Role Demand Contribution Index (RDCI)
A clear, fair way to evaluate jobs.
The RDCI is a new, structured way of evaluating jobs based on what the role actually demands and the value it contributes to the organisation. It is designed to produce job sizing decisions that are consistent, explainable, and defensible for pay equity and pay transparency.
Professor Stephen J. Perkins, co-author of Reward Management, described the Role Demand-Contribution Index:
“The RDCI presents a conceptually robust and innovative approach to advancing job evaluation methodology. Its potential to enhance fairness and address gender pay gaps in organisational pay practices is particularly compelling. From my reading, the RDCI framework addresses key limitations of traditional job evaluation by making invisible, gendered work visible and auditable.”
The Methodology
Most job evaluation systems roll everything into a single score. RDCI separates two things that are often confused.
Job demand: The workload and demands placed on the role holder.
Job contribution: The value and impact the role delivers to the organisation.
Keeping these separate matters. Some roles are extremely demanding but undervalued. Others have high organisational impact with relatively low day to day load. RDCI makes both visible.
Demand Dimensions
Cognitive Variability
Mental Variety & Switching
How often the role must switch between different tasks, ideas or complex information.
Temporal Intensity
Speed, Time & Pressure
How fast the work moves and how strong the time pressure and simultaneous demands are.
Relational Complexity
People & Relationship Load
How difficult it is to manage relationships, emotions and conflicts across different
people or groups.
Consequence Density
Risk If Things Go Wrong
How serious and frequent the impact of decisions or mistakes is on money, safety or
reputation.
Asymmetric Clarity
Working with Ambiguity
How often the role must act when information is unclear, incomplete or conflicting.
Contribution Dimensions
Value Creation Scope
Where the value shows up
How widely the role’s work delivers value, from one team to wider strategy or
systems.
Output Complexity
Sophistication of the work
How advanced, technical or multi layered the role’s outputs are.
Impact Reach
Who is affected
How far the role’s decisions and results spread across teams, regions or markets.
Accountability Span
Ownership of outcomes
How far the role owns the results of work, including outcomes for tasks, budgets, risks or people.
How the methodology is used
1
Role Assessment
Each role is assessed using a structured questionnaire that takes around 20 minutes to complete.
Evaluators select statements that best describe the role as intended, not the current individual in post.
2
Scoring & Calibration
Responses are scored across demand and contribution dimensions using behaviour based criteria. Scores are reviewed centrally to ensure consistency across teams and functions, with clear separation between input, review, and approval. This prevents drift and keeps role sizing fair and repeatable.
3
Grading & Outcome
Final scores place each role into an internal band that supports grading, pay ranges, and progression frameworks. Every outcome includes a clear breakdown of scores and written rationale, creating an audit ready record that can be explained to employees, regulators, or reviewers.