A STUDY TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE IN AN EVALUATION OF THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES FOREIGN SERVICE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00530R000902240001-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 143
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 13, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 1, 1979
• Content Type: REPORT

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A. STUDY TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN AN EVALUATION OF THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM
. OF THE
UNITED. STATES FOREIGN SERVICE
VOLUME
t 0 o
Prepared for the
Department of State
Pursuant to. .
Contract No, 1025-925135
By:
? Hay Associates
1100 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Suite 507
Washington, D.C. 20036
[phone]
May 1979
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TABLE OF CONTENTS/VOLUME
Section page
FOREWORD
SUMMARY vi
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. HAY ASSOCIATES 6
III. APPROACH 9
A. Benchmark Sampling 9
1. Sampling Approach 9
2. Sampling Criteria 10
3. Compensation Analysis Sample 11
4. Linkage Analysis Sample 11
B. Job Content Documentation: 13
C. Position Evaluation Process 15
1. The Hay Guide Chart Method 15 '
2. The Evaluation Committee 19
3. The Correlation Process 22
IV. OVERSEAS DIMENSION 24
V. LINKAGE ANALYSIS 28
A. Methodology 28
B. Quantitative Assessments of Linkages 29
1. Statistical Tests 29
2. Other Analyses of Relationships Between Pay Grades 30
C. Foreign Service Positions 32
1. Foreign Service Officer Pay Grades 32
2. Support Level Pay Grades 34
D. Federal Civil Service (GS) Positions 36
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, Page
E. Preliminary Analysis of Job Linkage Data 38
1. Inspection of FSO Linkage Data 38
2. Inspection of Support Level Linkage Data 39
3. Implications of Findings 39
F. Statistical Analyses of the Data 41
1. GS Professional/FSO Grades 41
2. GS Support LeveliFSS/FSRU Grades 43
G. Graphic Analysis of Relationships Between Foreign Service and
GS Pay Systems 46
1. GS Professional/FSO Grades 46
2. GS/Foreign Service Support Level Grades 48
H. Summary of Findings 50
VI. DOMESTIC CASH COMPENSATION COMPARISONS 51
A. Methodology 51
1. Analysis of Salary Practices 51
2. Analysis of Compensation Comparability 57
B. Current Foreign Service Salary Policies .. 60
1. Overview 60 .
2. Support Level Base Salary Policy 67
3. Officer Level Base Salaro-, Policy 69
C. Support Level Base Salary Comparisons 71
1. General Schedule Support Level 71
2. Washington Metropolitan Area Nonexempt Salary Survey 74
3. Selected International Organizations 76
D. Officer Level Base Salary Comparison 78
1. General Schedule Professional Level 78
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VII.
E.
DOMESTIC
Page
2. American Business Exempt Level'
Total Cash Compensation Comparison
TOTAL REMUNERATION COMPARISONS
?78
82 :
84
A.
Methodology
84
B.
General Schedule Support Level
85
C.
General Schedule Professional Level
87
D.
American Business Exempt Level
89
VIII.
OVERSEAS COMPENSATION COMPARISONS
92
A.
Background
92
B.
Comparison Group
94
C.
Methodology
95
1. Overseas Allowances and Benefits
95
2. Assumptions
98
3. Basis of Comparison
99
4. Basis of Calculation
99
D.
Overseas Allowances Policy Comparison
101
E.
Overseas Base Compensation Comparison
103
F.
Total Overseas Cash Compensation Comparison
106
G.
Total Overseas Remuneration
108
IX.
PROPOSED GRADE STRUCTURES
111
A.
Background
111
B.
Option No. 1: 10-Grade System
113
C.
Option No. 2: 9-Grade System
119
X.
FINDINGS AND PROPOSALS
123
A. Background
123
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B. Linkage and Cash Compensation Findings 126
1. Linkage Analysis 126
2. Domestic Cash Compensation Analysis 127
C. Domestic Total Remuneration Findings 130
D. Overseas Compensation Findings 131
E. Proposed Grade Structure Findings 132
,IIII,OPPWBOIIMOMMIRMIP00000111.M.mmOmmwoMiMi.
APPENDIX/VOLUME II
A. Hay Capabilities
B. Sampling Analyses
C. Hay Guide Chart Method of Job Evaluation
D. State Department Guide Charts
E. Profiling: "Why Down is Beautiful" (Hay M&M, No. 235)
F. Foreign Service Evaluations
G. State Department Paper Addressing the "Overseas Dimension"
H. 1978 Hay Nonexempt Survey Participant List
I. 1978 Hay Cash Compensation/Noncash Compensation Participant List
J. May Cash Equivalent Benefit Values Method
K. Summary of Foreign Service, General Schedule, American Business
and Selected Multinationals' Benefits
L. Summary Description of Foreign Service and Private Sector Overseas
Benefits and Allowances
M. Estimated Foreign Service Family Size Calculations
N. References
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FOREWORD
This study was initiated by the Department of State and carried out
by Hay Associates pursuant to Contract No. 1025-925135 under the aegis
of the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service. The project
was directed by the Washington Office of Hay Associates between January
and May 1979; and the members of the Hay Project Team are as follows:
Mr. David J. Wimer, General Manager, Hay/Washington, Officer-in-Charge
Mr. Gregori Lebedev, Principal, Hay/Washington, Project Director
Mr. Jack S. Blocker, Senior Principal, Hay/Washington,
Dr. Allan H. Fisher, Jr., Senior Consultant, Hay/Washington
Mr. Thomas M. Gregg, Associate, Hay/Washington
Mr. Michel F. Guay, Principal, Hay/Washington
Mr. Timothy S. Helsing, Research Assistant, Hay/Washington
Mr. Norman Lange, Partner, Hay/Philadelphia
Ms: Mary Riley, Principal, Hay/Washington
Mr. J. Alan Riordan, Partner, Hay/Philadelphia
Mr. Abram Zwany, Associate, Hay/Washington
Special note is taken of the expert counsel and assistance rendered
by Mr. Charles G. Van Horn, Senior General Partner (Retired), Hay/Philadelphia,
and Mr. Henry C. Rickard, Special International Consultant, Hay/Philadelphia.
The assistance of Mr. Robert S. Gershenson, Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for Personnel, and Mr. Jack E. Melton, Director of Position and
Pay Management (PER/PPM) was instrumental in the performance of the study.
Particular assistance was also provided by Mr. Robert R. West, PER/PPM, and
by a number of others at the Department of State.
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SUMMARY
The management consulting firm of Hay Associates was retained by the
Department of State to assist with its response to a number of internal and
external personnel management considerations which directly impact upon the
Foreign Service of the United States. A central element of any such examina-
tion is the clear intent of the Pay Comparability Act of 1970:
? Foreign Service work, i.e., job content, should be defined;
? Foreign Service pay should relate to levels of work;
? Foreign Service levels of pay and work should be, respectively,
comparable to that of the private sector; and
? Foreign Service pay levels should be interrelated with the
Federal (GS) pay system.
The results of such assessments would provide meaningful data and insights
which the Department could, as appropriate, translate into constructive responses
to the Congress, the Executive, and the Service itself.
To this end, the consultants were requested to undertake four primary
objectives:
? Employ Hay Job Evaluation techniques to determine the relative
job content of selected Foreign Service positions, domestic
and overseas, and the relationship of Foreign Service work and
pay, both within the Department and to other external employers,
including the U.S. Civil Service.
? Utilize Hay's extensive data bases to determine the comparability
and competitiveness of Foreign Service compensation (base salary,
benefits, and overseas allowances) to that of the General
Schedule, the domestic private sector, and 13 selected U.S.
multinational corporations with expatriate employees.
? Apply Linkage Analysis statistical techniques to selectively
test relationships between the Foreign Service and General
Schedule pay/grade classification systems on the basis of
evaluated job content.
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O Utilize the findings from the
e analysis and compensa-
tion comparisons to examine t e multiple Foreign Service
grade systems and propose alternatives, as appropriate.
As Hay undertook each of the foregoing, it consistently introduced
three elements which, in the consultants' opinion, were critical to the
quality and utility of the end results:
? Sensitivity to the uniqueness of the Foreign Service;
? Concern for the quality of data gathering, analysis, and
presentation; and the
?,Involvement of Departmental personnel in all phases.
It is clear to any observer that the Department of State is a cadre of
individuals carrying out a unique purpose -- the Foreign Service is the only
element of the Federal establishment charged with the development and imple-
mentation of U.S. foreign policy on a daily basis. Equally apparent is the
special mission and nature of the Foreign Service vis-a-vis the rest of the
Federal establishment, and the consequential fact that the Department's
personnel management environment has characteristics, objectives and problems
necessarily unlike other governmental entities: the integration of the rank-
in-person concept with compensation and classification systems; the ever-changing
elements of expatriate compensation; the problems associated with the high
mobility and rotational timetables; the conal system; the mix of personnel
classified and paid under a variety of different systems and scales; and the
circumstandes attendant to living and working in various overseas environments.
Necessary preconditions to linkage analyses, compensation comparisons,
and grade structure development are carefully implemented statistical procedures
and job evaluation techniques. Working closely with Department personnel, the
consultants designed a statistical sampling approach which resulted in the identi
fication of 119 positions representative of the Foreign Service domestically and
overseas. Similarly, the consultants, in concert with a committee of Foreign
Service employees, evaluated the job content of each of the 119 positions
through the use of the Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method. This multi-stage job
measurement process resulted in a quantitative assessment, expressed in points,
of each Foreign Service position which, in turn, served as the foundation
for the several analyses which would follow.
