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A GUIDELINE FOR EMPLOYEES WHAT IS A POSITION REVIEW? Previously called a desk audit, a
position review, is a way of getting up-to-date facts about a position. Usually, a Position Classification
Specialist or Assistant from the HRO holds the review directly with the
employee. Occasionally a position
review will be conducted by NGB-HR Classification Specialists. IS IT IMPORTANT? A position review is one of the
most critical steps in the position classification process. Positions are classified accurately only
when the information about the duties and responsibilities are correct and
well understood. WHY AND WHEN IS A POSITION
REVIEW CONDUCTED? Positions in the National Guard
are constantly changing. New programs, new tools, different procedures, organizational
changes, and increased employee skill and knowledge are only a few ways that
duties and responsibilities are affected. So, positions are looked at from
time to time to assure equal pay for substantially equal work. Other examples
of when this is done are: a. Your position is identified for
review as a result of a Position Description Release containing new PDs or
redescribed PDs. Occasionally, prior
to implementing the new PDs, a position review is required to ensure any duties
projected in the PD are actually available and being performed in the
functional area described. Most jobs
are found to be correctly classified even though some position descriptions
are updated to show changes in the work that is done. b. New classification standards are to
be applied to your position. USOPM has a continuing program to revise
position classification standards to reflect changes in work that is done by
the government. These new standards
help keep the classification system current, and are applied as soon as
possible after they are received by your Classification Activity; or c. Request for review of your position
by your supervisor. Your supervisor
may decide there has been major changes to a
position and request a review to determine if reclassification is in order. WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN A
POSITION REVIEW? This is the time to put your best
foot forward. The position review
interview is not the time for modesty (or for that matter, exaggeration). Here are some of the ways that you
can help yourself and the interviewer to have complete and accurate
information about your job. You need to have an idea of what
the interviewer wants. To help you
with this, the important parts or “factors” of jobs are listed to give you
some general ideas. Some jobs however,
may require very specific information for the kind of work accomplished. Nine basic job factors are used in
classifying most professional, technical, administrative, and clerical
positions. They are listed below with
several questions you should be able to answer regarding your work. - Knowledge and skill required…What is it
that you need to have education, training or experience in so that you can
perform the duties described? Is the required education, training or
experience of a broad range or is it limited to a particular aspect with much
depth in that area? - Supervisory controls…How is your work
reviewed by your supervisor? What
decisions or judgements do you make without consulting your supervisor? What independence and latitude do you have
to make recommendations, suggestions and commitments to others within the
organization and outside the organization? - Guidelines…What type of guidelines do you use (i.e., FPM, ARs, FM, pamphlets, directives, etc)? What interpretation is required? Do the guidelines need adapting in order to be used? - Complexity of the work…How difficult is the work? Is the process the same over and over? Is the work repetitive? How much variety is there with the general situations encountered? - Scope and effect of the work…How deep into the organization is the effects of your work? Does the work you accomplish effect others in the same organization, in other organizations, within other organizations outside of the branch of service you are employed? Are you responsible for work covering a segment or the organization, the entire organization, the state or a region? - Personal contacts…Who
do you make contacts with on a regular basis?
Are they within the same organization, outside the organization? Are your contacts with peers, management,
and government officials at the NGB level? - Purpose of the personal contacts…Is the purpose of the contact to obtain additional information, for clarity or to exchange ideas? During the contacts are you trying to persuade the individual to see your point of view? Are you trying to change the current policy? - Work environment…Do you work in an office setting? Are you required to travel long distances on a regular basis? Is your area climate controlled? - Physical demands…Is the work primarily
sedentary? What physical effort is
required on a regular basis? For
classifying trade, craft, or manual labor jobs, four basic factors are
considered: -Skill
and knowledge -Responsibilities -Physical
effort -Working
Conditions Remember
that it’s your job that will be classified, not you as a person. Over the
years there has been some “mystery” about position classification, and there
are many misunderstandings about what is important. There are several issues that come up
frequently; factors that cannot be considered when positions are
classified. Some examples are: -The qualifications of the person
on the job. The work is classified,
not the abilities of people. - Accuracy required on the
job. Every employee is expected to do
accurate work. - Length of government
service. Within grade step increases
compensate for your long loyal service. - Organizational titles of
positions. Titles are based on the duties and responsibilities of jobs and
are specified in classification standards. - Other matters unrelated to the
job. The Federal government is
committed to equal employment/opportunity practices. An employee’s race, color, religion,
gender, or national origin, therefore, has no bearing on the way that a
position is classified. Think about your position. How does it relate to the basic elements
shown above? Do
you find that your present position description is a good reflection of your
job? Is it accurate? What kind of assignments have you had in
the last year? Can you group these
into several categories so that you can talk about the different kinds of
work that you do? What are the major duties, in other words, those that take
the most of your time and are related to the reason for your job? What are the minor duties? Have you had one-time only assignment? What were they? Can you determine rough percentages of time
for the major categories of work that you do? What kind of responsibilities
do you have? What written guidelines
do you refer to? How does your
supervisor review your completed work? Organize the information about
your job. Don’t worry about the way
that a position description may be written.
What is important is the way that you want to tell someone about your
job. What do you think is really
important about the work that you do, or what is critical about your
responsibilities? Where you start is
not important. But be sure that you don’t miss telling about some part of
your job that is important. To avoid this pitfall it is extremely
helpful to construct a detailed written synopsis of your present duties and
responsibilities before the interview to outline how you want to tell the
story. You should provide a copy of
this synopsis to the Classification Specialist. It would also be helpful to write down
reference numbers to the kinds of written guides you use. Having samples of your work at hand is also
very useful. Be prepared for the position review. The position review is as important to you
as almost any other kind of interview you may have in your work life. Please don’t treat it lightly. In
most cases, the review will not take more than one to two hours. Some privacy can be helpful if it is
possible. Be ready to demonstrate the
factualness of the duties and responsibilities you are going to discuss and
be prepared to show examples and illustrations. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A
POSITION REVIEW? The facts that you have provided
about your job will be discussed first with your supervisor. Following this, the grade controlling
characteristics of your duties and responsibilities will be examined in
relation to your work and the position description. If there is a problem, rest assured that
the HRO will provide your supervisor advice, guidance and an opportunity to
correct it. It is likely that your
present description will be adequate. One final point. Please remember that the position review
objective is two-fold; to assure that jobs are both correctly functioning and
correctly classified. Your
participation will help meet this objective. Please feel free to contact either of us regarding
any questions that you may have about the position review, classification
standards or the process it self! MARCIA A. EGGERS CINDY A. LUDEMANN Position
Classification Specialist Personnel
Assistant 252-4371 252-4677 |