What are the pros and cons of job grades?
Job grades in and of themselves are neutral. It’s how companies use them which makes the difference. Companies may have many job grades or relatively few. The salary ranges associated with them may be narrow or wide. The salary ranges will also depend on a company’s compensation philosophy for what it will pay relative to market averages. One dynamic is that salary increases tend to get smaller as someone moves higher in their salary range. Prior to negotiating compensation for a specific position, it is important to research what the current market compensation is for that type of job. A good question is where a salary offer falls in the salary range for that position. Regardless of where the conversation goes at this point, both sides will have equal information.
