Is a Job Evaluation Consultant Necessary and How is One Chosen?

1. Is a consultant necessary?

Job evaluation consultants — individuals or firms that are hired to perform job evaluation studies — conduct many job evaluation studies. Although consultants are expensive, they may be useful in some situations, such as:

• When the employer does not have in-house job evaluation experts or the employer does not have enough staff to devote to a job evaluation project; 
• When you don’t trust the employer to do a fair study (but remember that most consultants are paid by management and will reflect management’s priorities); or 
• When you need to have an “impartial” third party conduct the study for political reasons.

2. How do you choose a consultant?

The typical steps in choosing a job evaluation consultant are:

• Write a request for proposals (RFP) which describes the proposed project in detail. The RFP lists the information that should be provided in the consultants’ proposals, including a detailed outline, timetable and budget for conducting the study, the methodology to be used, the firm’s experience in this area, the experience and qualifications of the staff to be assigned to the project, and a list of references. 

• Mail the RFP to consultants with job evaluation experience with a deadline for interested firms to submit their proposals. 

• Review the proposals in accordance with any regulations the employer may have for contracting with consultants. 
• Interview consultants that have submitted the best proposals. The consultants’ staff members who will be assigned to the project should be present at the interview. 
• Select the best consultant. 
• Finalize and sign a contract with the consultant.

3. Should the union get involved in choosing a consultant?

If the union hears that the employer is conducting a job evaluation study, the union needs to determine if it thinks it can have a positive impact on the study, or if it should keep a distance from a bad study so that it can be free to attack the results. If the union decides to play an active role in the study, it is extremely important to get involved early on when the RFP is written and a consultant is chosen. Once the study begins, it may be too late to change aspects of the study that are unacceptable to the union.

The union may want to participate in the following activities:

• Review the RFP before it goes out.
• Suggest names of consultants that have produced studies acceptable to the union to receive the RFP. 
• Review proposals that are submitted. 
• Participate in consultant interviews. 
• Participate in the final selection of a consultant. 
• Review the contract before it is signed to make sure that everything of importance to the outcome of the study is stated in writing, including what the consultant is and is not to do. For example, if implementation of the study’s results will be handled at the bargaining table, the consultant should not propose specific recommendations.
  
  

4. Which consultant is best for the job?

When interviewing consultants, it is important to ask detailed questions so that you have a good understanding of how the firm would handle the project and how easily you would be able to work with the staff. While you may not be satisfied with all of their answers, the following questions should give you the information you need to pick the best firm.

Knowledge of the subject matter

• Has the consultant completed similar projects covering similar employers and types of workers? Check references to be sure that the consultant satisfactorily completed these projects. 
• Does the consultant understand the proposed project? 
• Is the proposal clear? If a consultant submits a confusing or overly technical proposal, it may be a sign that the consultant doesn’t know the field well enough or hasn’t spent enough time putting the proposal together. 
•  Does the consultant understand pay equity and does the firm have a commitment to achieving pay equity?
  
  

Job evaluation system:

• What job evaluation system does the consultant propose to use? Ask the consultant to explain the factors, the way these factors are defined, and the weight applied to each factor. Will the consultant give you a copy of the system? 
• Is the consultant willing to make modifications to the system to meet the needs of this project? 
• Is the consultant committed to conducting fair, bias-free evaluations? Does the consultant speak and write in gender-neutral language?
  
  

Job analysis questionnaire:

• What type of questionnaire does the consultant propose using? Will the consultant give you a copy of the questionnaire?
• Is the consultant willing to make modifications to the questionnaire? 
• Does the consultant believe that supervisory review of employees’ questionnaires is necessary or could completed questionnaires be returned directly to the consultants? 
• Does the consultant plan to send a questionnaire to every employee? If not, how many employees would receive questionnaires and how would they be selected? 
• If the consultant receives conflicting information from employees and supervisors, how would the consultant resolve these differences? 
• Does the consultant plan to supplement the questionnaires with on-site observations or interviews with employees?
  
  

Budget and timetable:

• Does the consultant have a well-designed plan for finishing the project on time and within the budget? References can also provide information in this area. If you need results before bargaining begins or before the employer’s budget is finalized, be sure that the consultant is prepared to meet the deadline. 
• Does the consultant have enough staff assigned to the project to complete the work on time? 
• Is the budget acceptable for the amount of work the consultant is proposing to do?
  
  

Implementation:

• If the consultant will be making recommendations on how to implement the results of the study, be sure to ask: 
  
  
  • Will the consultant incorporate an appeals process into the implementation plan? 
  • Does the consultant believe that no employees should have their wages reduced as a result of the study? 
  • Has the consultant ever proposed red-circling? If yes, under what circumstances?

Attitude toward unions:

• Is the consultant willing to work with the union and share information? 
• Does the consultant have experience working with other unions? Ask for union references and check them. 
• Does the consultant seem to respect workers and see the value in all types of work? 
• Does the consultant propose to include the union in all phases of the project in which you want to be involved?