Preliminary Study On The Job Evaluation Method Of Public Hospitals In China

Research PurposesBased on a summary of the mainstream job evaluation methods at home and abroad, a job evaluation method for public hospitals in China has be proposed combining with the characteristics of healthcare and the status of public hospital development in China. And the evaluation index systems for three categories of positions in public hospitals have be constructed preliminarily in use of this method. The method and the index systems have been further improved in the empirical research through summarizing the empirical experience. The study is helpful to establish a scientific and effective job evaluation and job manangement system for public hospitals in China, and could lay the fundation for the reform of incentive mechanism, the establishment of reasonable pay system and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the medical staff in public hospitals.Research Contents and Research Methods(1)Literature Analysis. Search and collect the research results on job evaluation methods at home and abroad, especially on the relavant information of job evaluation methods in hospitals. Summarize the characteristics, applicable conditions and application effects of the mainstream job evaluation methods, and conclude the advantages and disadvantages of each method.(2)Focus group discussion. On the basis of literature analysis, select a method of job evaluation as the basic method, and design an appropriate job evaluation method for public hospitals in China to their own characteristics. Ten experts on human resource management or hospital management have been extracted to form an expert group. The designed method has been revised and improved through the focus group discussion, combined with the characteristics of healthcare and the status of public hospital development in China.(3)Expert consultation. Select the three paid elements in Hay analysis method as the basic elements in the method. Ten experts on human resource management or hospital management have been extracted to carry out the expert consultation. Through the expert consultation, the first level indicators, their definitions and their weights has been determined, and the second level indicators for each category of positions has been confirmed.(4)Site empirical research, considering the requirement of the designed method, the questionares has been designed for the staff in each category of positions. The weights of second level indicators has been determined in use of Fuzzy Analysis of Hierarchy Process. At the same time, the staff’s cognitive and attitude have also been investigated. Select a hospital as the sample, and job evaluation for some representive positions has been carried out in the sample hospital. Use the Average Method and Major Component Analysis for data processing, and summarize experience and disadvantages of the use of method.Results(1)According to the literature analysis, there are seven common job evaluation methods:classification method, arrangement method, scale set-class method, paired comparison method, scale score method, factor comparison method and point-factor method. The first four methods are qualitative, and the latter three ones are quantitative. The representative job evaluation model is Hay analysis method.(2)According to the principle of position classification, the positions in public hospitals are classificated into three categories:the professional technical positions, the management positions and the working and service positions. According to the characteristics of each method, the point-factor method has been selected as the basic method in the research, and combining with the corrective measures in the scale score method, a job evaluation method applicable for the public honsitals in China has been designed premilinarily.(3) In accordance with the method of "extracting from the existing methods", select the three paid elements in Hay analysis method as the basic elements, and they are defined premilinarily as the necessary qualifications, the difficulty and the responsibilities of the position. Their names, definitions and applicabilities have been further improved and their weights have been determined thorough the expert consultation. According to the different characteristics of the three categories of positions, their second level indicators have been confirmed through the expert consultation and the weights of the second level indicators have been determined through the questionares and Fuzzy Analysis of Hierarchy Process. Eventually the job evaluation index systems of the three categories of positions have been constructed premilinarily.(4)Using the designed method and index systems, eight representive postions in one sample hospital have been evaluated and sorted. The method and index systems have been tested and further improved through the empirical research. Some problems have been found in the empirical research:The index systems need to be further refined; hospital managers are lack of knowlegde of job evaluation; the job performance pay system is implemented in the hospitals, and the examples of job evaluation are few; there are plenty of positions in the hospitals, and the differences between some positions are very small.DiscussionAccording to the premilinary research and analysis on the job evaluation in the public hospitals in China, it could be found:(1)job evaluation would meet the needs of health administrative departments, public hospitals and hospital staff.(2) currently the position wage system is constrained by the policies and regulations, and many hospital managers are lack of knowledge on the job evaluation, both of which result in the resistance to the conduct of job evaluation in public hospitals.(3) job evaluation methods should be adapted to local conditions, and continuously improved with the deepening of public hospital reform.(4) Job evaluation index systems are still too rough and need to be further refined.(5) The result of job evaluation could be applied to determination of salary, promotion, and development of the remuneration plan.Suggestions(1)The health administrative departments should encourage the public hospitals to carry out multi-channel explorations on position setting and job evaluation.(2) the public hospitals should realize the significance of job evaluation in the process of internal mechanism reform.(3) the public hospitals should select and continuously improve the job evaluation method adapting to local conditions.(4) Job evaluation index systems for public hospitals should have more medical characterisitics.(5)taking the job evaluation as the basis, complete the public hospital staff career planning and compensation management system, then improve the medical staff’s enthusiasm for work.Innovations and LimitationsResearch innovations:the research and practice of job evaluation in the medical areas is limited. This study has drawed on the job evaluation results in business management, and discuss the job evaluation in public hospitals combining with the policy trends of public hospital reform and revolution of human resource system in public institution. What is more, the method of job evaluation is taken as the significance of the study, and the job evaluation method for public hospitals and the job evaluation index systems for the three categories of positions has been designed finally. At the same time, the policy sugguestions for further implementation of job evaluation in hospital have been proposed in the research.Research limitations:due to the limit of time and money, the research on job evaluation in the public hospitals has only been carried out premilinarily. As a result, not only the job evaluation method but also the job evaluation index systems should be researched furtherly. Meanwhile, only eight representive positions in one sample hospital have been evaluated in the research to verify and complete the method and index system, hence the result may be lack of representative.