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Factor Weights

KEY TOPICS:

Assign Factor Weights to Internal and External Availability

What are Factor Weights?

Factor Weights represent how much emphasis is assigned to:

  • Factor 1 — External Availability, or the external source for potential hires, as determined by Recruitment Areas and census codes applied to jobs

VERSUS

  • Factor 2 — Internal Availability, also known as the internal sources for job candidates, as determined by feeder jobs

When weighted and considered together, the two factors will comprise an estimate of overall Availability. Ultimately, the system will run an INCUMBENCY VS ESTIMATED AVAILABILILTY report, which will alert you to any underemployment of minorities and women.

On first entry to Availability > Factor Weights, the settings for all Job Groups will default to 100-percent External and zero-percent Internal. However, this ratio must be changed to reflect your organization’s specific hiring and promotion practices. For each Job Group, determine what percentage of new entrants into the group will likely result from external hires, and what percentage will likely result from internal promotions.

Enter Weights for Factors 1 and 2

Make a selection from the Job Group drop-down. Enter the percentage of expected hires to this group into the first box under Weight for Factor 1. Then press TAB on your keyboard, and the Factor 2 weight will be applied automatically to total 100%. Click [Save] to apply the changes, then repeat for all Job Groups.

Apply Quick Weights

balanceAAP has calculated and displays the percentage of hires versus promotions from your personnel action data in the secondary header of the Factor Weights table. If your activity during this period was typical for your company, click [Apply Weights] next to the Quick Weights percentage.

A pop-up window will appear. Choose either to apply the calculated weights to the current Job Group, or to all Job Groups; then click [Apply]. The promotion percentage will be assigned to the Factor 2 weight, and the Factor 1 weight will be applied to add up to 100%.

Run the Factor 2 Check

Once all weights have been applied to Internal Availability (Factor 2), select [Check Factor 2] from the table header to ensure there is consistency between Job Group feeders and those weights. If applied properly, a message will indicate: There are currently no groups that fail the factor 2 check.

System rule regarding Factor 2 weights: A Job Group should not have weight applied for Factor 2 when it contains no feeders; likewise, if a Job Group has feeders, it should indicate some Factor 2 weight. If the system locates these inconsistencies, a menu displays, allowing them to be corrected. The Factor 2 Check will also review the Availability at the Sub Plans level and will indicate the needed corrections where necessary.

Correct Job Groups with Weights but no Feeders

Check the box next to one or more Job Groups. Click [Remove Weight From Selected Job Groups] to clear this issue.

Correct Job Groups with Feeders but no Weights

First, check the box next to one or more Job Groups. Then select one of these global options:

  • [Remove Feeders From Selected Job Groups]
  • [Add Weights to Selected Job Groups]

For those Job Groups with weights, the weight entry may be edited, using the numerical field to the right of the Job Group record. Once any issues are corrected, a message indicates a successful Factor 2 check.

Review Availability versus Incumbency Results

Once weights are assigned, the Factor Weights screen displays results.

Show Results as People

The default view displays the results in percentage. Radio buttons in the upper toolbar allow the view to be toggled between: Show Percent and Show People.

Raw Statistics

The Raw Statistics column on the left displays the data before weighting.

Quick Tips: To see the full calculation of the raw external statistics, see the Requisite Skills Calculations report. To see the full calculation of the raw internal statistics, see the Feeder Job Calculations report. For more information, see Select Reports.

Weighted Statistics

The Weighted Statistics column on the right displays the results for Factor 1 and Factor 2 after weight has applied to the Raw Statistics. As described below, additional results are available:

Availability

After weighting, the sum of the Factor 1 and Factor 2 percentages.

Employment

Calculated directly from the Roster Data table, Employment is the percentage of minorities and females currently utilized in the Job Group. Also known as Incumbency, Employment will be compared to Availability. If the resulting value is highlighted in red, Availability exceeds Incumbency by an amount greater than the selected Utilization Rule allows. A goal will be set in the plan to rectify the underutilization.

Stat Value

balanceAAP will use a statistical analysis to determine if Availability exceeds Incumbency by a statistically significant amount. If this value is highlighted in red, the results are statistically significant.

Quick Reminder: For more information on Utilization rule and Statistics Settings, see: Settings for Factor Weight and Availability vs. Incumbency Results.

Shortfall

If Availability exceeds Incumbency, Shortfall is the number of whole persons needed to rectify the underutilization.