has already gained popularity among business owners. But, unfortunately, the costs of introducing such an innovation are too high.
That is why the grading method of payroll is not suitable for small companies with less than 50 employees. The leaders of such organizations must weigh all possible risks before making a final decision.
Grading is the best option for large and medium-sized enterprises. This is a rather complicated technique, but in practice it brings a lot of benefits. You can correctly calculate the salary of each employee of the company, avoiding errors, problems and inaccuracies.
Pros and cons of the grader scheme
The grading method of remuneration of specialists has both pluses and minuses. It is worth understanding these points in more detail so that you better understand the features of grading.
Grading labor system |
|
| The remuneration of specialists depends only on how effective their work at the enterprise was. | It is necessary to spend money on the implementation of the system, maintaining it at the proper level and for other points. |
| Using the system, you can form a strategy for the stable development of professionals and create conditions for the growth of each employee | You will have to use the services of experts who will help create an evaluation scale, as well as determine the value of various positions. |
| The relationship between the responsibility of the employee and the results of his work is established, which affects the amount of wages | The risk of subjective assessment when the grading system is first introduced cannot be avoided |
| The structure of the company becomes more organized and correct | |
findings
The grading wage system is considered a novelty. It has been implemented in the organization relatively recently. But the leaders of many companies managed to evaluate its effectiveness.
The presence of a fair remuneration system, the objectivity of the differences in wages inherent in it, affect the attitude of employees to work, their behavior, and the efficiency of labor activity.
Internal equity in the remuneration system is achieved by developing or adjusting the permanent part of the salary, taking into account the value of the position and its impact on the company's performance. The higher the value of the position, the greater the fixed part of the salary.
One of the methods for developing a system of official salaries is the method for assessing the value of positions according to the point-factor method of Edward N. Hay (grading system).
Grading(from English. grading) - classification, sorting, ordering.
Grading- this is the positioning of positions, that is, their distribution in the hierarchical structure of the enterprise in accordance with the value of this position for the enterprise.
Grading system- This is a system for calculating official salaries based on a point-factor method for assessing the complexity of work in a particular position.
Grading- this is a method of creating a universal hierarchy of positions (ranks) for all company personnel; an evaluation system that allows determining acceptable levels of compensation for all employees based on a comparison of the relative value for the company of different areas of work (positions). The main advantage of grading is the “measurement of the immeasurable”: the translation of the intangible indicator “the value of the employee’s work” into a monetary equivalent.
The grading system came to us from the USA, where in the early 60s of the last century, Edward N. Hay developed a methodology for evaluating positions of various professional profiles based on universal criteria.
On the basis of grading, it is possible to build a corporate compensation and benefits policy that will optimize personnel costs, and not by formally reducing the wage fund, but by improving the organizational structure and staffing, more efficient planning of personnel costs, etc.
Efficient grading system simplifies corporate system administration financial incentives, determine the allowable amount of remuneration for newly introduced positions, in addition, it is a tool to influence the main components of personnel costs.
The company's job evaluation system is based on the assertion that in any, even a unique position, a set of common factors can be identified and measured.
Principles of the grading system:
Equally valuable specialists for the company should be equally paid;
Positions (jobs) are evaluated, not the employees who occupy them;
You need to evaluate not a person, but the sum of the qualities necessary for this position in the first place.
The differences between the tariff system of remuneration from the system developed on the basis of grading positions are presented in Table 13.
Table 13. Differences between the tariff system and grades
The grade system of remuneration is one of the existing ones in Russian Federation mechanisms for the calculation and payment of wages to employees of the organization. It is not included in the list of the most popular systems, but it is convenient in some cases. In order to understand what a grading system is, when it is useful and on what criteria it is based, one must ask one question - how does it work?
Grade wage system - what is it?
Many employers and employees may first of all have a question - what is it - a grading system of payment? It is rarely used on the territory of the Russian Federation, so few people know or imagine how it works.
