What is the Process? What is a Request for Review (RFR)?
To begin the process of having a position reviewed, a Request for Review (RFR) form must be completed and filed with the Department of Human Resources, Classification Unit. The RFR is the actual form that is completed by an employee, supervisor, manager or HR Administrator and submitted for review.
What Form Do I Use? Where Do I Get the Form?
The Request for Review Form - is used by employees to request classification of their position.
You can find the Request for Review Form in the "Forms & Documents" box on this web page. If assistance is needed in obtaining or completing the form, please contact your department’s HR Administrator or any classification analyst.
What Type of Information Should be Provided?
- State with particularity the change(s) in duties or other circumstances which prompted the Request for Review to be submitted.
- Provide clear, concise information concerning the duties assigned to the position.
- If the RFR is being submitted as an employee request, the employee may consider collaborating with the supervisor in writing the RFR to ensure that the duties being performed are accurately described, although this is not required.
What shouldn’t be done on an RFR?
- Don’t cut and paste from a job specification.
- Don’t submit a photocopy of the last RFR completed for the position.
- Don’t submit the last employee evaluation.
- Don’t submit RFR's that are incomplete as they will be returned to the sender.
The RFR has been Completed, what Type of Filing is it? How is it Submitted?
- Management: A request comes from management to review the classification of an existing position, class, or to create a new job class. Supervisor/management signs the RFR, forwards it to their HR Administrator, and then it is forwarded by the HR Administrator to Department of Human Resources, Classification Unit. via the email DHR.Classification@vermont.gov where it is date stamped and logged in.
- Employee: An employee’s request to review the classification of his/her current position. Employee signs the RFR and forwards the original to his/her direct supervisor. Once the RFR has been signed by all parties, it is forwarded to the DHR Business Partner for his/her department or agency. The Business Partner will forward to the Department of Human Resources, Classification Unit via email DHR.Classification@vermont.gov where it is date stamped and logged in.
- Concurrent: Employee submits a photocopy of the RFR to Classification while providing the original copy to the supervisor. The employee should notify the supervisor that a signed photocopy has been provided to the Department of Human Resources, Classification Unit via email DHR.Classification@vermont.gov . When the photocopy is received from the employee, it is date stamped and logged in. No action is taken until the original is recieved.
- The date stamp on the RFR determines the effective date pursuant to Article 16 of the VSEA Contract, Classification Review & Classification Grievance, should the position be reallocated to a different pay grade.
What Happens After the RFR has been Submitted?
- Once the RFR has been received from the employee and/or management at Classification, the RFR is reviewed by the classification analyst assigned to that particular department using the Willis Point Factor System. During the review process, the classification analyst may request to meet with the employee and/or management to discuss the changes in the assigned duties.
- What is Willis? Willis is a point factor system that the State of Vermont has used since 1986. Willis evaluates duties assigned to the position on the basis of the highest skill or most challenging level required as a normal part of the job. The evaluation is based upon the job functions not the person or job title. The Willis evaluation components are: Knowledge & Skills; Mental Demands; Accountability; and Working Condition. Each of the four components has an additional two or three dimensions.
- Once the RFR has been reviewed and rated, the HR Administrator, management and the employee will receive a Notice of Action explaining the results of the review. Employees may wish to review Article 16 of the VSEA Contract, Classification Review and Classification Grievance. Article 16 outlines both classification and grievance procedures and the timelines which need to be adhered to when requesting certain actions, such as an informal meeting or filing of a grievance as a result of a classification decision.