Knowledge Base

The science behind fair compensation

Explore the methodology, European standards, and technology that power Axiomera's job evaluation engine.

01

Job Grading

Systematic methods for ranking jobs by value, complexity, and organizational impact.

MethodologyEvaluation
02

ESCO Taxonomy

The European classification of 3,000+ occupations and 13,000+ skills powering our mapping engine.

ESCOEU Standard
03

Our Approach

How Axiomera combines AI with established frameworks to deliver transparent, defensible results.

AITransparency
04

Accuracy

Benchmarks, validation data, and continuous improvement behind our 89% accuracy rate.

ValidationBenchmark
05

EU Directive

Understanding the Pay Transparency Directive and its impact on European employers.

RegulationCompliance
06

FAQ

Common questions about methodology, data privacy, integration, and pricing.

SupportGeneral
Methodology

What is job grading?

Job grading is a systematic method for evaluating and ranking positions based on their relative value to an organization. It creates fair, consistent hierarchies that support equitable compensation structures.

Unlike simple job titling, analytical job grading examines the actual content and demands of each role across standardized dimensions, removing subjectivity from compensation decisions.

  • Enables consistent pay structures across departments
  • Supports compliance with pay equity regulations
  • Provides defensible basis for compensation decisions
  • Facilitates internal mobility and career pathing

Responsibility

Scope of decision-making, budget authority, strategic impact, and number of direct/indirect reports managed.

Skills & Knowledge

Education requirements, years of experience, technical specialization, and professional certifications needed.

Effort & Complexity

Cognitive demands, problem-solving requirements, multi-stakeholder coordination, and level of autonomous judgment.

Working Conditions

Physical environment, psychological demands, travel requirements, and schedule flexibility considerations.

Group 1Managers365 occupations
Group 2Professionals916 occupations
Group 3Technicians & Associates411 occupations
Group 4Clerical Support179 occupations
Group 5Service & Sales302 occupations
Group 6Agricultural & Forestry87 occupations
Group 7Craft & Trade348 occupations
Group 8Plant & Machine Operators244 occupations
Group 9Elementary Occupations148 occupations
European Standard

The ESCO taxonomy

ESCO — European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations — is the EU's multilingual classification system identifying over 3,000 occupations and 13,000 skills relevant to the European labor market.

Axiomera uses ESCO as its foundational mapping layer, providing a common language for job classification that transcends company-specific titles and national job coding systems.

  • 3,008 occupation profiles across 9 major groups
  • 13,485 skills linked to occupations
  • Available in 27 EU languages
  • Regularly updated by the European Commission
Technology

Our analytical approach

Axiomera combines advanced NLP with established occupational frameworks to deliver results that are both cutting-edge and grounded in decades of compensation research.

Every evaluation follows a structured pipeline: text extraction, semantic understanding, dimension scoring, ESCO mapping, and grade assignment — each step fully transparent and explainable.

  • Semantic analysis extracts competencies from free text
  • Multi-criteria scoring across 4 EU-compliant dimensions
  • Confidence-weighted ESCO classification
  • Fully explainable output for audit compliance

Text Understanding

Advanced NLP processes job descriptions in 27 languages, extracting key competencies, responsibilities, and requirements without templates.

Dimension Scoring

Each of the four evaluation dimensions is broken into granular sub-criteria, scored independently, and weighted according to international standards.

Semantic Matching

Vector-based similarity compares extracted competencies against the full ESCO database, producing ranked classifications with confidence scores.

Explainable Output

Every scoring decision comes with a natural language explanation, making results defensible in both internal reviews and regulatory audits.

0%
Exact match accuracy
0%
Within ±2 grades
0+
ESCO occupations mapped
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Languages supported
Validation

Accuracy & benchmarks

Axiomera is validated against thousands of professionally graded positions. Our 89% accuracy within ±2 grades matches or exceeds inter-rater reliability among human evaluators.

We continuously improve through structured feedback loops, regular benchmarking against industry panels, and expanding our training corpus with diverse job families.

  • Benchmarked against expert human evaluators
  • Continuous improvement through feedback loops
  • Regular cross-validation across industries
  • Transparent methodology for audit compliance
Regulation

EU Pay Transparency Directive

The EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970) requires employers to ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. Member states must transpose it into national law by June 2026.

The directive mandates that employers provide pay-related information to workers and report on gender pay gaps. Organizations with 100+ employees face reporting obligations that require systematic job evaluation.

  • Applies to all EU employers — public and private
  • Requires objective, gender-neutral job evaluation criteria
  • Pay reporting obligations for organizations 100+ employees
  • Workers gain the right to request pay information
  • National transposition deadline: June 7, 2026

Job Classification Required

Employers must use objective, gender-neutral criteria to determine whether different jobs constitute "work of equal value."

Pay Transparency

Job applicants have the right to know the pay range before interviews. Current employees can request average pay by gender for comparable positions.

Reporting Obligations

Companies with 100+ employees must report on gender pay gaps. Those with gaps exceeding 5% must conduct joint pay assessments.

How Axiomera Helps

Axiomera provides the systematic, auditable job evaluation that the directive requires — objective criteria, full transparency, and defensible results at scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions?

How does Axiomera handle non-English job descriptions?+

Axiomera natively processes job descriptions in all 27 EU official languages. Our NLP pipeline includes language detection and cross-lingual semantic understanding, so you don't need to translate before uploading.

What data do you store from uploaded job descriptions?+

We process job descriptions in real-time and do not retain the original text after analysis is complete. Only the structured output (grades, scores, classifications) is stored in your account. We are GDPR-compliant.

Can Axiomera integrate with our existing HRIS?+

Yes. Axiomera provides a REST API for integration with major HRIS platforms including SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, and Oracle HCM. We also offer batch upload via CSV/Excel for organizations that prefer file-based workflows.

How is Axiomera different from Mercer, WTW, or Korn Ferry?+

Traditional consulting firms provide expert-driven evaluations that take weeks and cost thousands per job. Axiomera delivers comparable analytical depth in 30 seconds at a fraction of the cost, with full transparency into every scoring decision.

What does "89% accuracy within ±2 grades" mean?+

When compared to grades assigned by experienced human evaluators, 89% of Axiomera's results fall within two grade levels of the expert assessment. This matches or exceeds inter-rater reliability among human evaluators themselves.

Is Axiomera compliant with the EU Pay Transparency Directive?+

Axiomera is purpose-built for the directive. It uses objective, gender-neutral evaluation criteria across the four dimensions specified by EU guidance. Every result includes full audit trail documentation required for regulatory compliance.

Want to see it in action?

Request a demo with your own job descriptions and see how Axiomera delivers clarity.

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