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Linkage analysis is a statistical process used to establish the relative
degree of difficulty of jobs in the pay grades of different classification
systems. This technique was employed to determine the comparability between
positions in the Foreign Service and Federal Civil Service at selected pay
grades. Among its several findings, this process identified three significant
links -- FSO-1 to G5-18; FSO-3 to GS-15; and FSO-6 to GS-11. Analysis of
several FSS grades revealed statistical anomolies suggesting historic classi-
-- fication irregularities. This is not a surprising condition when it is
recognized that up to about a year and .a half ago, Departmental classification
responsibilities were decentralized to each bureau. The consultants suggest
that proper classification is critical, especially in a rank-in-person system
which necessitates the very careful administration of the assignments process,
but it must also be recognized that unsuitable conditions, permitted over time,
unfortunately cannot be instantly corrected. In general, the results established
the existence of internal relationships sufficient to undertake, at least
preliminarily, the internal integration of the two principal Foreign Service
classification/grade systems.
Utilizing the Hay private and public sector data bases, the consultants
were also able to assess the competitiveness or comparability of Foreign
Service compensation. In order to meaningfully equte the Department to
appropriate markets and sectors, the Foreign Service was examined at two levels
Support and Officer. In terms of base salary, the Support Level is slightly
but consistently ahead of the General Schedule, and consistently competitive
against the private sector. Such a competitive posture in the private sector
is clearly desirable; but the findings also revealed certain features, e.g.,
overseas service, strenuous entrance requirements, etc., which legitimately
distinguish the Foreign Service Support Level from its traditional counterparts.
These unique features should not be ignored when drawing conclusions with
respect to compensation.
At the Officer Level, the lower segment of the Foreign Service salary
policy is competitively positioned against both the GS and U.S. private sector;
however, the mid-level policy is less competitive against both survey groups.
The salary ceiling simila y impacts upon the Foreign Service and General
Schedule; but its effect ?s clearly depicted in the American Business compari-
son where the most senior levels of the Foreign Service are competitively
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disadvantaged. The comparison of total cash compensation (the addition of
bonus payments to base salary in the private sector) revealed the Officer
Level policy to be slightly less competitive than it was in the base-to-base
examination.
In terms of domestic total remuneration (base salary plus benefits),
the Foreign Service benefits program is slightly above that of the Federal
Civil Service because of the difference in pension systems. This results
in a Support Level policy which is consistently higher than the Civil Service
and an Officer Level posture which is competitive except at the mid-level
where it continues to appear below the General Schedule.
To assess the comparability of Foreign Service overseas compensation,
the consultants, in consultation with the Department's Allowances Staff,
presented a carefully constructed comparison with selected U.S. multinational
companies. Overall, the overseas allowances and benefits typically provided
by the Foreign Service are quite comparable to those provided by the U.S.
multinationals except at the more senior levels where the Foreign Service
is less competitive due to the salary ceiling. Although the higher housing
(quarters) allowance and paid time-off for home leave provided by the Foreign
Service almost balances the overseas premium (inducement) available only in
the private sector, the consultants suggest that the Department review and
consider, the appropriateness of increasing the quarters allowances at the
Foreign Service levels affected by the salary cap.
The final project phase entailed the utilization of linkage and compen-
sation findings, in conjunction with the consultants' experience, to examine
the feasibility of restructuring the multiple Foreign Service grade systems.
The consultants statistically and empirically tested the suitability of a
great many approaches in the context of a number of essential criteria:
? Structural compatibility with the General Schedule should
be sought.
? Transitional cost consequences should be minimized.
? Personnel inequities or dislocations should be avoided.
? Rank-in-person flexibility should be maintained.
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? The special needs and unique circumstances of Foreign
Service employment should be recognized.
? The relationship of the Agency for International Development
(AID) and the International Communications Agency (ICA) to
any new Foreign Service grade structure (and thus to the
General Schedule) must be established by similar methodologies
independently employed.
The consultants concluded that a single Foreign Service classification
system/grade structure most appropriately accommodated the foregoing. However,
the process of integrating technical considerations with established criteria
is complex; and to this point the consultants emphasized three concerns:
? All conscious and unconscious personnel practices, under-
standably marked with inconsistencies and exceptions accumulated
over more than 30 years, cannot be immediately remedied;
? The sampling of Foreign Service positions, designed and under-
taken for other purposes, permitted only tentative propositions;
and
? There. is no one correct solution -- a number of different
approaches may validly regpond to the Department's needs,
although in different ways.
Building upon these considerations, the consultants proposed two
optional grade structures -- a ten (10) grade system and a nine (9) grade
system. Each, in slightly different ways, seeks to repond to the established
criteria and recognize certain inherent characteristics of the Foreign Service
in a responsible and realistic fashion.
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T_ INTRODUCTION
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This study was initiated by the Department to assist with itsresponse
to a number of internal and external personnel management considerations
which directly impact upon the Foreign Service. Three separate circum-
stances came together to create an opportunity for the Department to address
the interrelated and complex issues relating to the Foreign Service Compen-
sation system: the Congress, through the FY 1979 State Department Authori-
zation Bill, directed the Department to review and evaluate the suitability
of the current Foreign Service Compensation System; the enactment of the
Civil Service Reform Act in October 1978 dramatically altered, both struc-
turally and procedurally, the Federal Civil Service and, by extension
appeared likely to have considerable, if not well-defined,' impact upon the
U.S. Foreign Service; and, the Department decided to address basic and
structural human resource management deficiencies in the Foreign Service the
remedy for which lay, only in substantial revision of the Foreign Service Act.
The significance of these initiatives to the Foreign Service is obvious;
but central to any meaningful response is the legislative intent of Section
5301 of Title 5, United States Code -- the Pay Comparability Act of 1970.
The essence of this statutory enactment is that, within the Federal Statu-
tory Pay System, which includes the Foreign Service, (a) there is equal pay
for substantially equal work; (b) pay distinctions be maintained in keeping
with work and performance distinctions; (c) Federal pay rates are comparable
with those of private enterprise for the same levels of work; and (d) pay
levels for the statutory pay systems be interrelated. The direct effect of
Section 5301 upon the key aspects of the Foreign Service reorganization effort
is clear:
? Foreign Service work, i.e., job content, should be defined;
o Foreign Service pay should relate to levels of work;
? Foreign Service levels of pay and work should be, respectively,
comparable to that of the private sector; and
? Foreign Service pay levels should be interrelated with the Fed-
eral (GS) pay system.
The Department recognized that to do these things, and thereby develop
an accurate and credible informational and analytical framework which would
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permit meaningful responses to the Congress, the Executive, and, indeed, the
Service itself, would require methodolgies, data bases, and substantial and
1
relevant experience not readily available. Consequently, the Department
called upon Hay Associates, possibly the largest consulting firm in the world
exclusively devoted to the management of human resources. Hay was retained
to conduct this study, the initial objectives of which are as follows:
? Employ the internationally established Hay Method of Job Evalua-
tion to determine the relative job content of selected Foreign
Service positions, domestic and overseas, and the relationship
of Foreign Service work and pay, both within the Department and
to other external employers, including the U.S. Civil Service.
? Utilize Hay's extensive data bases to determine the comparability
and competitiveness of Foreign Service compensation (base salary,
benefits, and allowances) to that of the General Schedule, the
domestic private sector, and 13 selected U.S. multinational cor-
porations with expatriate employees.
? Apply the unique Linkage Analysis statistical techniques developed
by Hay to selectively test relationships between the Foreign
? Service and General Schedule pay/grade classification systems on
the basis of evaluated job content.
As the project progressed, the Department broadened the scope of con-
sultant activity by the addition of a fourth objective:
? Utilize the findings from the compensation comparisons and linkage
analyses to examine the multiple Foreign Service grade systems and
propose alternatives, as appropriate.
It must here be noted that the consultants undertook this additional
project element with the explicit understanding of certain inherent limita-
tions: the initial project design did not, quite properly, envision a
grade structure analysis of this dimension, and this fact, coupled with
time constraints imposed by a variety of requirements, dictated that the
results of this particular activity are to be regarded as tentative. Although
the grade structure modeling undertaken by the consultants produced useful
insights, its validity will need to be affirmed by the acquisition of some
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additional data by the Department with or without the aid of consultants.
As will be seen, Hay Associates endeavored to introduce three over-
riding elements into every facet of this study:
? Sensitivity to the uniqueness of the Foreign Service;
? Concern for the quality of data gathering, analysis, and presen-
tation; and the
o Involvement of Departmental personnel in all phases.
Indeed, these three elements are integral to the Hay approach which
is founded upon the ability to adapt methodologies and fashion solutions to
meet the special needs of a client. Inherent in this philosophy is integrity
-- Hay is not always the messenger of "good news," as defined by the client;
nor does the firm contend that well-established technologies provide easy
or immediate answers to every complex question facing an organization. It
does, however, apply technologies and human resource management experience
with an appreciation of the client environments and the involvement of client
personnel in order to responsibly address complex organizational issues in
ways which enhance the nature, continuity and purpose of an organization.
So was the Hay approach with respect to the Department of State.
It is clear to any observer that the Department of State is a cadre
of individuals carrying out a unique purpose -- the Foreign Service is the
only element of the Federal establishment charged with the development and
implementation of U.S. foreign policy on a daily basis. At the outset, Hay
recognized the special mission and nature of the Foreign Service vis-a-vis
the rest of the Federal establishment, and consequently appreciated the fact
that the Department's personnel management environment has characteristics,
objectives and problems necessarily unlike other governmental entities:
the integration of the rank-in-person concept with compensation and classi-
fication systems; the ever-changing elements of expatriate compensation;
the frequent need for internal reorganization of varying degrees; the prob-
lems associated with the high mobility and rotational timetables; the conal
system; and the mix of personnel classified and paid under a variety of dif-
ferent systems and scales. The consultants were similarly sensitive to a
number of specific human resource conditions which exist at the Department
in direct response to the needs of its worldwide mission: strenuous entrance
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requirements, even at the staff support level; the absolute need for person-
nel inherently capable of adapting to overseas environments; the value of
retaining specialized staff support personnel; and the development of internal
mechanisms to enhance career opportunities at all levels of the Foreign Ser-
vice.