As the name implies, the basis for this mechanism is the grading system. The grading system allows you to evaluate and conveniently rank positions within the organization. They are divided into special groups, each of which reflects how valuable this or that position is for the "life activity" of the company. And the word "grade" itself means a range of positions that, by and large, have the same value for production. The management determines its own salary level for each grade, or makes a so-called “between the fork”, within which the salary level of a particular position can fluctuate.
The salary grading system is extremely useful for medium and large companies. Unlike scoring system wages, where the salary of each employee is calculated separately, grades allow you to almost immediately say how much this or that employee will receive, depending on his position. On average, each company can count from 7 to 19 grades.
The grade wage system is convenient because it solves one of the main problems of large enterprises and corporations. Usually there are a fairly large number of various positions in them, and determining the salary for each of them is a lot of time. Formed positions in grades, you can quickly determine the salary level for each of the groups, which greatly simplifies the whole task.
Also, the grading system helps to solve another pressing problem of most enterprises. It establishes honesty and transparency within the organization. The salary grading system allows each employee to see what their future career path is like, how they can receive a salary bonus. This can greatly increase the loyalty of employees, especially since there will no longer be questions about why such a level of labor payments is set.
It is also worth answering the question - why do companies generally introduce a grading wage system? There are several reasons for this:
- The grading system is often introduced during a crisis. Due to negative economic factors, the enterprise greatly increases the amplitude within which the income of the entire company fluctuates. This seriously complicates the forecasting of the financial future of the organization, which means that steps must be taken to help stabilize these fluctuations a little. Grade payment system is one of such steps.
- The grade system is introduced if the company strives to equalize the opportunities of each employee. Here you need to take into account what will have to be leveled in the capabilities of positions that relate to different areas of the company.
- The grade system helps those corporations that want to create convenient mechanisms for the relationship between ordinary employees and the employer. It significantly increases the level of motivation, while focusing specifically on the long term.
- The grade system is chosen by the employer if he wants to develop a clear plan that will show prospects career development within the organization, the capabilities of each of the employees and the prospects for development in professional activities.
The main thing here is to ensure that the adopted wage system does not violate the standards and principles established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, which are indicated, for example, in Art. 144 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Types of grading wage system
Like any wage system, the grade one is divided into several types, each of which can be applied as far as it is convenient:
- First degree of difficulty. The simplest grading system, it divides positions according to how difficult the work they have to do. To calculate this type of grades, it is not necessary to single out a separate category of persons; a top manager can also do this.
- Second degree of difficulty. For an organization with a small staff, this system is most suitable. It is based on point-factor calculation methods and has been adapted for the CIS countries by Edward Hay. More about her below.
- Third, fourth degree of difficulty. The most detailed and reasonable grading system. It involves a large number of mathematical calculations, the use of not only point factor methods, but also graphs and matrices. Usually its implementation takes more than six months of time, and for such an operation it is best to contact a separate consultant.
How the grading system is implemented
The introduction of the grading system of the second degree of complexity takes place in several stages:
Stage 1. Before you start implementing the grading system, you need to correctly evaluate the existing company. To diagnose the pace of development, to calculate what scale the necessary changes will take. If the company's management has decided that it is necessary to introduce a grading system, then it is worth considering such ways of its implementation as the following:
- Involve an international consulting company in the development and implementation of the grading system.
- Conclude a contract with a local, Russian consulting organization.
- Engage in the development of your own project, which will take into account all the necessary specifics of the area and industry.
It is worth noting that each of these options has pros and cons. An international company has no idea about the specifics of doing business, and when drawing up your own project, you can make a big mistake and harm your business. So all three options need to be considered.
Stage 2. At this stage, the company is engaged in the creation of the so-called project structure or its detailed plan. It is necessary to form a team that will deal with the implementation of grades, develop a general procedure for the entire subsequent event, assess the budget and, most importantly, the risks. At this stage, it will be useful to create a single information space for all employees involved in the implementation.
Typically, the structure and plan for the implementation of grades is as follows:
It is in accordance with the above plan that the main stages of introducing a grading system at an enterprise will be considered further.
