JE: How To Get Started

The most common question about JE is “Where do I start?” — it is understandable, as the JEQ (the questionnaire) seems overwhelming at first glance. The above video is from 2016 but still provides helpful tips on how to start.

To start you need four things:

• the Joint Job Evaluation Questionnaire (JEQ),
• the Job Evaluation Guidebook (Guide),
• your Job Description, and
• your most recent JE ratings (ratings).

The JEQ and the Guide are available on the Human Resources (HR) Page under Related Forms. The ratings may be on file with your supervisor or may be requested from HR.

Job Description:

Ideally, there will be a current job description on file with your department or with HR.  If not, you may need to work with your supervisor to create one. Alternatively, you may want to draft one by listing all the duties and responsibilities of your position. If you aren’t sure, you can keep a log for a week or a month or longer to make note of all the tasks you are assigned and all the things for which you are responsible.

Ratings:

These should be requested through HR. If your job is new, you will have an initial pay grade rating which may not have individual subfactor ratings; in this case, your JEQ will be subject to a full audit — every subfactor will be considered. If your job is not new you will see individual ratings for each subfactor and you may choose to have the committee consider only those subfactors that are affected by changes to your duties and responsibilities; where there is no change to the level, you may simply state “no change” in the comment area on the JEQ.

Once you have all of this at hand, you can begin filling out the JEQ.

Next: How to Tackle a Subfactor.