In the area of quality control, the study is as explicit as possible
with respect to the origin of data, the rationale for approach, and the
evolution of analysis. For example, where statistics were provided directly
by the Department, it is so noted. Similarly, the report observes that 13
multinational companies were used for overseas compensation comparisons be-
cause of the Department's need for immediately-available data, and the
generally representative nature of the companies, In another case, the re-
port explains the utility of portraying the Foreign Service in professional
(Officer Level) and staff support (Support Level) terms, rather than through
the four overlapping, and somewhat redundant, classification systems that
currently exist.
With respect to Departmental involvement, the consultants interacted
almost daily with State personnel for two principal reasons: (1) to gain
as much insight about the client personnel management environment as-possi-
ble; and (2) to develop a Departmental understanding of and facility with
Hay techniques to enable it to not only utilize but also build upon the
findings of this study.
The Hay project team was ever sensitive to the foregoing understandings,
objectives, and concerns for accuracy as it applied its experience to a
range of personnel management activities:
? Statistical Sampling
? Job Evaluation
? Linkage Analysis
? Cash Compensation Analysis
? Noncash Compensation Analysis
? Expatriate Compensation Analysis
? Grade Structure Development
The report which follows relates the consultant activities in these
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areas; and the findings presented were guided by the following view: the
Foreign Service of the United States has characteristics and purposes atyp-
ical of other U.S. Government entities, but it is no less a part of the,
? Federal establishment. The role of the consultants was to provide indepen-
dent observations which would assist the Department to responsibly address
^
its special needs and further harmonize its personnel management activities
with those of the Federal Government.
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II. HAY ASSOCIATES
The headquarters of Hay Associates are located in Philadelphia, where
the firm was founded over 35 years ago. Overlooking Rittenhouse Square,
the home office is the locus of The Hay Group and houses most of its special-
ized units, research divisions, and support and administrative facilities.
Included in The Hay Group are Huggins & Company, actuarial and pension
consultants; Groupe Gamma, a Paris-based business strategy company; and
MSL International, Ltd., a London-based management development and recruit-
ment firm. World-wide offices now number about 65, and are located in more
than 20 countries.
The Hay staff is comprised of more than 300 full-time professional and
230 technical and support employees. In the United States, the professional
consulting staff has, collectively, over 150 advanced degrees primarily.in
the behavioral sciences, business administration and the legal disciplines.
Hay is a member of the Association of Consulting Management Engineers (ACME),
and is, in fact, one of the largest management consulting firms in the
world.
Hay Associates is extensively involved in the international community,
and the 1976 United Nations Geneva Conference on International Compensation
resulted from our professional association with the International Civil
Service Commission and was, in fact, chaired by a Hay General Partner.
The Hay methods of position evaluation and compensation comparison
and analysis have been employed in more than 4500 public and private organ-
izations throughout the world; and Hay was recently described by Fortune
magazine as having "... the most celebrated ... method (of job evaluation)."
For example, the Hay system has been utilized by the Government of the
United Kingdom; and our methodologies have been used to evaluate military
occupations in the Officer Force Structure of the British Armed Forces
and the Australian Permanent Defense Forces. The firm is currently in the
process of adapting the Hay system to the needs of the Government of Canada.
In the United States, of the corporations listed in the 1978 Fortune
Directory:
? 190 Hay clients are among the 500 largest
industrials;
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? 22 Hay clients are among the 50 largest
commercial banks (including three of the
first five: Citibank, Chase Manhattan,
Manufacturers Hanover); and
22 Hay clients are among the 50 largest
life insurance firms.
Hay techniques have also been utilized by a variety of international
organizations and U.S. Government entities including the Council of Inter-
national Economic Policy, the Department of Labor, the U.S. Secret Service,
the Inter-American Development Bank, the Congressional Budget Office, HEW,
and so forth. Other recent governmental activities of pertinence here
include:
? For DOD's most recent Quadrennial Review of
Military Compensation (UMC) - a study to
test and evaluate linkages between military
and Civil Service pay grades for pay com-
parability purposes.
For the International Civil Service Commission
- a comparison of selected U.S. Civil Service
and UN positions.
For the Organization of American States - a
comparative study of the classification and
compensation systems of selected international
organizations.
? For the U.S. Civil Service Commission (now
OPM) - a research project comparing Hay
evaluation techniques and compensation
comparisons to those of the USCSC.
? For the President's Commission on Military
Compensation - a study of the comparability
of military pay and benefits to the U.S.
private sector.
? For the Federal Aviation Administration
- an evaluation of the feasibility of
adopting a classification and compensa-
tion system separate from the General
Schedule.
Hay's research and development capabilities are particularly unique
in the sense that both government and private sector clients throughout
the world are served. This allows Hay to maintain and easily interchange
the latest data and experiential techniques between sectors. In addition,
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Hay maintains current computerized data bases on thousands of clients which
permit a variety of comparisons unavailable anywhere else in a way which
protects the confidentiality of both participants and the data.
The range of Hay's technologies and services is extensive and flows
from its substantial experience, unique data bases, and highly trained pro-
fessional staff. Hay's pioneering efforts in Such fields as job measurement,
reward management, and compensation administration have given rise to the
ever-broadening dimension of the firm; and an organization chart and a dis-
cussion of total Hay capabilities is found in Volume II, Appendix A.
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III. APPROACH
A. BENCHMARK SAMPLING
A precondition to any meaningful linkage or compensation
analysis is a representative sample of jobs in the pey grades of the
client population. In order to gain such an appropriate and defensible
organizational "snapshot" of the Foreign Service, the consultants employed
statistical sampling techniques designed specifically to identify a suffi-
cient number of positions to recognize and accommodate the specific character-
istics of the Foreign Service -- multiple grade/classification systems,
overseas and domestic service, and inter-conal' distribution -- and
thereby accomplish the two initial study objectives. The 119 positions
sampled were sufficient to permit preliminary grade structure observations;
however, the integration of AID and ICA is clearly a critical element
which should only be accomplished by similarly careful and independent
analyses.
1. Sampling Approach
A three-stage statistical sample of Foreign Service positions was under-
taken employing the consultant-designed approach.
411 Stage I identified benchmark positions for the compensation
analysis study phase.
? Stage II identified benchmark positions for the linkage analysis
study phase.
? Stage III identified positions which, on an empirical basis,
supplemented the first two samples.
2/
The Foreign Service system is composed of four systems: FSO (Foreign
Service Officer), FSR (Foreign Service Reserve Officer), FSRU (Foreign
Service Reserve Officer Unlimited), and FSS (Foreign Service/Staff).
FSO, FSR, and FSRU are identical 8-grade pay systems, while FSS is
a separate 10-grade system.
The Foreign Service is comprised of four functional areas or cones
-- Political; Economic; Administration; and Consular; and five other
occupational specialties -- Executive; Program Direction; Informa-
tion/Cultural; Special Professional; and Staff Support.
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The following sequential sampling design was employed:
Stage I - Jobs were sampled to represent benchmark pay grades (1 to 2
jobs per grade per system) for the pay comparability analysis.
Stage II - Jobs were selected to increase job representation at the
selected pay grades used in the linkage analysis, e.g., up
to 5 jobs per such grades.
Stage III - Jobs were selected, on an empirical basis, to supplement the
first two samples.
2. Sampling Criteria
A series of sampling criteria were developed to guide the selection of
representative jobs for Sample Stages I and II. For the purpose of this
study, "representative" is defined in terms of numbers of incumbents, not
numbers of billets. Using incumbent distribution data from the Department
of State Requirement/Skill Inventory (September 1978), samples were selected
to represent the following parameters:
? Classification Systems - FSO, FSR, FSRU, and FSS.
Cones/Selected Occupational Groups - Political, Economic, Adminis-
strative, Consular, and Staff Support Groups.
? Pay Grades - 8 grades in the FSO, FSR, and FSRU systems, and
10 grades in the FSS system.
Location - domestic versus overseas positions.
Pursuant to these criteria, highly populous jobs were selected at
specified grades, cones and locations. Jobs were not included which were
considered non-representative or too few in number to represent the Foreign
Service in total. Department of State personnel carried out the actual
identification of positions to be included subject to the above specifica-
tions since they were familiar with both the positions and the incumbent
classification and inventory data from which the samples were taken.
Findings from the initial analyses to determine the representativeness
of the samples within the selected Cones/Occupational Groups for each class
and grade are found in Volume II, Appendix B.
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3. Stage I - Compensation Analysis Sample
Having established the specifications for benchmark jobs to support
the compensation analyses, positions were selected according to the follow-
ing rule: "Within each classification schedule, select the one (1) job per
pay grade which has the most incumbents in a 'cone' at that general location."
The sampling design was intended to provide a sample of eight (8)
benchmark positions, one (1) per grade in each of the four (4) classification
systems, separately for domestic and overseas locations. Since there are
four classes, the resultant sample size was anticipated to be 64 positions.
This estimate assumed one (1) job in each of eight (8) grades in four (4)
systems (with one cone per grade) at two
(2) locations (Washington/Overseas) or
8 x 4 x 2 = 64. However, it was necessary to exclude certain pay grades where
no (or very few) incumbents were found; and for this reason, the final
sample for Stage I numbered 52 positions.
