Broad-banded structures
Broad-banded structures compress multi-graded structures into four or five ‘bands’,
as illustrated in Figure 46.3. The process of developing broad-banded structures is
called ‘broad-banding’. In its original version, a broad-banded structure contained no
more than five bands, each with, typically, a span of 70 to 100 per cent. Bands were
unstructured and pay was managed much more flexibly than in a conventional
graded structure (no limits may be defined for progression, which depended on
competence and the assumption of wider role responsibilities) and much more atten-
tion was paid to market rates that governed what were in effect the spot rates for jobs
within bands. Analytical job evaluation was often felt to be unnecessary because of
the ease with which jobs could be allocated to one of a small number of bands. The
difference between broad bands and broad grades is that the latter still generally
adopt a fairly conventional approach to pay management by the use of analytical job
evaluation, mid-point management, compa-ratio analysis and pay matrix techniques.
However, structure often crept in. It started with reference points aligned to market
rates around which similar roles could be clustered. These were then extended into
zones for individual jobs or groups of jobs, which placed limits on pay progression, as
illustrated in Figure 46.4. Job evaluation was increasingly used to define the bound-
aries of the band and to size jobs as a basis for deciding where reference points should
be placed in conjunction with market pricing. The original concept of broad-banding
was therefore eroded as more structure was introduced and job evaluation became
more prominent to define the structure and meet equal pay requirements. Zones
within broad bands began to look rather like conventional grades.
Grade and pay structures ❚ 693
£Figure 46.2 Abroad-graded structure