Job creation
Job design, or redesign, is a process of determining job roles and what a job involves, as well as how it relates to other relevant jobs and the organisation’s structure. It includes deciding on the duties and responsibilities of the job holder, the way the job is done, as well as what support and resources the job holder needs. – CIPD
If a hiring manager fills out the recruitment paperwork, such as the job advertisement and description, and sends it to HR for processing, there is a possibility that the manager may be recruiting someone like the current post holder without assessing whether the service requirements have changed or developed over time.
This could lead to bias in the process with the manager hiring the same type of person for the role without exploring a more diverse candidate pool.
Consider the implications of mergers and impact on the needs of the service, impact of technology and changes to the role.
Collaborate with key stakeholders when designing the role to ensure different perspectives are considered.
Job banding and evaluation
Jobs in the NHS are compared with each other to decide at what band they should be paid and underpins the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay structure.
The job evaluation process is designed to be consistent and ensure fair outcomes and equal pay for equal work for all NHS staff.
NHS Employers offer a transparent and comprehensive job evaluation guide
Please note even with the use of job banding guidance, there are gender and ethnicity pay gaps, and it doesn’t mean discrimination cannot occur.
Jobs that should go through job evaluation include all new jobs, those affected by service redesign or organisational change and if an existing job has changed significantly.
Positive Action
Positive action is the deliberate use of proportionate measures to eliminate or reduce discrimination, or its effects to overcome disadvantage, or low participation in education, training, and welfare.
The Equality Act 2010 sections 158 (general) and 159 (recruitment) provide the lawful basis for developing positive action initiatives.
A Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire positive action framework has been developed which includes useful information, FAQs and a planning template.
Positive action is a useful tool to tackle past discrimination and offer training and development opportunities for disadvantaged groups to level the playing field.
It is not a substitute for tackling institutional obstacles. Positive action should complement additional inclusive recruitment approaches.
Review the CIPD Job Design factsheet for useful tips
Job Description and Person Specification
One challenge for creating job descriptions and essential criteria to be tested is how to create them with a small number of interview criteria when the Agenda for Change job evaluation scheme has so many factors to consider.
Standardised Job Descriptions
Consider whether job descriptions can be standardised centrally and applied locally.
With the volume of job descriptions, there may be challenges with the lack of resources.
The Health Education England Star is an interactive model designed to support workforce transformation
This will prompt you to consider what workforce requirements are as services evolve or new services are designed.
Consistency in the structure of job descriptions, and the use of language is particularly important and is addressed in the review points below.
Recommendations and best practice guides