Stage 3.
- Experience required for this position.
- Required level of education.
- The so-called cost of a mistake - how much damage will be caused by the error of an employee working in this position.
- The complexity of the tasks that the employee will have to perform.
- The pace and intensity of work in this position.
- The degree of responsibility that the employee will take upon himself by taking this position.
The purpose of creating such criteria is a questionnaire. It needs to be tested in positions of different levels and from different areas of the company, and then compare the results. If all managers are satisfied with them, then the questionnaire is considered valid and is adopted.
Stage 4. At this stage, management and responsible employees are engaged in finding and describing positions that are unique to this organization and this unit. But it often happens that instead you need to do unification. In some companies, positions appear that differ only in name, but in fact they do the same thing. Such items should be reduced to a single option, or at least included in one grade.
Stage 5. Here, specialists begin to evaluate the resulting positions. Implementation consultants should assess personal and professional quality a person who wants to work in this place. The score must be:
- Independent and objective;
- I understand. In some cases, a clear and detailed explanation of what is meant by a particular criterion is inserted into the questionnaires;
- Evaluation should follow the approved design concept, but retain the flexibility to respond to comments, changes or improvements;
An important point at this stage is the organization of job descriptions. It is best to describe them according to the template that is adopted in the company, where they are going to introduce a grading system of remuneration.
After the indicated stage is over, the responsible employees should get an impressive table, which will list all the positions, as well as the points and grades that they are assigned.
Stage 6. At this stage, the distribution of posts according to the resulting grades takes place. After the specialists have made grades and assigned points to all positions, the distribution begins. All positions with approximately equal ratings are placed in one grade - this is a reflection of the fact that they are equal in their importance to the life of the company.
Stage 7. Here they are engaged in the evaluation and distribution of wages by grades. For each group of jobs, it is necessary to organize a salary “fork”, within which the funds received by employees will fluctuate. At this stage, the manager who is involved in the implementation of grades in the organization must work closely with the recruitment departments and financial services. They will be able to provide accurate information on wages, the external situation of the economy and other factors that affect the setting of the salary level.
Stage 8. Here, specialists are developing a system according to which the work of each position will be paid. This procedure should include the following steps:
- The manager must sign and issue a decree stating that he introduces a grading system at the enterprise.
- It is necessary to draw up a procedure for introducing new positions to the staff, if any.
- It is necessary to draw up a procedure by which posts will be evaluated or revalued.
- The manager, or responsible people, must develop a technical task for automating the grading process.
- It is necessary to carry out the activities that are needed to introduce and update the grading system.
Separately, it is worth talking about writing technical specifications for automation. Such processes are beginning to be massively introduced at modern enterprises - this greatly facilitates the work of the entire organization. Now the evaluation of positions and their distribution according to the described grades can take place automatically, almost without human participation. This became possible thanks to modern technologies and available resources.
One of the most important questions is how many grades should a company have in total? In order to clearly answer this, you need to decide on:
- The volume of the market occupied by the company that decided to introduce grades. How many target customers do they have?
- Determine how many positions are needed to fulfill a given volume for a sufficiently long time.
- We describe all the skills that a person needs to possess in order to qualify for the highest position.
Based on the results of the calculations, the employer can already judge how many groups of specialists he needs to complete the entire work of the company.
At the present stage of market development, competition has moved from the area of products, services and technologies to the area of human resources. Now special attention is paid to specialists who are ready to do their job well. What management tools allow the company to attract and retain staff? There are two such tools: job hierarchy management (grading) and talent management.
Grading allows you to build a hierarchy of positions depending on their business value and develop an appropriate remuneration system, i.e. the basic remuneration that employees receive for performing official duties at the "normal" level. Talent management makes it possible to identify and retain key employees in key positions, motivate them for high individual results. Only the combination of these HR tools provides effective management human resource potential of the company: an objective and fair assessment of the work of all specialists and retention of the best (see figure).
