THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & COMPUTER SCIENCE

JOB ANALYSIS

Lecturer: Shelly-Ann Daniel. MSc., GRP, WLCP PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

JOB ANALYSIS DEFINED

Job analysis is the process of studying jobs to gather, analyze, synthesize and report information about job responsibilities and requirements and the conditions under which work is performed. Modified from Heneman and Judge (2009)

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Frederick Taylor (1911) Scientific Management Replaced rule-of-thumb work methods with scientific study. Scientifically select, train and develop workers. Cooperate with workers to ensure that scientific methods are followed. Divide work such that managers apply scientific principles and workers implement them. Find the one best way to accomplish any task. Utilized time and motion studies to analyze tasks.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
4

Elton Mayo (1927-1932) Hawthorne Studies Informal organization affects productivity. Work group norms affect productivity. The workplace is a social system. Work is more than tasks and duties.

ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Evolving work methods.

Organization structure. Reporting relationships. Global demands. Knowledge workers.

FOUNDATION OF ALL HR PRACTICES

HR Planning
Legal Compliance Staffing

Employee Relations

JOB ANALYSIS

Training

Rewards Safety & Health

Performance Management

FOUNDATIONAL

HR planning: Work design. Skills required. Staffing: Advertising in labor market. Selection criteria. Selection methods. Succession planning.

Training: Training needs for new employees. Training program content. Training evaluation.
Performance management: Performance standards. Evaluation criteria. Appraisal forms and methods. Feedback and communication with employees.

FOUNDATIONAL

Safety and health: Training required. Protective equipment needed. Hazard communications. Accommodations for medical impairments. Rewards: Value of each job for compensation purposes. Pay adjustments.

Employee relations: Work rules, policies and procedures. Clear lines of authority and responsibility. Union work settings.
Legal compliance: Recordkeeping. Accommodations. Training. Compensation practices. Equal employment practices and affirmative action.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

Data, people, things.

Tasks or job functions: What gets done on the job. Essential functions. Scope of responsibility: Supervision received. Supervision provided. Tools and equipment used on the job: Computer software. Hand tools. Job-related equipment.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

Work context and environment: Physical environment (discomfort, hazards). Work schedule (hours, days). Travel required. Social/relationship factors: Nature of social contacts. Level of social contact.

Decision-making authority: Judgment and discretion.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

Personal and physical demands of the job: Stand, sit, reach, lift, walk. Knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform job tasks: Education. Experience. Certification (desired) and licensure (required): Certification (HR). Board licensure (physician, engineer).

DATA SOURCES

Job incumbent Supervisor or manager Former jobholders Job analyst Subject matter experts (SMEs) Industry resources Professional organizations like SHRM

DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES

Dictionary of Occupational Titles is now online on O*Net. Comprehensive searchable database: http://online.onetcenter.org

O*Net Homepage

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Observation Work sample Work diary Interview Questionnaire Perform the job Background records Multiple methods

OBSERVATION

Directly observe job incumbents performing the job duties, work sample or job segments. Can also be observed indirectly via video or audiotape: Hazardous jobs (airline pilot, surgeon, construction). High-risk jobs (nuclear power plant). Best when job/task is repetitive and short cycle. Good for manual jobs and tasks. Not good for nonrepetitive, long-cycle jobs and tasks. Not good for creative or thinking jobs and tasks.

WORK SAMPLE

Observe samples of critical job tasks. Best when job or task is repetitive and short cycle. Good for manual jobs and tasks. Not good for nonrepetitive, long-cycle jobs and tasks. Not good for creative or thinking jobs and tasks. Choosing the right or most representative tasks: Scientifically sample the job tasks to choose appropriate tasks.

WORK DIARY

Description of daily activities maintained for a period of time: Calendar, day planner. Best when job or task is nonrepetitive, long cycle. Good for creative or thinking jobs/tasks. Requires great discipline on diary-keepers part. Accuracy may be questionable.

INTERVIEW

Individual or group interviews: Job incumbents. Supervisor. Former job holders. Clients. Subject matter experts (SMEs). Generates deep information: Qualitative data is rich. Time-consuming and expensive. Lacks anonymity. Subject to interviewers skill level.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Structured form or checklist. Paper and pencil or computer-based. Commonly used method. Standardized in content and format. Good for accessing large numbers of responses. Quantitative data. Economical. Anonymous. Downside is possible deficiency of questions/content areas assessed. Assumes incumbent literacy and intelligence.

PERFORM THE JOB

Job analyst performs the job duties as described by job incumbent and/or supervisor. First-hand exposure to job tasks and context provides rich, relevant data. Time-consuming. Potential safety risks. Assumes a certain level of skill to perform the tasks.

BACKGROUND RECORDS

Data mining of relevant materials such as: Organizational charts. Training manuals. Policies and procedures. Payroll records. Production records. Call sheets. A good starting point. Documents may not exist in usable form. Documents may be out of date.

MULTIPLE METHODS

For best result, use multiple methods. Balance time and cost constraints. Balance the strengths and weaknesses of each method. No magic formula to determine how many methods are ideal or which methods to combine for a given job. Ideally, obtain both quantitative and qualitative data.

OUTCOMES OF JOB ANALYSIS

Job description: Systematic, detailed summary of job tasks, duties and responsibilities. Assures that employees and managers are on the same page regarding who does what. Job specification: Detailed summary of qualifications needed to perform required job tasks. Performance standards: Establishes the level of satisfactory performance.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The job description should include at least the following elements: Job title. Job code. FLSA status. Job summary. Essential job duty task statements. Job context or any unusual elements. Date created. Revision number and date.

JOB SPECIFICATION

The job specification should include at least the following elements: Job title. Job code. Job summary. Knowledge required to perform job. Skills required to perform job. Abilities required to perform job. Education required. Experience required. Licensure required or certification desired to perform the job. Date created. Revision number and date.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Performance standards define the level of expected quality and quantity of work produced on the job. Line managers input in developing performance standards is essential. Standards must be consistent and reasonable.
Performance standards help the employee gauge performance on the job.

JOB EVALUATION AND COMPARABLE WORTH

Job analysis yields a job evaluation, or an assessment of the relative value of a job, and is used to determine appropriate compensation.
These evaluations usually examine jobs on dimensions that are called compensable factors (e.g., physical demands of a job, amount of training, working conditions, responsibility).

JOB EVALUATION AND COMPARABLE WORTH

The Equal Pay Act mandates that men and women performing equal work receive equal pay. However, women continue to make less than men. Women make about 75% of what men make.

JOB EVALUATION AND COMPARABLE WORTH

Why is there a wage gap between men and women?

Men

have greater access to higher paying jobs.

Women are

paid less than men for performing equivalent tasks.

jobs may have different titles and different ranks depending on the sex of the worker (e.g., records manager vs. personnel clerk).

Similar

JOB EVALUATION AND COMPARABLE WORTH

Comparable worth
The

idea that jobs that require equivalent KSAOs should be compensated equally. on valid and fair job evaluations.

Relies

Exceptioning
The

practice of ignoring pay discrepancies between particular jobs possessing equivalent duties and responsibilities.

BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS

Employee fears: Paranoia. Self-protection. Inflating titles and jobs. Limiting managerial flexibility: Its not in my job description. Incumbent emphasis.

MAINTENANCE

Job descriptions and specifications must be kept current to reflect changes in: Work practices and processes. Tools and equipment used on the job. Levels of discretion Licensure or certification.
Annual review during performance appraisal.

Review when incumbent turns over.