CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster with a special focus on “all things Canadian”; it broadcasts in English, French, and various Indigenous languages from coast to coast. The national radio station is designed to connect Canadians from diverse backgrounds across all regions, with emphasis on protecting Canadian culture by ensuring that programs from the United States do not inundate Canadian airwaves.

CBC/Radio-Canada and the union (CMG) representing all unionized employees at the radio station finalized an agreement that stipulates what the job evaluation process entails. Job evaluation is jointly by management and union members, including designing the job evaluation plan together. The job evaluation system is designed to incorporate employee input, to be responsive to federal pay equity legislation, to capture changes due to technological advancements and changes in job demand, and, most importantly, to reflect corporate culture and values in today’s diverse and changing work environments. The job evaluation system measures the content and relative value of jobs, placing them into 13 different pay bands. The system evaluates jobs according to their normal component—that is, tasks that are done on a regular basis. The compensable factors are skills, working condition, effort, and responsibilities, not the performance of the incumbent doing the job. The four factors and subfactors are as follows: 

A. Responsibility—what are the responsibilities of the job (accountability, communication coordination of work)? 

B. Skills—what skills are required (body of knowledge [education and experience], dexterity)? 

C. Working conditions—what working conditions apply to the job? For example, general environment, pressure, task interference, travel, and so on. 

D. Effort—what amount of effort does the job require? For example, judgment, creativity exertion, and so on. 

Each subfactor level carries a specific weight and based on the number of points awarded for each subfactor, the joint committee awards a total number of points for the job.

AN EXAMPLE OF AN ITEM UNDER B: SKILLS This subfactor measures the body of knowledge, that is, education and experience required for an employee to effectively do the job. In the case of CBC/Radio-Canada, there are four levels of education and nine levels of work experience. The points awarded to each of the different levels reflect progressive requirements as you move from one level to another. For example, a generalist clerical classification would be awarded 70 points and require a high school or equivalent education plus one year experience; an editor classification would be awarded 130 points, with the requirement of a community college diploma in television arts or equivalent three years’ experience; the producer classification would require a university degree or five years’ relevant experience and would be awarded 170 points.

Questions 

1. What type of job evaluation does CBC/RadioCanada use? 

2. What are the advantages and limitations of this system?