How to Use the Point Method of Job Evaluation

Author: Joseph J. Martocchio, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The point method evaluates jobs by comparing compensable factors - elements of job content like skill, effort or responsibility that can be used to assess a job's value to the organization. Each factor is defined and assigned a range of points based on the factor's relative importance to the organization. Compensable factors are weighted to represent the relative significance of each factor to the job.

It is important to note that the procedure that follows should be applied separately to each job structure. Job structures are sets of jobs that are similar in important ways - for example, by functional area (such as accounting) or by job type (such as managerial jobs) because the jobs placed within each structure share a common set of knowledge, skills and abilities.

HR follows six steps to utilize the point method.