ZBC CEO “rules with an iron fist” as employees reject new job evaluation system

There was drama at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) as CEO Adelaide Chikunguru was said to have stormed out of a meeting with employees according to a report by New Zimbabwe. The issue stems from the introduction of the Paterson Job Evaluating System which essentially places job decision-making into six groups or bands which are policy-making, programming, interpretive, routine, automatic and defined.

“It was a spectacle. She was fuming like someone possessed and throwing all the tantrums. She shouted: ‘people are disrespecting me here, tell me who is the boss of this place, yourselves or me’. She then walked out immediately after that and the meeting was aborted,”

A source disclosed to New Zimbabwe

The system is used to rank jobs by grade and be the root of a fair and impartial salary structure. It’s implemented by sorting jobs into the aforementioned six groups that are then further stratified according to factors like stress factors, individual tolerance, length of job and number of job responsibilities that correspond to organisational levels to eventually give an organisation pay/salary scales.

According to the Sunday Mail over 54% of Zimbabwean organisations use the Paterson Job Evaluation System but ZBC employees were not having it and voiced their concerns.

“To tell the truth, people are tired of the situation at the company. She rules with an iron fist.

“This new grading system was imposed on workers without any consultation. She wanted to meet the employees but did not send the agenda. Even the entire executive is rebuked and silenced in meetings. She dictates what she wants.”

A source disclosed to New Zimbabwe

The digital TV victory lap seems to be over

I guess it’s fair to say the mild furore surrounding the digital television roll-out is over as these reports demonstrate there is some work to do at the ZBC and for its CEO. However, the exact grievances the ZBC employees had to the model are still unclear, in any event here are the advantages and disadvantages of the Paterson method according to The Business Times

Advantages of using the Paterson system

• It is a simple system that is easy to understand and implement.

• it is cost-effective and internationally recognized

Disadvantages of using the Paterson

• Only one factor is used to evaluate all jobs.

• There is a lack of uniformity of procedures for interpreting and applying sub-grades.

• Problems are experienced in grading complex management hierarchies.

It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds as more information comes to light…