The SPA classification process involves the analysis and classification of positions within the state classification system. It incorporates three areas: position management, position design, and position analysis.
Position Management
Position Management involves the design and management of individual positions to achieve a proper balance among the following considerations:
- number of positions
- total cost of service
- maximum use of scarce or costly manpower skills
- maximum attraction, retention, and motivation of competent personnel
- provision for maximum development opportunities
- effective use of work processes, equipment, and techniques
- clear delineation of duties and responsibilities
Position Design
Position Design is the structuring of work assignments to achieve organizational goals with the best use of manpower most readily available and by avoiding unnecessary competition for personnel in short supply. Position design has as its goal the improved management of positions within the limitations of available resources. Line managers have many factors to consider in designing positions. These include labor market resources, equipment or work process alternatives, pay competition, competing demands for funds and space, overall goal or program priorities, training possibilities, and many others.
Position design is accomplished by systematically following several guides which are keys to developing facts necessary to good position design and management:
- Analyzing the mission and objectives of the organizational unit
- Determining the tasks to be performed in accomplishing objectives
- Determining the most efficient methods, work processes, equipment, and techniques for performing identified tasks
- Grouping tasks together on the basis of the most effective use of available manpower skills
- Continuously reviewing assignments and restructuring work of positions, including vacancies, to maintain efficiency and economy on a current basis
Position Analysis
Position Analysis In the successful accomplishment of position management, there is a need to define the nature of positions, relative to the mission and dynamics of the organization. Once managers and supervisors design their positions, the classification staff conducts a position analysis, which is the process of evaluating the different kinds and levels of work and grouping positions with similar kinds of work on the basis of major factors such as qualification requirements, responsibility, difficulty, and working conditions. Position analysis involves the application of accepted techniques of position or job evaluation to produce a systematic classification plan that forms the basis for an equitable and logical pay plan, meaningful standards of recruitment and selection, identification of training needs, a framework for performance evaluation, and information to support management in planning, budgeting, and maintaining the organization.
