Desk audits serve as a critical method for accurately classifying positions when existing documentation and resources do not provide sufficient detail. These audits involve direct observation and interviews with employees and supervisors to gather firsthand information about a position's duties and responsibilities.
Key Insights
- Conduct desk audits when classifiers cannot obtain adequate data from position descriptions or other sources, using interviews, observations, or questionnaires as appropriate.
- Effective desk audits require careful preparation from both classifiers and employees, including reviewing existing documents, planning interview questions, and ensuring open, professional communication during the process.
- The audit process includes separate interviews with both the employee and the supervisor to confirm job responsibilities, address discrepancies, and support accurate classification decisions.
This lesson is a preview from our Intermediate Position Classification Course. Enroll in a course for detailed lessons, live instructor support, and project-based training.
Let’s talk about desk audits. First-hand investigation of the work of a position using interviews and observation of work operations is a desk audit. We use it when classifiers are unable to gather sufficient data from other available sources to make an informed classification decision.
And so, once the series has been selected and verified, a valuable source of information for properly classifying a position is the desk audit. A desk audit is a first-hand investigation of the work of a position using interviews and observations of work operations. An audit should be used when the classifier is not able to gather sufficient information and data from other available sources, including the PD, to make an informed classification decision.
Let's look at some additional information that you can use on the position review. Is the interview the only form of position review? No. While a face-to-face employee interview is one option, desk audits can also be conducted via telephone, video conferencing, or just a questionnaire.
In fact, because of budget and geographical distance, many agencies require that a questionnaire be completed before an interview is considered. Can an employee initiate a position review? Not generally. Requests to the HR office for a desk audit should be initiated by the supervisor.
If the classifier determines that a desk audit would facilitate the classification decision, he or she works with both the supervisor and the employee. How can the classifier slash employee be prepared for the desk audit? The schedule should provide both the classifier and the employee with sufficient time to prepare. The employee should be given a notice that includes information similar to that in the job aid, preparing for the position review found at the end of the module.
The notice should ask the employee to provide the information regarding their major duties and suggest that they bring work samples that support his or her decision or support their claim. Classifiers should study submitted PDs and review the information resources when discussed earlier. I'm going to repeat that.
Classifiers should study submitted PDs and review informational resources that we discussed earlier. He or she should tentatively evaluate the position and note any questions that cannot be answered from available data. The classifier should prepare a list of questions related to the factors and use that as a guide for the interview.
A well-planned interview sets a conversational pattern that leads naturally from one subject to the next in an easy flow of words and ideas. And so, included at the end of this module, we have provided you with a list of questions that you can use when conducting an interview. You can use those questions for the federal wage system, for FES, and for supervisory and managerial positions.
And so let's talk about some additional common questions asked about positions in the review process. What are the classifier's responsibilities during the desk audit? Classifiers should understand the importance of the desk audit to an employee. For employees, desk audits are a big deal.
Therefore, classifiers should be considerate and respectful of employees, their time, and their knowledge and skills. Interviews should begin with the classifier explaining who he is and summarizing the interview's purpose. The interview should be conducted in a business-like, professional manner, regardless of a classifier's relationship with the employee.
Put employees at ease. They are likely nervous and anxious to accurately convey the necessary information. Classifiers should keep interviews on track and encourage a comfortable and easy exchange of information.
They must constantly guide the interview and keep it within the well-defined boundaries. Classifiers should obtain facts necessary for further analysis by preparing key questions. They should follow up on any new information covering duties and responsibilities.
Classifiers should be frank and forthright, courteous, but in no way apologetic. What is the proper way to conclude a desk audit? When nearing the end of the interview, classifiers should alert the employee that they have completed the questions and only have a few left to ask. I'm going to restate that.
What is the proper way to conclude a desk audit? When nearing the end of the interview, classifiers should alert the employee that they have a couple of questions left to ask. Occasionally, when the interview is near its end, mental guards are relaxed, so the classifier should be alert for significant statements or information that the employee will provide. A question that may have been troublesome can often be introduced again, resulting in a more complete and accurate answer.
Once a classifier has finished, the employee should be given the opportunity to ask questions. Classifiers should tell employees that they will be informed as soon as the analysis is complete and a decision has been made. Lastly, classifiers should express appreciation for the employee's time and effort.
Next, how long should a position review last? While every effort should be made to keep the interview to a reasonable length, if it becomes evident that the material cannot be covered within the allotted time, another appointment should be scheduled. If it is necessary to discuss the work situation for more than an hour, it's probably better to split the discussion into two or more interviews. Classifiers should never allow an interview to be rushed or hurried.
No questions sufficiently important to be included in the interview plan should be eliminated simply because time runs short. What is the role of the supervisor in the desk order? Desk orders actually consist of interviews with both the employee and supervisor. The purpose of the supervisory interview is to confirm the facts gathered during the employee interview.
Like the employee interview, the supervisory interview can be conducted face-to-face or via telephone. It should follow a similar format. Explain the purpose of the interview.
Structure the interview by major duties, percentages of time, functions, etc. Provide complete details of the duties and responsibilities discussed in the employee interview. Take complete notes.
Discuss any discrepancies and possible solutions, and provide an estimated time by which classification decisions will be finalized.