The sampling design for the linkage analysis comprised 30 positions,
and these Stage II jobs were selectively added to the Stage I sample.
An additional.37 jobs were drawn by the Department pursuant to Stage III,
and these positions were also employed in the compensation analysis. Con-
sequently, although the Stage I sample was sufficient for the compensation
study, it was usefully and appropriately increased by the Stage II and III
samples.
4. Stage II - Linkage Analysis Sample
The second sample consisted of representative jobs selected for the
linkage analysis phase. The most populous jobs were selected in terms of
a distribution of incumbents between cones; and positions were drawn from
selected grades in the three Foreign Service classification systems --
FSO, FSS, and FSRU -- targeted for this selective analysis)" To ensure
adequate representation, five or more jobs were drawn within each grade
selected for the linkage analysis. The following table provides the total
number of jobs sampled in selected grades and cones of the FSO, FSS and FSRU
classes.
1/
No linkage analysis was made for the FSR system.
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LINKAGE SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION
Grade
Political
Economic
Cones
Consular
Staff Support
Total
Admin.
FSO-1
3
2
1
- -
FSO-2
2
3
1
1
7
FSO-3
3
3
1
1
8
FSO-4
? 2
3
3
3
11
FSO-6
2
1
1
2
6
FSS-4
3
1
1
5
FSS-7
2
4
? 6
FSS-8
1
41???.??
6
FSRU-7
5
5
TOTAL
12
12
18
10
60
Analyses were made to establish that Stage II augmented Stage I in
such a way that Stage II jobs built upon the jobs selected at the same pay
grades in Sample I. The Stage II sample was also supplemented by jobs
drawn for Stage III.
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B. JOB CONTENT DOCUMENTATION
Current and accurate job content statements are not only essential
personnel management instruments but a sine qua non to the process of
position evaluation. Consequently, the collection of 'job content data
for each of the 119 Foreign Service positions identified by the sample
was undertaken with great care.
It was the consultants' view that the job documentation must reflect
those institutional characteristics and functional requirements which are
unique to the Foreign Service. To this end, the consultants sought from
the Department position information which:
? described the critical thrust or purpose of the job;
? identified the areas of essential and key interaction with both
Departmental and external positions;
? presented the elements which differentiated the position from
others within the Department; and
? highlighted the vital end results or accountabilities to be
achieved by the job.
In making this request, and pursuant to extensive discussions with ?
Department officials, the consultants were well aware of several under-
standable conditions which dictated extreme care in collection of job
content data. In all large and dynamic institutions -- and there are
currently more than 7500 employees in the Foreign Service (excluding
Departmental GS personnel) -- the ongoing maintenance of current position
information is a task of sufficient magnitude that it must, of necessity,
be undertaken in an administratively manageable fashion. This Situation
is accentuated at the Department by the fact that the focus of many of
its positions -- principally FSO -- continually change in response to
the evolving nature of the foreign policy issues they are constructed to
address.
Mindful of both the necessity of accurate data and the understandably
mixed quality of available position information, the consultants, in
concert with the Department, developed a variety of written and oral data
collection procedures which build upon the base position data to ensure
the most complete presentation of job content elements.
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? Existing job descriptions and/or questionnaires were obtained
for each position.
Organizational charts, staffing patterns, and Foreign Affairs
Manual (FAM) narratives were utilized, as needed.
go Internal memoranda were selectively employed to highlight the
most recent structural or functional changes.
? Seasoned members of the Foreign Service, representing the principal
functional and specialized areas, were selected to serve on the
Job Evaluation Committee; and
? "Generic Interviews" -- dialogues between Hay consultants, the
Evaluation Committee, and Foreign Service personnel specifically
knowledgeable about a type of position (although not the incumbent)
or activity -- were selectively undertaken to further refine the
quantity and quality of the position information.
Although bptimal job content data is collected through an incumbent-
interview process conducted by skilled consultants or consultant-trained
client personnel, the foregoing alternative approach, although time consum-
ming, has been employed by the consultants in other similar situations and
has proved suitable. The base position data provided by the Department
was, in some areas, excellent in itself due to recent classification efforts
on the part of the Office of Pay and Position Management. The supplemental
written materials usefully buttressed the base position information; and
the "generic interview" process spanned question and answer sessions with
Foreign Service secretaries, security personnel and office directors.
The necessity for accurate information on all positions subject to this
study dictated an approach which was both thorough and sensitive; and the
responsiveness of. the Department to the tediously structured approach im-
posed by the consultants is worthy of note.
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C. POSITION EVALUATION PROCESS
1. The Hay Guide Chart Method
The basis for all analyses in this study is the determination of the
content of each job; and the methodology employed in the evaluation of the
119 Foreign Service positions is a point-factor comparison system of job
measurement known as the Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method. This technique,
which has been employed in public and private sector organizations through-
out the world, evaluates the total content of any job through the discrete
analysis of eight factors of a position falling within three job dimensions
-- Know-How, Problem Solving and Accountability)."
? Know-How: Under the major heading of "know-How," each job was
studied for the depth of its technical knowledge requirements;
for the leadership, administrative or supervisory demands of the
position; and for the quality of human relations skills
required.
? Problem Solving: Similarly, under a major heading of "Problem
Solving," the positions were studied with regard to their problem
challenges and to the procedural constraints involved in solving
Problems as part of the ongoing flow of work,
Accountability: Under the major heading of "Accountability," the
job content was studied to determine the levels of freedom to act
to fulfill job objectives, the nature of the impact of these actions
upon the Department of State as a whole, and the order of magnitude
of that impact. .
1/
It should be emphasized that these dimensions are used only to evaluate
the content of the jobs. When Foreign Service positions were thus evaluated,
there was no need to refer -- and thus no reference was made -- to the
incumbent, his or her performance, or the present level of pay; consequently,
the methodology is inherently raceless, sexless, and so forth. Although these
techniques do not preclude on-the-job discriminatory practices, they favorably
impact upon the very foundation of a personnel management system and further
reinforce the Department of State's established intent to carryout an
effective EEO program:
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The exhibit below depicts these three dimensions and eight factors by
which they are defined. Know-How is defined by: (a) the extent of knowl-
edge required by the job; (b) the breadth of managerial skills; and (c)
the human relations requirements. Problem Solving is defined by: (a) the
degree of original thought required on the job; and (b) the degree of
limitations imposed on thinking. Accountability is the impact of the job
on end results, and is defined by: (a) the extent of freedom to act on the
job; (b) the degree of accountability in the job, and (c) the magnitude
(size) of the job. A detailed discussion of the Hay Method is presented
in-Volume II, Appendix C.
HAY JOB EVALUATION CRITERIA
SUBSTANTIVE DEPTH
KNOW-HOW ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP
HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS
PROBLEM SOLVING
r THINKING ENVIRONMENT
k. THINKING CHALLENGE
FREEDOM TO ACT
ACCOUNTABILITY IMPACT
MAGNITUDE
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The instruments for measuring these
and there is one Guide Chart for each of
referred to as Guide Charts because they
evaluating the content of each job in an
Guide Charts designed for the Department
Appendix D.
These instruments are used to evaluate the relative difficulty and
importance of positions within any organization. This job content measure-
ment technique results in a semantic or qualitative judgment about the job
content as well as aquantification of that judgment expressed in points.
Thus, values are assigned for each of these three elements and added ,to
obtain a total numerical value for each job, which then becomes the basic
measure of its content and worth.
The numbering system used in the Guide Charts is a geometric scale with
a ratio of approximately 15 percent between terms in the series. That is,
the value of each aspect grows in 15 percent increments. For example, the
terms in the series include 50, 57, 66, 76,.87, 100 and so on, up and down
the scale. The selection of a geometric scale rather than an arithmetic
scale is justified by empirical considerations and also by the fact that
in both the public and private sectors salary changes from jobs of low con-
tent to jobs of high content are geometric in character.
Each Foreign Service position was evaluated by these measurement tools
in the context of the following guidelines:
elements are known as Guide Charts;
the three dimensions. They are
serve as "guides" to the Committee
organization; and examples of the
of State are found in Volume II,
? Current job content only (as opposed to what the job should be
or could be) was considered.
? Non-job content overseas factors were not considered.
? The qualifications or current performance of job incumbents were
disregarded -- each position was evaluated on the assumption of
acceptable, satisfactory performance.
? Evaluations were made without consideration of the jobs' current
classification.
The Guide Charts used by the Foreign Service Evaluation Committee
contain, by design, the standard elements of all Hay Guide Charts. However,
certain aspects of the Charts were specifically tailored so as to sensitively
measure certain unique aspects of the Foreign Service environment.
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41/4
Language used in defining a number of factors was adapted to reflect
the way the Foreign Service perceives work relationships. Further, the
Accountability Guide Chart was modified to refine definitions of job impact
on end results which would take into account the "collegial" nature of
seeking and achieving end results within the Foreign Service. Specifically,
the Impact definitions sharply focused the multiple levels of involvement
of jobs in terms of their answerability for actions.
The Magnitude dimension of the Accountability Guide Chart was also
modified to reflect characteristics of each job beyond common Monetary
dimensions to acknowledge the reduced control (vis-a-vis the private sector)
which Foreign Service positions have over the acquisition and disposition
of budgetary resources. When money magnitudes were appropriate measures,
they were employed; however, the Accountability Guide Chart provided a
geographical alternative which permitted an assessment of magnitude in
terms of-domestic and overseas considerations. It must be emphasized,
however, that all Guide Chart modifications were made in such a way that
the underlying consistency of the instruments and the technique Were main-
tained.
