The wage supervisor standard is used to grade Federal Wage System supervisory positions. It applies to supervisors who exercise technical and administrative supervision over subordinate workers on a regular, recurring, and substantially full time basis. Unlike non supervisory standards, the wage supervisor standard uses a three factor approach combined with a grading table that yields the final grade level. Understanding how each factor works and how they come together is essential for classifying any supervisory Federal Wage System position.
- The wage supervisor standard applies when a position exercises technical and administrative supervision on a regular, recurring, and substantially full time basis.
- The three factors are the nature of supervisory responsibility, the level of work supervised, and the scope of work operations supervised.
- The final grade level is found at the intersection of factor two and factor three on the grading table that matches the supervisory situation selected in factor one.
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The sections below cover the work covered section, the three factors, and the grading table. Together they describe how a wage supervisor position moves from evaluation to a final grade level determination.
Work Covered and Occupational Coding
The work covered section of the wage supervisor standard identifies it as the standard used to grade supervisors whose jobs include regular and recurring technical and administrative supervision of subordinates performing trades and labor work. The occupational code of a supervisory position is normally the same as the code for the kind of work supervised. When a supervisor oversees more than one occupation, the code matches the occupation that best reflects the overall nature of the work or is most important for recruitment, selection, placement, and other personnel purposes. Supervisory positions are titled by adding the word Supervisor to the subordinate job title, producing titles like Motor Vehicle Operator Supervisor.
Factor One: Nature of Supervisory Responsibility
Factor one covers planning, work direction, and administration. It describes four basic supervisory situations that range from the most basic to the most difficult. The classifier selects the situation that represents the highest level of supervisory responsibility that is fully met by the position. This factor drives the choice of grading table later in the process, which means getting it right is critical to reaching the correct final grade.
Factor Two: Level of Work Supervised
Factor two addresses the level and complexity of the work operations being supervised and the effect those operations have on the difficulty and responsibility of the supervisor. Applying this factor involves two steps. The first is to identify the occupations directly involved in accomplishing the work that reflects the main purpose or mission of the operation. The second is to determine the highest grade of non supervisory work accomplished by subordinates who, under normal job controls, perform the work of one or more of those identified occupations.
Factor Three: Scope of Work Operations Supervised
Factor three covers the scope of the supervisor's responsibility and is measured using three sub factors. These are the scope of assigned work, variety of function, and physical dispersion. Each sub factor describes several possible levels, and the classifier selects the level that applies, recording the points assigned to each. Once all three sub factors have been evaluated, the points are tallied and a chart is used to determine the overall level for factor three.
Determining the Final Grade Level
With all three factors evaluated, the results are applied to the appropriate grading table. The supervisory situation selected in factor one determines which grading table to use. On that table, the classifier finds the level of work supervised from factor two in the left hand column and the scope of work operations supervised from factor three across the top. The grade level for the position is where the two values intersect. For example, a supervisor evaluated as situation one with non supervisory work at grade nine and scope level C lands at grade nine on grading table one. The initial grade is usually the final grade, but additional rules in the final grade determination section may apply, and classifiers should always review that section before recording a decision.
