Africa-Press – Eswatini. A job evaluation and salary review for 127 employees is on the cards at the Matsapha Town Council.
To this end, the municipality has sought reputable consultancy firms to undertake the job evaluation and salary survey services. In line with the evolving needs of the organisation, the municipality has explained that it needs to re-align and redefine its current job grading system and salary scales.
MTC has requested for proposals from qualified firms to undertake a comprehensive management compensation package, including a salary grid.
“The overall goal of the review is to attract and retain the staff the council needs to carry out its business through, in part, the institution of an appropriate overall compensation plan for the municipality management and staff,” explained Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lucky Sukati in the Request for Proposals (RFP).
When unpacking objectives and purpose of the assignment, it was explained that the first objective of the consultancy would be to develop a logical and consistent job evaluation framework upon which the municipality could base future job grading decisions. It was explained that the framework should be comprehensive, including competencies and other relevant criteria, and respond to new realities of the organization.
It should also be suitable for further expansions of the town council’s workforce and roles. Sukati emphasised that the exercise should ensure fairness and equality, in terms of job grading, between staff members currently employed, and in comparison with newly recruited staff members.
The CEO mentioned that the successful consultant would undertake an alignment exercise, adjusting the job levels of current staff to address inequities and disparities between roles in the same job family and across the organisation, and fully recognising roles and responsibilities undertaken.
The desired consultant will also be tasked with the responsibility to facilitate a smooth transition into the new job evaluation framework.
Objective
The CEO went on to explain that the other objective of the assignment would be to carry out a salary survey to compare the municipality’s salaries with suitable local, regional and global comparators.
The consultant will also be expected to; “make proposals for adjustments to the salary scales, and draft an implementation plan.” Sukati pointed out that it was expected that the job evaluation and salary survey exercise would provide the municipality with a rational basis for making justifiable decisions on job grades and a consistent approach for the determination and management of relativities between jobs. Key tasks which were outlined by Sukati as part of the exercise included conducting a remuneration survey in Eswatini with similar comparable organisations and other critical benchmark companies.
Consultant
The consultant has been given the green light to include other companies in the survey other than similar comparable organisations.
They will also be expected to analyse the current remuneration structure currently tenable at the municipality together with the related benefits to determine if the company was still competitive in the Eswatini pay market and make appropriate recommendations in this regard.
“This must include a review of the remuneration gaps in the various departments (internal pay equity and fairness), taking into account both the existing as well as the proposed grading system (Patterson Job Grading System) – and to make any appropriate recommendations in this regard,” added Sukati.
Scales
Further, the municipality expects the consultant to examine and rationalise gaps existing between salary scales and grades in all cadres and determine whether consistency and a smooth transition from one grade to the next, exists. They will also examine and address all current pay levels with regards to compatibility with the recommended pay levels.
In this respect, it was mentioned that a clear action plan must be recommended on how current pay levels that were outside the new pay scales could be managed and addressed to be brought in line with the overall company norm.
“In addition, it is Matsapha Town Council’s intention that the new pay scales will cover contract employees, permanent staff as well as trainees and establish a job evaluation quality assurance methodology,” Sukati said.
Applications received in time by the latest date and time for submission could be opened at council’s offices on March 29 at 10:00 am. The Matsapha town council is a constitutional body established in terms of the Urban Government Act, 1969.
The constitution mandates the control, manage and administer the town; maintain and cleanse all public streets and open spaces vested in the council or committed to its management, abate all public nuisances; safeguard public health, and provide sanitary services for the removal and disposal of night soil, rubbish, carcasses of dead animals and all kinds of refuse.
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