Case Study: Job Family Modelling - Glasgow City Council | Ways HR

Job Family Modelling, Glasgow City Council

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, with a population of around 580,000. It covers 17,639 hectares.
The city has 291,474 dwellings. With 2,314,219 sq m office floor-space, Glasgow is the UK’s second-largest retail centre.
The City Council works with partner agencies including Scottish Enterprise and the Clyde Valley Tourist Board.

What did our client need?

UK councils are legally required to operate with single status pay arrangements.
Our client wanted to address their equal value pay responsibilities and build the foundations for a modernised workforce strategy.
They asked us to support them in modernising work descriptors for 32,000 staff-members.
Our Job Family Modelling approach achieved this while avoiding a lengthy and expensive exercise in individual job definition.

How did we help?

We developed fourteen new Job Families with detailed role profiles, built around a performance enabling competency framework.
We assessed the role profiles using a formal job evaluation scheme.
And, in partnership, we provided detailed design work to specify a new pay and grading structure, including a compliant and effective reward system.
Using our original, factor-based Job Family Allocation Tool © we assigned all individual roles to the new profiles.
The definition and allocation process took place in just four months.

What challenges did we face?

Implementing appropriate Job Families.
Our approach was flexible and sensitive to our client’s industrial relations and political environment. Corporate HR were involved in planning procedures. We briefed senior managers and key stakeholders.
Managing progress.
Our project leaders held regular review and planning meetings. We also supported our client with briefings and specialist communications.

What benefits did our client gain?

Over an eight-week consultation period our client described and defined all work.
Over four weeks we allocated all individual jobs to the new family descriptors.
We have replaced thousands of individual job descriptions with approximately 100 role profiles.
The project established a basis for modern and equal value compliant pay arrangements, with wider people management benefits.
Our client saw visible improvements in performance management; training and development; career path mapping; and recruitment.

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