Over the course of 35 years, the terminology of Hay Guide Charts has
become part of the language of human resource management and salary admin-
istration. This came aboUt quite logically since this terminology can so
precisely define, in capsule form, the weight and character of a job at any
level or within any function.
This language is naturally used within public and private institutions,
but it is also widely used between organizations when personnel administra-
tors seek to understand just what are the essentials of a job by any title.
Interesting evidence of the applica-
bility of the Hay System is illustrated
by the accompanying advertisement
from a recent Wall Street Journal. It
is strinkingly clear how profoundly these
short coded symbols define the organiza-
tional relationships and the nature and
challenge of the job in question. The
consultants learned that this ad had
great "pull," an indication that it must
have broadly conveyed a clear message.
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MANAGER
OF
COMPENSATION
F113
460
F4 (50)
230
E40.
200
890
It0vCC.57G,lheIVIIIIStret,(JworimM
A I ay. ti????????????
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2. The Evaluation Committee
A central element to the Hay Method is the total involvement of selected
client personnel in the Job Evaluation process. Hay experience has established
that client participation invaluably enhances the sensitivity of the process
to the structural and functional characteristics of a position which are unique
to that organization. This is especially true with respect to the Foreign
Service because there is but one entity, the Department of State, charged with
shaping and implementing U.S. foreign policy. Consequently, its domestic and
international organizational framework, inter-governmental relationships, rank-
in-person personnel system, and so forth, cannot be ignored by any meaningful
.job evaluation process.
For these reasons, the Department was asked to form an Evaluation Committee
__
composed of individuals representing the major functions and specialties with-
in the Foreign Service. Each individual was also to possess a breadth of
understanding with respect to Departmental operations in order to further re-
inforce the job description material with which the Committee would work.
Mindful of these criteria the following individuals were selected by the
Department to serve on the Position Evaluation Committee:
Mr. William V. Callihan
Special Assistant to the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Communications
Bureau of Administration
(Staff Support Specialty)
Mr. David J. Dunford
Director, Planning and Evaluation Staff
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
(Economic Cone)
Mr. Robert S. Gershenson
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Personnel
(Administrative Cone)
Mr. Norbert J. Krieg
Training Coordinator
Foreign Service Institute
(Consular Cone)
Mr. Stephen J. Ledogar .
Director, NATO and Atlantic Political-
Military Affairs
(Political Cone)
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Mr. Jack E. Melton
Director, Position and Pay Management
Bureau of Personnel
(Department Project Coordinator)
Mr. Robert R. West, PER/PPM, served as Committee Rapporteur.
This Evaluation Committee was led throughout the process by Hay con-
sultants -- Mr. David J. Wimer, General Manager, Hay/Washington, and Mr.
Jack Blocker, Senior Principal, Hay/Washington -- expert in the measurement
of job content. Both consultants possess particularly relevant experience
in evaluating positions in the U.S. Government and the international corn-
- munity, and each participated in the process of tailoring the measurement
instruments -- the Guide Charts -- to the organizational characteristics
of the Department of State.
The 119 Foreign Service positions were evaluated by the consultapt-led
Committee over a period of several weeks; and the following multi-step pro-
-
cedure was employed during that time.
Orientation - The consultants thoroughly instructed the Committee
in the use of the Guide Charts. Each of the measurement elements
was defined in terms of its application to a given position.
,The intra-factor relationships were established as was the need
for consistency in interpretation of job elements and the assign-
ment of points.
? Content Review - Each member of the Committee was Provided the
job description and supplemental materials for each position under
study.
? Initial Evaluation - Upon reading the position content materials,
each Committee member, including the consultants, independently
evaluated each job on the eight dimensions represented in the
three factors of Know-How, Problem Solving and Accountability.
Each member assigned appropriate Guide Chart points to each of
the three factors, and computed a total score expressed in points.
? ?Profiling - Each member also computed the "profile" of each job,
another quality, control procedure which assigns percentage values
to each of the three principal factors -- Know-How, Problem
Solving and Accountability. A further discussion of "profiling"
is presented in Volume II, Appendix E.
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? Consensus Scores - After each evaluator independently completed
an evaluation, all scores were posted and the Committee reviewed
and discussed each. Since members of the Committee had first-hand
experience with many of the jobs under discussion, they were able
to clarify position description ambiguities or omissions. As
mentioned earlier, if questiuns remained with respect to particular
job elements, specifically knowledgeable Foreign Service personnel
joined the deliberation but only for the purpose of content clari-
fication.
Once the Committee was satisfied with its depth of understanding
of the position under discussion, the differences between the scores
were extensively reviewed, and a final consensus was reached which
constituted the single best judgment of the group. This considered
judgment was recorded in terms of the rating on each of the eight
components, and three scores for Know-How, Problem Solving, and
Accountability, the total point value, and the Profile. This pro-
cedure resulted in a single estimate of the job content of each of-
the 119 positions.
The consensus procedure was followed for each position and
was carried out under the direct supervision of the Hay consultants.
? Sore Thumbing - After consensus scores were obtained for each of
the 119 jobs, all the jobs were ordered by total point value, pur-
suant to a consistency control procedure called "sore-thumbing."
This review consisted of an inspection of the extent of consistency
of component ratings of each job (by level), relative to an ex-
pected profile for each job. For example, the percentage of Know-
How generally decreases for higher-level positions, while the per-
centage of Accountability increases. This does not mean that a
junior officer requires more Know-How than a Chief of Section. It
does mean, however, that the junior officer's Know-How is a larger
part of his job because the more _significant problems, decisions,
etc. are passed on to others. The Sore-Thumb analysis was used
to identify any discrepancies in the measurements in terms of the
relationships between jobs at each level. This analysis was made
? with respect to Know-How relationships, Problem Solving relation-
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1 '
1
ships, Accountability relationships, suitability of profile, as
well as the overall position of the jab with respect to the other
jobs at that level. Any discrepancie/s noted were corrected by
making changes in the Know-How, Problem Solving, and/or Account-
ability measures, which changed the total point value and the
Profile. When this process had been completed, the final point
value for each of the 119 jobs had been determined. The final
evaluations for all 119 Foreign Service positions are presented in
Volume II, Appendix F.
. 3. The Correlation Process
One of the unique features of the Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method is
the ease with whichthe salary structure of an organization, in this case
the Foreign Service, can be compared with external pay practices. A key
to this capability is called "correlation" which is not to be confused with
the term correlation used in statistics.
Hay correlation is simply the extension of the measurement procesi of
job evaluation in one organization onto the evaluation structure of another.
For example, two jobs of similar weight located in different organizations .
might be evaluated at different point levels due to the distinct analytic
approaches of two different Job Evaluation Committees. To identify and
compensate for such a condition, consultants skilled in this process establish
an index or rate for each client which permits the translation of the numerical
measurement of job content to a numerical value on a common scale. It is not
unlike physical conversions in science -- pounds to kilograms, for example.
With respect to the Foreign Service, a conversion factor of 2.8 was
established against a norm of 2.4. Thus, when Foreign Service salary"
levels are compared to a variety of other organizations, the compari-
son is based upon salary levels for like job content in all organiza-
tions.
The correlation rate or conversion factor is a numeric statement of
the relationship between the evaluation structure in one organization and
the standard evaluation structure developed from Hay experience and the Hay
data bank. Correlated point values are referred to as Hay Points, e.g., 230
H, while uncorrelated point values are referenced as P or client points.
With the common structure as a link, the correlation factor serves to
relate one organization's evaluation structure to that of another or a group
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of others. The ratio has, as mentioned earlier, no interpretive significance
such as correlation has in statistical analysis.
The Foreign Servide correlation was carried out by a team of two Hay
Partners, Mr. Norman Lange and Mr. J. Alan Riordan. These consultants,
expert in inter-organizational relationships, met for two days with the
Foreign Service members of the Evaluation Committee in order to gain the
fullest appreciation of the nature of the Foreign Service and the evaluation
process as it was conducted for this study. To further ensure an appropriate
level of understanding, Hay/Washington consultants and the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for personnel, went to Hay's Philadelphia headquarters.
and reviewed this process with the Correlation Team and Mr. Charles G. Van
Horn, the Senior General Partner (retired).
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IV. OVERSEAS DIMENSION
In the context, of this study, the relationship of Foreign Service job
content and those variously-defined conditions and/or circumstances
associated with official service in a country other than the United States
must be discussed. There is littlP unanimity as to the componentry of an
expatriate environment, and, more precisely, its effect upon the content of
a job in that environment.
There is, however, ample recognition that there is an additional
dimension implicit in most overseas employment. The Department of State,
- -certainly one of the world's largest expatriate employers, strongly
believes that a variety of elements found only in overseas environments
substantially heighten job difficulty. '
The Department has, through the years, developed a number of working
papers attempting to describe this condition, and a recent example is pre-
sented in Volume II, Appendix G. The great majority of the American
business community with international interests also acknowledge a unique-
ness to expatriate employment through the payment of a premium of between
10% and 20% of base salary for simply going overseas. However, since the
private sector administratively addresses this consideration, it generally
has had no need to quantify the environmental elements which constitute
this "difference" between doMestic and overseas service. Institutional
views aside, there also appears to be agreement among individuals who have
served abroad that living and working overseas is clearly unlike the same
lpursuits in the U.S. Without question, the views of American expatriates
vary because of location, profession, and particular experience, but a
common thread connecting the various impressions is the existence of a
"difference." In short, there seems to be an outstanding belief that
there is a "difference" between domestic and overseas service, but that
there is little, if any, agreement as to its exact composition.
