Page 81 - DLIS003_LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

Library Administration and Management

Notes point factor plans, the Hay Point Factor Plan. As organizations have grown and personnel
functions have evolved, systems such as PFM provide a rational method to reduce inconsistencies
in compensation evaluation.
PFM identifies four primary compensable factors used to determine pay. These factors include
skills, responsibilities, effort and working condition. It further defines skills as years of experience,
level of education and overall ability. Responsibilities include number of direct reports, fiscal
accountability, and the position itself. For instance, a management verses an hourly worker
position. PFM further defines effort as the level of mental or physical effort involved in the job
accountabilities. Working conditions include the overall environmental factors such as location,
hazards and any extreme factors.

4.5.3 Description of the Job Evaluation Factors

The job evaluation system described below, (modified Aiken) uses nine factors. These are as
follows:

Complexity/Judgment: This factor deals with the decision-making aspects of the position.
Complexity refers to the variety and relative difficulty of the material or information upon
which decisions are based. Judgment refers to the use of knowledge and experience in making
the decisions. Grade levels increase in relation to the variety of issues and activities, and to the
difficulty of the problems and decisions dealt with.

Education: Education refers to the training necessary to prepare an individual to satisfactorily
fill a position. It reflects the level of formalized knowledge necessary to fulfil the requirements
of the position. It does not mean that a designated amount of formal education is an absolute
necessity. Such knowledge is most commonly acquired as a result of time spent in schools,
colleges, universities or other formal instruction programmes. Application of this factor should
not be confused with either the basic education of a particular incumbent or with employment
standards established to ensure adequate background for advancement within the library. Today’s
educational levels and standards should be used. This factor is closely associated with the
following one for Experience. Rating under the Experience factor should reflect the educational
level assigned in this factor.
Experience: Work experience measures the length of time, (in months or years), required to
learn, under instruction or guidance, the essential techniques and skills called for by the job. The
experience will be gained on the job under consideration, as well as on prior jobs where the
same or more elementary principles and techniques are used, and also on related jobs where one
can build up a body of knowledge essential to the proper performance of the job. The amount of
work experience is the sum total of all experiences, (prior and on the present job) that must be
acquired in order to perform the work. Assume that the incumbent starts with the educational
level specified in the Education factor.

Initiative: Initiative refers to the degree of independent action required. It also considers
ingenuity, creative imagination, and original thought which may be needed on the job. It is
limited by the amount of direction and control received from either personal supervision or
standard practices and precedents – rules, policies, codes, regulations, and procedures. This
factor is closely related to the complexity of the job and the judgement exercised. The initiative
factor increases as the complexity of the job and the judgement exercised on the job rises.
Result of Errors: This factor appraises the likelihood and the probable effect of errors on the job.
Consider the extent of losses to the library which may result from mistakes occasioned by
insufficiently considered decisions or judgments. Consider a typical instance, not a rare or
extreme one. (Result of Errors is also used to evaluate responsibility for the safety of others.)
Contacts: This factor considers the need for applying different levels of interpersonal and
communication skills. Contacts refer to the relative importance to the University of the Necessary

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