Benchmark Jobs
Staff members will be able to consult all CERN BMJs in a dedicated database and know which main activities, competencies and qualifications are in a given BMJ. The different applicable posts within a given BMJ will also indicate possible opportunities for internal mobility.
Managers, Human Resources Advisors and recruiters will be able to define new job opening requirements more easily by extracting the information on the BMJ, discussing the details with hiring teams in the departments and adjusting accordingly to produce a Vacancy Notice. This will improve efficiency in the recruitment process by providing a starting point for discussion with a common foundation and language for all jobs.
For recruitment, the use of BMJs will build upon the previous concept of ‘job footprints’, used since 2011 for recruitment on limited-duration contracts and integrated in the EDH “Request for opening a Staff Post” document.
The advantage of BMJs is that they provide common CERN-wide definitions across all HR processes. The information stored in BMJs will also include a list and description of the main activities (not currently available in the job footprints) as well as the applicable grades for recruitment (e.g. grades 6-7 for an engineer).
For recruitment on limited-duration contracts, an analysis will be made of the specific features of the post to be filled in order to target potential candidates more effectively and potentially to give the vacancy a more...
Further to the changes to CERN’s career structure in the 2015 Five-Yearly Review of financial and social conditions, staff members will be assessed on functions as well as objectives in the annual performance appraisal process.
BMJs are the framework in which the functions of the staff members will be assessed and objectives defined. A link to the BMJ definition will be automatically integrated in the new MARS form (renamed “MERIT” following the Five Yearly Review), saving time by providing an immediate clear reference and context.
A modernized version of the Career Path Guide, called “Promotion Guide” supports the exercise.
In line with the new career structure with ten grades, there will be two kinds of promotion:
- promotion within the same benchmark job to a higher grade and higher level of expertise/proficiency and
- Promotion to a different benchmark job in a higher grade.
Promotions within a same BMJ will be based primarily on performance and the execution of the main activities of the BMJ, albeit at a higher expertise or proficiency level. Evaluation of the current functions will be facilitated by the use of a modernised Career Path Guide, to be renamed Promotion Guide in the future.
There will also exist the possibility to change BMJs within the same Grade, which although not a promotion in itself, will follow the same process and procedures.
It is important to note that the modernization of the Career Path Guide is an evolutionary approach. The current Career Path Guide is a well-known and appreciated tool, with some known weaknesses. The intention is to modernize it in a way to address the current weaknesses, without drastic changes.
Promotions to a higher BMJ will mainly be based on performance...
The BMJ directory will provide clear visibility of current jobs throughout the Organization and will provide an improved framework to discuss the Organization’s present and future needs. This inventory will take into account the evolution of jobs at CERN, as new jobs will be identified and added , whilst jobs that are no longer relevant for CERN will be removed.
Currently, simulations carried out in relation to workforce planning are based on job codes and this presents a number of limitations. By using BMJs in the Activity Planning Tool (APT), the Staff Monitoring Tool (SMT) and forecasts (including retirements and turnover parameters), we will be able to identify more clearly the gaps between present and future requirements. This will allow a more strategic approach to planning by the proactive anticipation of competencies required in the future. If the competencies required are available on the employment market, then a tailor-made recruitment plan may be established; however if the competencies required are particularly scarce, an approach combining recruitment and in-house talent-building may be considered.
- For individuals: the BMJs will provide a more realistic picture of the professional situation at CERN, and a clearer understanding of what is required for a given post with increased transparency of the spectrum covered by each BMJ.
- For HR professionals: the BMJs will provide a basis for recruiting, classifying, promoting, training, facilitating mobility, and as a tool for future workforce planning.
- For the Organization in general: the BMJs will provide an overview of all the jobs currently held at CERN and their content, and will enhance consistency and transparency through the use of common language.