As previously discussed, the Hay techniques of job evaluation are
designed to identify the critical elements of "job content" and the Hay
Method has been successfully used to evaluate the differences between jobs
on that basis throughout the world. Since there is no commonly-shared
quantification of which elements comprise overseas factors or how they may
vary by location, the consultant-led Committee evaluated all overseas
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Foreign Service positions only in terms of that which is recognized and
accepted as job content -- Know-How, Problem Solving, and Accountability.
To /have attempted to consider anything but job content would have been
inappropriate given the limits t of research on this issue to date.
It must be understood, however, that there are a number of items which
those unfamiliar with job measurement might consider as "overseas
dimensions" which are in fact legitimate job content. A foreign language
requirement, for example, is an element of Know-How and was therefore
properly considered as job content when a requirement of the job. Similarly,
supervisory interaction with local nationals, a condition found at U.S.
embassies, was legitimately considered by the Human Relations sub-factor
of Know-How. It must also be remembered that certain elements of job
content -- whether Know-How, Problem Solving, or Accountability -- may be
shaped by the fact that the job is undertaken in a foreign country, e.g.,
representational responsibilities which mandatorily attach to a position.
This effect was indeed identified during the evaluation of Foreign Service
overseas positions, the Hay measurement techniques were sensitive to it,
and the Committee assessed it, as appropriate, within the established
evaluation parameters.
The foregoing discussion is intended to establish that job "content"
should not be -- and, in fact, was not -- confused or co-mingled with job
"context."
It must be noted, however, that the consultants are of the belief
that there
additional
taken into
is an extra dimension to expatriate employment: something
exists -- a difference -- which should, in some fashion, be
account. As mentioned earlier, the U.S.' private sector, whether
as an inducement to overseas service or as one of several methods of
keeping its expatriates "whole", administratively determines that the
mere fact of serving abroad is compensable. On the other hand, the U.S.
Government pays no such premium to official Americans posted overseas.
In terms of Hay experience,
is crucial to the understanding
compensation. The Hay Method of
Law in psychological measurement
however, the existence of a "difference"
of job relationships and, ultimately,
Job Evaluation is related to Weber's
and the concept. of just noticeable
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1/
differences. Weber put it this way: "In comparing objects we per-
ceive not the actual difference between them but the ratio of this
difference to the magnitude of the two objects compared." That is to
say, the observed difference between two objects is not absolute and
independent of the objects themselves but is relative to their size and is
a constant fraction of one of them. As the following table depicts, the
15% step increments of the Hay Guide Charts recognize this perceptual
progression:
STEP DIFFERENCES/%-
0/0% - No job difference is perceived.
1/15% A just noticeable difference is detected.
2/30% - The difference is quite evident.
3-1145% - There is clearly a difference.
Private sector practice, State Department exposition, and expatriate
experience suggest to the consultants that the existence of degrees of
personal discomfort or substantial inconvenience, family dislocation,
and cultural disorientation attendant to expatriate service is recognized.
Secondly, it is also clear that an essential element of U.S. foreign policy
is the successful performance of every member of the Foreign Service -- and
F
this rests upon his or her "constant availability" to go anywhere in the
world, "immediately adapt" to the foreign cultural, political, and social
environment, and represent U.S. interests with the utilization of
intellectual and inter-personal skills "cumulatively developed and refined"
by all preceding overseas experiences. Thirdly, the necessary transient
nature of the Foreign Service employee frequently halts altogether or
forecloses temporarily a spouse's second income and/or career, which today
2/
See H.E. Garrett, Great Experiments in Psychology. New York:
Century Co., 1930, pp. 268-274. Also see Edward N. Hay,
"Characteristics of Factor Comparison Job Evaluation." "Personnel,
1946, 22, 370-375.
"Step Differences," in Hay terms, refer to a progression of perceived
differences between jobs and should not be confused with intro-grade
"steps" in the Federal pay structure.
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can cause not only personal economic difficulty but husband-wife
friction as well. Lastly, the highly specialized, even unique nature
of a majority of Foreign Service jobs extensively limits transferability
to other U.S. Government agencies offering promotion opportunities,
easier working circumstances, and so forth.
Every member of the Foreign Service posted abroad is expected not
merely to survive, but to succeed on a daily basis. Survival is addressed
by allowances (payments to keep an employee "whole")-- housing, cost-of-
living, hardship (for assignments determined to be extraordinary,
i.e., ?a "quite evident" difference at the least), etc. -- but successful
performance, i.e., "operating" in the "noticeably different" overseas
milieu is not.
As discussed earlier, the relationship' of "content" to "context" is
unclear, and for this reason the consultants suggest that this "just
noticeable difference" -- 15% -- be administratively translated to
Foreign Service personnel but not in the form of a private sector premium
which recognizes and responds to the fact that only a small percentage of
a company's manpower is ever sent abroad. Rather, it should be made an .
incremental addition to the Foreign Service grade/salary structure
because of its universal and continuous applicability to every member of
the Foreign Service. Members of the Foreign Service:
? Are mandatorily eligible for overseas assignment;
o About 60% are always posted abroad;
? Between 40-50% are rotated every year; and
? Spend about 60% of their Foreign Service career away from the
United States.
The impact of overseas service is necessarily and properly felt by
the entire Foreign Service and for this reason it is most appropriately
addressed by the grade/pay system. This concept will be developed
in the Proposed Grade Structures section of this report.
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V. LINKAGE ANALYSIS
A. METHODOLOGY
Linkage analysis is a statistical process used to establish the relative
degree of difficulty of jobs in the pay grades of different classification
systems, e.g., Foreign Service and General Schedule. Establishing compar-
ability between jobs in the pay grades of the State Department and the
Federal Civil Service is complicated by the fact that the State Department
classification systems do not have the same number of pay grades as the
Federal Civil Service System. There are 18 grades in the General Schedule
system, compared to between 8 and 10 grades in the several Foreign Service
classification systems.
While historic attempts at linkage analysis relied upon title compar-
isons or general classification methods, the techniques employed by Hay
Associates haveprOven to be much more precise and defensible. The Hay
approach is predicated on evaluating a representative sample of jobs in the
. selected pay grades using the Hay Method of job evaluation. Having so
evaluated sample positions, it is possible to analyze the results by applying
statistical techniques to determine if two grades have jobs of equivalent
difficulty. This approach was used in the present study, and is summarized
below:
? Representative samples of positions were drawn from Foreign
Service pay grades and pay grades of the Federal Civil Service
General Schedule classification system.
? Each job was assigned points using the Hay Method of job
evaluation.
? Quantitative comparisons of job difficulty by pay grade were
made using these point values.
The end-result of the analysis was: (1) a critical evaluation of the
linkages between Foreign Service and Civil Service occupations which have
been used to determine pay comparability in the past; and (2) a determin-
ation of the relationship between alternative Foreign Service pay grades
and Civil Service pay grades of similar job difficulty.
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B. QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENTS OF LINKAGES
A series of descriptive statistics were employed to summarize the
findings of the job evaluations. The same analyses were made separately
for the State Department positions and for the Civil Service positions.
In particular, the following statistics were computed for jobs at
each pay grade, using the total Hay Point data:
? Range (High value and Low value), i.e., the top and bottom
_ scores in a rank; and
Median Hay Point value (indicative of the central tendency in
the data; h of the values are higher and 11 of the values are
lower).
After the data were summarized, statistical tests were made to deter-
mine linkages between pay grades in the two systems.
1. Statistical Tests
A series of tests of the statistical significance of differences in
job content were made)' These tests were made at each level of pay grade
where a link was proposed between one pay grade in the Foreign Service and
another pay grade in the General Schedule.
Thus, an operational definition of a linkage is when the distributions
of job content for a Foreign Service and a Civil Service pay grade at a
certain level are equivalent? or more precisely, when they are not differ-
ent, based on a statistical analysis. For example, if FSO-3 jobs and GS-15
jobs have the same job content when tested statistically, they may be
said to "link." Conversely, if their job content is significantly different,
then they do not "link."
Note that all the sample jobs at a level are tested in this procedure,
not just those jobs which have similar titles and/or job desCriptions. Hence,
the results of the statistical tests performed on representative job samples
1/
The Fisher Exact Probability Test was employed (Siegel, 1956).
Non-parametric techniques are applicable when one cannot assume that
the data are normally distributed. In the present study, the data
do not satisfy the assumptions required in the use of parametric
tests, e.g., a "t" test.
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can be extrapolated to all the jobs at that level, producing a more stringent
test of the proposed linkages at each particular pay level than one would
obtain by comparing only single jobs which might cm. might not represent all
the jobs in a particular pay grade.
Further, when the jobs in two pay grades are found to be different
based on statistical analysis, the results may be used in determining rela-
tive difficulty as opposed to linkages. Thus, if GS-15 jobs are signif-
icantly less difficult than FSO-2 jobs, then the GS-15 level may be inter-
preted as a lower bound for the FSO-2 level.
For this reason, the finding that jobs in two pay grades in the Foreign
Service and Civil Service do not link is important and useful. Even if a
link was previously suspected or determined, the findings of the present
study might well reject this linkage (since improved job sampling and evalua-
tion techniques were employed). However, such a finding still has a salutory
effect since it helps to show the relationship between pay grades in the two
systems. Indeed, it provides an indication of the relative positioning, i.e.,
the relative job difficulty (content) in various pay grades of the Foreign
Service and Federal Civil Service pay systems. If a statistical test shows
that the job content in two pay grades differ significantly, then a statistical
basis also exists for -declaring that one pay gracle bounds the other, i.e.,
is an upper or lower limit.
2. Other Analyses of Relationships Between Pay Grades
The statistical test results are generally precise and unambig'uous.