Cost planning and management tool
Recently, more and more companies understand that grading is a necessary tool for organizational planning and personnel cost management.
The essence of grading (from the English grade - degree, class) is simple: all company positions are evaluated according to a number of criteria, such as the level of responsibility, qualification requirements, impact on financial results, etc., depending on the specifics of its business . As a result, a system of functional and job levels is created, where the positions are arranged in a hierarchy in accordance with their value to the business. The "fork" of payment and the amount of social guarantees and benefits are tied to the grade. Thus, the remuneration of employees becomes not only transparent and fair, but, which is very important, manageable.
The grading system was created in the USA, where in the early 60s of the last century, Edward N. Hay developed a methodology for evaluating positions of various professional profiles based on universal criteria. Since then, it has successfully established itself in the West and today is considered the best basis for a transparent and manageable wage system.
In Russia, the grading system has replaced the tariff scale, the main "bottlenecks" of which were the opaque internal logic and the rigidity of the hierarchical structure. Often, when using the salary scale, it was necessary to formally name the position, for example, "an engineer of such and such a category," only in order to establish the appropriate salary. This problem can be solved using the grading system. It allows you to flexibly build a scheme of job levels, taking into account not only qualifications and length of service, but also other equally significant factors: the level of managerial and financial responsibility, the complexity of decisions made, etc. Thus, in the grading system, each position finds its place in the "table of ranks" and receives an appropriate assessment in the form of a "fork" salary. A highly qualified expert who "closes" a responsible section of a business process may have a higher grade than the head of a department in a non-core area of the company's activities. This provides employees with not only managerial, but also professional careers, which is certainly important for those who work in large and medium-sized businesses.
At the same time, the experience of implementing the grading system in Russian companies also showed the weaknesses of this system. Grading is a rather cumbersome and time-consuming procedure that requires the involvement of external consultants. If it is carried out on its own, it often has a subjective character: it is not so much the positions that are evaluated as the employees who occupy them, and the compilation of the grade matrix turns into positional "chess", when each manager tries to "knock out" higher grades for himself and his unit.
What are the rules for the correct use of the grading system? The main ones are:
- involvement in the grading project of the first person and key managers (otherwise the grading system will be perceived as imposed and of little meaning);
- clear criteria for evaluating positions, maximally adapted to the company and unambiguously understood by all company executives;
- "cascade" coordination of the developed grading system: from the level of line managers to top managers ("top-down" and "bottom-up");
- mandatory binding of motivational and compensation policies to the grading system;
- regular “upgrade” of the grading system, updating and support. Of course, a well-built grading system has a long lifespan, but, as practice shows, it requires a “technical inspection” and “prevention” every 2-3 years.
The main task is to attract and retain key
Grading allows you to build a system of remuneration that is transparent and fair for everyone. But no matter how acute the shortage of personnel is, no matter how much they say that all employees are key, the Pareto principle applies: there is a backbone of people that is critical from the point of view of the company’s business, a backbone that “holds the body and spirit” of the organization.
For some, key people are the main leaders of the front office, for some they are “brains”, carriers of expertise, for others they are creative innovators. These are talents in the area in which the company specializes, or a stronghold of reliability. These are people who are almost impossible to replace without a significant loss of efficiency and business volume.
It is no coincidence that in recent years more and more companies are moving from talent pool programs to programs to attract and retain key people. In a competitive labor market, a reserve is needed for almost all positions, and investment in reserve training is often wasted: well-trained reservists are popular in the market and easily leave the company if they are not given career opportunities. Keeping the backbone of key specialists is the main task of HR today.
This task is a real creative challenge for HR. Standard incentives have practically ceased to operate, due to the fact that they have become standard ones: all companies offer approximately the same package of additional benefits and compensations, training, etc. Everything that money can buy has already been tried.
The only thing that remains is the management of "soft" factors, i.e. creating a working atmosphere in the company that will keep people.
As they say, if you need enthusiasts - find smart people, give them unlimited access to tea and coffee, do not tell them what time they come to work - and then they will not leave it.