How do you deal with new or emerging jobs that are hard to evaluate?

1 Define the job purpose

Before you can evaluate a new or emerging job, you need to have a clear and concise definition of its purpose. What is the main reason for the existence of the job? What are the expected results or outcomes of the job? How does the job contribute to the organization's goals and strategy? A well-defined job purpose will help you identify the key accountabilities and competencies of the job, as well as the level of impact and complexity.

2 Use multiple sources of information

When creating a new or emerging job, you may not have established benchmarks, standards, or market data to rely on. Thus, it is important to use multiple sources of information to gather and validate the job content and requirements. Job incumbents can provide first-hand insights into the tasks, skills, challenges, and achievements of the job. Additionally, job supervisors can offer feedback on the performance, expectations, and development needs of the job incumbents. Job analysts can conduct interviews, observations, surveys, or audits to collect and analyze the job data. Lastly, researching similar or related jobs in other organizations or industries can give you a sense of the demand, supply, and compensation of the job.

3 Choose an appropriate method

When evaluating new or emerging jobs, there are different methods to consider, such as ranking, classification, point-factor, or market pricing. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the purpose, scope, and criteria of the evaluation. It is important to choose a method that is flexible enough to accommodate changes and variations in the job content and requirements over time. Additionally, the method should be transparent enough to explain and justify the rationale and process of the evaluation to the stakeholders. Furthermore, it should be valid and reliable enough to measure and reflect the actual value and contribution of the job to the organization, producing consistent and accurate results across different evaluators and situations.

4 Review and update regularly

New or emerging jobs are likely to evolve and adapt as the organization and the environment change, so you should review and update your job evaluation system regularly to ensure it remains relevant, fair, and accurate. Significant changes in job content, requirements, or outcomes, new or revised organizational goals, strategies, or structures, new or modified laws, regulations, or standards, and new or emerging trends, technologies, or practices are all triggers for review and update. Following these tips can help you effectively and efficiently manage new or emerging jobs in your job evaluation system.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?