However, because of historic misclassification problems or simple differences
between classification systems, it is occasionally found that a single link
between two pay grades cannot be established. In some cases, more than one
pay grade of one system links to a single pay grade in the other system,
e.g., both FSO-1 and FSO-2 might link t5GS-18. In other cases, it may
be impossible to link the pay grades in two different systems because of
the "gap" between pay grades.
When these problems are noted, the data are evaluated by inspection.
This analysis considers the median job difficulty of each pay grade, as
well as the range of difficulty of jobs in the pay grade. Where data do
not exist for a certain pay grade, they are extrapolated for analysis purposes.
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A graphic presentation of the results is then made to indicate the
linkages determined by statistical analysis and inspection. This depiction
uses the median Hay Point values for each pay grade in which sample jobs
were evaluated. The results are presented as a series of "ladders" de-
picting the actual/expected relationship between pay grades in the
Foreign Service and the Federal Civil Service systems.
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C. FOREIGN SERVICE POSITIONS
Descriptive statistics are presented below for the selected Foreign
Service pay grades included in thc linkage analysis.
reported separately as follows:
1) Officer Level pay grades (these include positions at the
FSO-1, FSO-2 FSO-3, FSO-4, and FSO-6 pay grades);
and
These data are
2) Support Level pay grades (these include positions at the FSS-4,
FSRU-7, FSS-7, and FSS-8 pay grades).
For each data set, the median job difficulty was computed at each pay grade.
This is the typical job difficulty for the sample positions at that pay
grade, expressed as a Hay Point (HP) value. In practice, half the jobs are
more difficult than the median HP value, while the remaining jobs are less
difficult. The range (highest and lowest HP values) are also reported at
each pay grade to illustrate the extent of differences in job difficulty at
each pay grade. Finally, the sample size (number of sample positions) at
each pay grade is reported.
1. Fcreisn Service Officer Level(FSO) Pay Grades
Descriptive statistics for the FSO positions included in the linkage
analysis appear in the table below.
HAY POINTS FOR THE OFFICER LEVEL
(FSO) JOB SAMPLE PAY GRADES OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
SAMPLE
PAY GRADES
HAY POINTS
Range
Median
Sample Size
FSO-1
554-912
736
8
FSO-2
434-734
521
7
FSO-3
353-484
420
8
-_,
FSO-4
219-408
318
11
FSO-6
161-268
166
6
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Inspection of the descriptive statistics for these sample FSO pay
grades indicated that the job difficulty tended to increase directly
as a function of pay grade. The median HP value for the FSO-6 level
was 166 HP's, for the FSO-4 level was 318 HP's, for the FSO-3 level was
420 HP's, for the FSO-2 level was 521 HP's, and for the FSO-1 level was
736 HP's.
Inspection for the distribution of scores in proximate pay grades
revealed several instances of overlap in job difficulty between different
pay grades. For example, some jobs at the upper end of the FSO-6
distribution (up to 268 HP's) are more difficult than jobs at the lower
end of the FSO-4 distribution (as low as 219 HP's). Some jobs at the
upper end of the FSO-4 distribution are more difficult than some jobs
at the lower end of the FSO-3 distribution. Other instances of overlap
were found between FSO-2 and FSO-3, as well as between FSO-1 and FSO-2.
Finally, inspection of the range of scores at each pay grade revealed
differences in the degree of job difficulty at certain pay grades. Thus,
there is a very wide variation in job difficulty at the F50-4 level
(219 HP's to 408 HP's). In contrast, job difficulty is less 'variable at
the FSO-3 level (353 HP's to 484 HP's). ?There is fairly wide variation
in job difficulty at the FSO-1, FSO-2 and FSO-6 level, but less variation
than was observed at FSO-4.
This analysis suggests a rational classification system in that, on
the average, FSO positions of increasing difficulty are accorded higher
pay grade classifications. However, the overlap in difficulty noted
between proximate pay grades is indicative of possible misclassifications
and potential problems of internal equity. Finally, the wide variation
in difficultyfor sample jobs at some pay grades appears consistent with
the historic reliance of the State Department on "rank-in-person."
It should be noted that the conditions cited above are not unique to
the Department of State. The Hay Study on the 1975 Quadrennial Review
of Military Compensation (QRMC) identified similar situations in both
the military officer pay grades (e.g., 0-1 and 0-2 overlap) and the
Federal Civil Service professional pay grades GS-14 and GS-15 overlap,
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as do GS-15 and GS-18).1/ These Civil Service data are presented in
Section D for comparison purposes.
2. Support Level (FSS/FSRU) Pay Grades
Descriptive statistics for the FSS/FSRU positions included in the
linkage analysis appear in the table below.
HAY POINTS FOR THE SUPPORT LEVEL (FSS/FSRU) JOB SAMPLE
PAY GRADES OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
'SAMPLE
PAY GRADES
HAY POINTS
-
Range
Median
Sample Size
FSS-4
114-251
136
5
FSRU-7
86-130
98
. 6
FSS-7
73-101
96
8
FSS-8
60-88
73
8 .
Inspection of the descriptive statistics for the sample support
level grades indicated that the job difficulty tended to increase di-
rectly as a function of pay grade. The median HP value for the FSS-8
level was 73 HP's; for the FSRU-7 level was 98 HP's; for the FSS-7 level
was 96 HP's; and for the FSS-4 level was 136 HP's.
Inspection for the distribution of scores in proximate pay grades
revealed an instance of overlap in job difficulty between different' pay
grades. Thus, some jobs at the upper end of the FSS-8 distribution
(up to 88 HP's) are more difficult than jobs at the lower end of the
FSS-7 distribution (as low as 73 HP's).
Finally, insoection of the range of scores at each pay grade revealed
differences in the degree of job difficulty at certain pay grades. Thus,
1/
Pappas, Fisher, and Martin (1976).
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there is a very wide variation in job difficulty at the FSS-4 level
(114 HP's to 251 HP's). In contrast, the job difficulty is much less
variable at the other pay grade's.
This analysis again suggests a rational classification system in that,
on the average, FSS positions of increasing difficulty are accorded higher
pay grade classifications. However, the analysis of FSS data from other
pay grades suggests that the FSS classification system does not differen-
tiate very well between certain pay grades, e.g., FSS-8 and FSS-9 have
considerable overlap, as do FSS-6 and FSS-7. Indeed, there is a high
degree of overlap between many of the FSS pay grades,1/ suggesting that
there are small differences at best between jobs in adjacent pay grades.
Again, the consultants caution that problems of overlap are not unique to
the Foreign Service. The 1975 QRMC study found overlap between military
enlisted-pay grades (e.g., E-5 and E-7 overlap) as well as between staff
positions in the Federal Civil Service (e.g., GS-5 and GS-7).2/ These
Civil Service data are presented in the following section ?for.comparison
.purposes..
1/
Overlap was found between FSS-8/9/10 positions, FSS-7/8/9 positions,
FSS-5 and FSS-6 positions, and FSS-3/4/5.positions.
2/
See Pappas et al, 1976
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D. FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE (GENERAL SCHEDULE) POSITIONS
,
The table below presents descriptive statistics for General Schedule
white-collar occupations.
HAY POINTS FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE JOB SAMPLES
IN THE GENERAL SCHEDULE
SAMPLE
PAY GRADES
HAY POINTS
Range
Median
Sample Size
GS-18
526-985
627
20
GS-15
333-587
420
12
GS-14
264-346
293
20
GS-11*
151-193
185
5
GS-9
124-174
145
20
GS-7
85-143
112
20
GS-5
79-97
89
10
GS-3
43-69
53
I
10
*Civil Service Commission study (Pappas, Fisher and Doren,
1976.) All other data are 1975 QRMC (Pappas, Fisher
and Martin, 1976).
,
Inspection of the descriptive statistics for the General Schedule
positions revealed that the job difficulty tended to increase directly
as a function of pay grade. The median HP evaluation score for the GS-3
level was 53 HP's, for the GS-5 level was 89 HP's, for the GS-7 level
was 112 HP's, for the G5-9 level was 145 HP's, for the GS-11 level was
185 HP's, for the GS-14 level was 293 HP's, for the GS-15 level was
420 HP's, and for the GS-18 level was 627 HP's.
Inspection of the distribution of scores in proximate pay grades
revealed several instances of overlap in job difficulty between
different pay grades. For example, some jobs at the upper end of the
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GS-5 distribution (up to 97 HP's) are more difficult than jobs at the
lower end of the GS-7 distribution (as low as 85 HP's). Some jobs at
the upper end of the GS-7 distribution (up to 143 HP's) are more diffi-
cult than jobs at the lower end of the GS-9 distribution (as low as 124
HP's). Other instances of overlap were found between GS-9 and.GS-11,
GS-14 and GS-15, as well as between GS-15 and GS-18.
Finally, inspection of the range scores at each pay grade documents
differences in the degree of job difficulty at certain grade levels.
Thus, there are wide variations in job content at the GS-18 level (526
HP's to ,985 HP's) and at the GS-15 level (333 HP's to 587 HP's). Wide
variation in job difficulty was also found at the GS-7 level (85 HP's
to 143 HP's). In contrast, the variation in job content is much less
evident at the GS-14 level (264 HP's to 346 HP's) and the GS-5 level
(79 HP's to 97 HP's). The ranges at the other levels are fairly similar,
in contrast to these extreme instances.
It is noteworthy that there is wider variation in job difficulty at
the GS-18 level and GS-15 level than was found for the FSO-1 or FSO-2
levels. The wide degree of difficulty characteristic of GS-18 positions,
government-wide, is comparable to the wide variation found at the FSO-4
level, but not at the other levels of the Foreign Service Officer -
classification system.
