CODESP CODESP - Cooperative Organization for the Development of Employee Selection Procedures Classification and Compensation Systems Questions and Answers 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CODESP classification analyst is reviewing a position whose incumbent spends 40% of time on duties from a higher class and 60% on duties of the current class. What is the correct classification action?
- Reclassify the position to the higher class immediately
- Create a new blended classification for this position only
- Retain the current classification because the majority of duties fit it (Correct answer)
- Split the position into two part-time allocations
Correct answer: Retain the current classification because the majority of duties fit it
Classification is determined by the preponderance (majority) of duties; since 60% of duties align with the current class, the position should remain as classified.
Question 2: Which compensation principle holds that employees performing equal work should receive equal pay, regardless of personal characteristics?
- Internal equity (Correct answer)
- External competitiveness
- Pay-for-performance
- Comparable worth
Correct answer: Internal equity
Internal equity ensures that employees doing the same or comparable work within an organization receive equitable pay, eliminating disparities based on non-job factors.
Question 3: A public agency wants to ensure its salary schedule keeps pace with inflation and labor market changes annually. Which mechanism is most appropriate?
- Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) (Correct answer)
- Merit increase
- Step advancement
- Reclassification
Correct answer: Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
COLAs are periodic, across-the-board salary adjustments tied to economic indices that help salaries keep pace with inflation and market movement.
Question 4: In position classification, the term 'allocation' refers to:
- Assigning a budget code to a position
- Placing a specific position into its appropriate classification (Correct answer)
- Distributing workload among employees in a unit
- Approving funding for a new full-time equivalent
Correct answer: Placing a specific position into its appropriate classification
Allocation is the formal act of placing an individual position into the appropriate class based on analysis of its assigned duties and responsibilities.
Question 5: A 'salary compression' problem in a public agency most commonly occurs when:
- Senior employees earn significantly more than new hires
- New hire salaries approach or exceed those of experienced employees (Correct answer)
- Salary ranges are too wide to administer effectively
- Pay grades are consolidated into broader bands
Correct answer: New hire salaries approach or exceed those of experienced employees
Salary compression happens when market-driven starting salaries rise faster than existing employees' pay, narrowing the gap between new and tenured staff.
Question 6: Which method of job evaluation assigns points to compensable factors such as skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions to determine a position's relative worth?
- Job ranking method
- Factor comparison method
- Point-factor method (Correct answer)
- Market pricing method
Correct answer: Point-factor method
The point-factor method scores each compensable factor on a scale and totals the points to produce an objective numeric measure of a job's internal worth.
Question 7: Under civil service classification rules, an 'out-of-class' assignment occurs when:
- An employee transfers to a position outside their department
- An employee temporarily performs duties of a higher classification (Correct answer)
- A position is reclassified without the incumbent's knowledge
- An employee fails to meet the minimum qualifications for their class
Correct answer: An employee temporarily performs duties of a higher classification
An out-of-class assignment means an employee is temporarily working in a higher-level classification, which may entitle them to additional pay under many civil service rules.
CODESP CODESP - Cooperative Organization for the Development of Employee Selection Procedures Classification and Compensation Systems Questions and Answers 5
A CODESP classification analyst is reviewing a position whose incumbent spends 40% of time on duties from a higher class and 60% on duties of the current class.
What is the correct classification action?