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E. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF JOB LINKAGE DATA
Prior to performing statistical analyses of the data, an inspection was
made of the historic Civil Service job linkages and the relative position
of selected Foreign Service and Civil Service pay grades. A separate anal-
ysis was made for: (1) the FSO pay grades and the Civil Service pay grades
judged to be similar; and (2) the Support Level pay grades and the Civil
Service pay grades judged similar.
1. Inspection of Linkage Data for the Foreign Service Officer Pay
Grades
Inspection of the median HP values at the FSO pay grades revealed the
following:
? At certain levels where linkages were expected, the present median
HP values differed, based on inspection. For example, FSO-3 and
GS-I5 were comparable,althOughFS0-3 was expected to fall between
GS-14 and GS-15.
? FSO-4 jobs seemed to be similar in difficulty to GS-14, rather
than GS-13 as expected from an historic linkage analysis.
? FSO-1 jobs were evaluated at a higher level. thaa GS-18 positions,
while FSO-2 jobs were evaluated at a lower level than GS-18.
? FSO-6 jobs were evaluated slightly befow GS-11 jobs, while a link
at GS-11 was expected.
The following table presents the median and range HP values at selected
FSO grades.
COMPARISON OF MEDIAN HAY POINT VALUES AT THE PROFESSIONAL PAY GRADES:
STATE DEPARTMENT VERSUS CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS
FOREIGN SERVICE POSITIONS
CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS ,
Pay
Median
Pay
Median
' Grade
Value
Range
Grade
Value
Range
FSO-1
736
554-912
GS-18
627
526-985
FSO-2
521
434-734
GS-15
420
333-587
FSO-3
420
353-484
GS-14
293
264-346
FSO-4
318
219-408
GS-11
185
151-193
FSO-6
166
161-268
GS-9
145
124-174
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2. Inspection of Linkages Data for the Support Level Pay Grades
Inspection of the median HP values at the selected Support Level grades
revealed the following:
o FSS-4 jobs were evaluated as less difficult than GS-9 jobs, although
it was expected that FSS-4 might link with GS-11.
e FSRU-7 jobs were less difficult than GS-7 jobs, instead of being
linked at GS-9 as expected.
? FSS-7 jobs were less difficult than GS-7 jobs, although a link was
expected at GS-7.
? FSS-8 jobs were less difficult than GS-5 jobs, although a link
was expected at GS-5.
The following table presents the median and range HP values at the
Support Level pay grades.
COMPARISON OF MEDIAN HAY POINT VALUES AT THE SUPPORT STAFF GRADES:
STATE DEPARTMENT VERSUS CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS
FOREIGN SERVICE POSITIONS
CIVIL 'SERVICE POSITIONS
,
?
Pay
Median
Pay
Median
Grade
Value
Range
Grade
Value
Range
FSS-4
136
114-251
GS-9
145
124-174
FSRU-7
98
86-103
GS-7
112
85-143
FSS-7
96
73-101
GS-5
89
79-97
FSS-8
73
60-88
GS-3
53
43-69
3. Implications of Findings
These preliminary analyses suggest that FSO positions in the higher
pay grades (FSO-1 to FSO-4) are more difficult than anticipated, relative
to positions at the professional level of the General Schedule. Conversely,
positions in the FSS system (FSS-4, FSS-7 and FSS-8) are less difficult than
expected, relative to support staff positions of the General Schedule.
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However, these conclusions are tentative, since they are predicated on
only an inspection of the descriptive statistics. A rigorous test of the
linkages is needed to determine if these conclusions are warranted. To
provide this test, a series of formal statistical analyses were performed to
determine if these tentative conclusions were sound.
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F. STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF THE DATA
This section presents the results of a series of statistical analyses
performed to test the historic job linkages identified by the Civil
Service Commission and other linkages proposed by the State Department.
Separate statistical analyses were made for: (1) the Officer Level (FSO)
grades and the Civil Service pay grades judged to be similar; and (2) the
Support Level (FSS/FSRU) grades and the Civil Service pay grades judged similar.
1. Statistical Analysis at the GS Professional/Foreign Service
Officer Pay Grades
The Fisher exact probability test (Siegal, 1956) was applied to test
1/
the linkages. - In the analysis, where the differences between the medians
are small (suggesting a link),. the test results are reported as Not Statis-
tically Significant (NS).. In contrast, where the differences are.large
(questioning the existence of a link), the probability of obtaining a
difference this large by chance is indicated by the value of "p." Thus,
a "p (.05" means that a difference this large could be expected to occur
by chance no more often than five times in 100. Hence, a statistically
significant difference can be assumed.
Based on this statistical analysis, the hypothesis that the sample of
Foreign Service and Civil Service jobs, comes from pay grades having the
same median job content was supported at the following levels:
? FSO-1 and GS-18 .
? FSO-2 and GS-18
? FSO-3 and GS-15
? FSO-4 and GS-14
? FSO-6 and GS-11
Differences in medians at these levels were minor and hence,
statistical linkages may be proposed at these levels. Note that the median
test indicates that GS-18 can be linked .to either FSO-1 or FSO-2.
1/ The test compares the central tendencies (medians) of the job content
in the selected FSO and Civil Service pay grades.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/03/13: CIA-RDP90-00530R000902240001-9
The fact that both FSO-2 (median = 521) and FSO-1 (median = 736)
link with GS-18 (median = 627) is explained by the wide variation in job
difficulty of positions at the-GS-18 level.
A statistical analysis showed FSO-1 and FSO-2 positions to vary in
difficulty, but both FSO-1 and FSO-2 pay grades linked to GS-18 due to
the wide variation in job difficulty at the GS-18 level.
The results of the statistical test strongly suggest that linkages
do not exist at the following levels:
? FSO-2 does not link to GS-15; FSO-2 jobs are more difficult
than GS-15 jobs.
? FSO-3 does not link to GS-14; FSO-3 jobs are more difficult than
GS-14 jobs.
? FSO-6 does not link to GS-9; FSO-6 jobs are moie difficult than
GS-9 jobs.
In each case, the differences in medians were larger than would be
expected by chance either five times in 100, or less; and the results
appear in the following table.
STATISTICAL TESTS: RESULTS OF THE STATISTICAL TEST
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL PAY GRADES
FOREIGN SERVICE POSITIONS
CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS
MEDIAN
TEST
RESULTS
DECISION
RULE
Pay
Grade
No. of
Jobs
Median
HP Value
Pay
Grade
No. of
Jobs
Median
HP Value
FSO-1
8
736
GS-18
20
627
NS
Link
FSO-2
7
521
GS-18
20
627
NS
Link
FSO-3
8
420
GS-15
12
420
NS
Link
FSO-4
11
318
GS-14
20
293
NS
Link
FSO-6
6
166
5
185
NS
Link
{7-11
GS-9
--.0
145
P..025
No Link
-
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/03/13: CIA-RDP90-00530R000902240001-9
These findings can be interpreted as follows:
FSO-1 and FSO-2 jobs are of comparable difficulty to GS-18 jobs.
Hence, a Senior Executive Service (SES)/Senior Foreign Service
(SFS) classification system for the State Department could include
both FSO-1 and FSO-2 positions. 1/
? FSO-3 and GS-15 link exactly. They have identical median job
difficulty.
? FSO-4 and GS-14 can be considered to have similar difficulty. 2/
? FSO-6 and GS-11 can be considered to have similar difficulty, but
FSO-6 jobs are more difficult than GS-9 jobs.
Application of this logic helps to position the professional grades at
the FSO-1 through FSO-6 levels, by establishing their job difficulty
relative to pay grades in the General Schedule pay system. Thus, the
relative position of these professional pay grades can be determined.
2. Statistical Analyses at the GS/Foreign Service Support Level Pay Grades
The same statistical test was also employed to test linkages at the
Support Level proposed by the Civil Service Commission, as well as new
linkages proposed by the State Department.
Based on this statistical analysis, the hypothesis that the Foreign
Service jobs and Civil Service jobs: comefront the pay grades having
similar job content was supported at the following levels:
? FSS-4 and GS-9/11-
? FSRU-7 and GS-5
? FSS-7 and GS-5
1/ However, some FSO-2 jobs are less difficult than GS-18 jobs, while all
FSO-1 jobs fall in the wide range of job difficulty of the GS-18 level.
2/
- However, FSO-4 positions have a very wide range in difficulty, so this
interpretation applies only to the median job at the FSO-4 level.
Some FSO-4 jobs are less difficult than the lowest GS-14 position,
while others are more difficult than the highest GS-14 position.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/03/13 :.CIA-RDP90-00530R000902240001-9
Thus, statistical linkages were found between these Support Level
pay grades and pay grades in the General Schedule (white-collar) system
of the Federal Civil Service. However, the results of the statistical
tests suggest that linkages do not exist at the following levels:
? FSS-7 does not link to GS-7; FSS-7 jobs are less difficult
than GS-7 jobs;
? FSS-8 does not link to GS-5; FSS-8 jobs are less difficult
than GS-5 jobs; and
? FSS-8 also does not link to GS-3; FSS-8 jobs are more difficult
than GS-3 jobs.
In this case, the differences in medians were larger than would be
expected by chance one time in 100 or less; and the results appear in the
following table.
STATISTICAL TESTS: RESULTS OF THE STATISTICAL TEST
FOR THE SUPPORT LEVEL PAY GRADES
FOREIGN SERVICE POSITIONS
CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS
MEDIAN
TEST
RESULTS
DECISION
RULE
Pay
Grade
No. of
Jobs
Median
HP Value
Pay
Grade
No. of
Jobs
Median
HP Value
,
FSS-4
5
136
J.GS-11
5
185
NS
Link
GS-9
20
145
NS
Link
FSRU-7
6
98
fGS9
20
145
p