Job analysis is the important process of identifying the content of a job in terms of activities involved and attributes needed

to perform the work and identifies major job requirements. Job analysis was conceptualized by two of the founders of industrial/organizational psychology, Frederick aylor and !illian "oller #ilbreth in the early $%th century.&'(Job analyses provide information to organizations which helps to determine which employees are best fit for specific jobs. hrough job analysis, the analyst needs to understand what the important tasks of the job are, how they are carried out, and the necessary human qualities needed to complete the job successfully.

Hiring is of key importance to the overall productivity of Canadian businesses. A well put together job description is a good business investment because it can be used to support most HR functions: recruitment, selection, orientation, training, work plans, compensation, performance reviews and legal defence. ob descriptions e!plain the key responsibilities of the actual position, reporting relationships and work environment. "he first step in writing or rewriting job descriptions is job analysis. ob analysis is an in#depth study of a job. $t provides information for job descriptions. $n doing the analysis, you or an employee will gather information about jobs through interviewing employees, observing performance of certain tasks, asking employees to fill out %uestionnaires and worksheets, and collecting information about a job from secondary sources such as the &ational 'ccupational Classification (&'C) system. deleted or modified. Step 1 : Understand the job *tart by developing a complete understanding of the position. "his is the foundation on which hiring is based. $n conducting your analysis, consider: All of the duties and responsibilities of the position "heir scope and level "he conte!t in which these are to be performed

"he amount of responsibility, authority and accountability re%uired to perform the work "he major and minor activities

Step 2: Identify Performance Behaviours &e!t, identify e!amples of behaviour that you would use to evaluate the %uality of the work. $dentify e!amples of both effective and ineffective behaviours. "o do this, ask yourself: +hat are the performance e!pectations for superior performance, How do you know someone is doing an e!cellent, satisfactory or poor job, How does it look when a high performer is doing an e!cellent job or when a poor performer is doing an unsatisfactory job, ompetencies

Step 3: Essential

-sing the e!amples of behaviour as a basis, identify and choose only the most critical. essential competencies re%uired to demonstrate high performance. /ifferentiate between high performers and average performers: "here should be no more than 0 to 12 competencies selected for a role or job. Remember, fewer are better. "he key is to select only the most critical.essential competencies re%uired to demonstrate high performance. +hile all competencies may seem desirable, they are not all critical. 3amiliari4e yourself types of competencies and skills.

&e!t, sort the competencies based on how critical or essential each one is. 5ou could sort each of the competencies into one of four groups: Critical.essential $mportant.significant 6ess important.learn on the job &ot applicable

+hen determining how critical or essential a Competencies, 7nowledge, *kills and Abilities (C7*A) is, consider factors such as: "he difficulty or criticality of the tasks being performed "he impact on job outcomes "he impact on the performance of other employees "he conse%uence of error if the C7*A is not present How fre%uently the C7*A is used on the job +hether the C7*A is re%uired at when the job starts or can be learned or ac%uired on the job within the first si! months

+hen completed sorting, review and make any adjustments that are needed. Count the number of C7*A you sorted in the Critical.8ssential and $mportant.*ignificant groups. "here should be between 0 and 12 competencies. $f you have more than

that number, you can rank the competencies in your $mportant.*ignificant group and pick only the highest ranking that provide you with an appropriate number of competencies. 9ut all others aside. $f you ended up with fewer than an appropriate number of competencies, then rank the competencies in your 6ess $mportant.6earn on the ob group and pick only the highest ranking to add to the $mportant.*ignificant group, providing you with an appropriate number of competencies. 9ut all others aside. "he competencies you have chosen form the C7*A portion of the %ualifications for the job. Step !: Identify "ar#et perfomance level "arget levels refer to the types of behaviours demonstrated by high performers. "hey are not minimum standards. "he key is to select the target level that high performers demonstrate most of the time (general rule # :;< of the time). +hile all people may be able to demonstrate a level once, target levels refer to what they do most of the time. "o assist you, think about what a high performer in the job demonstrates most of the time when they are engaged in that competency. /o not select an inappropriately high target level. *etting the bar too high can lead you to hiring no one. "he focus is on trying to describe reality, not ideals. 'nce you have set the "arget 6evel, you should also set the minimum acceptable level re%uired at job start. 5ou could set 6evel 1 as the lowest possible level and ; as the highest. 8nsure the minimum level is also realistic. Step $: E%perience& Education and "rainin# 'eeded Review the final list of Competencies, 7nowledge, *kills and Abilities (C7*A) and determine the various ways in which these could be ac%uired through education, e!perience (work, volunteer and.or life) and.or training. $t may be helpful to consider the background of high#performing employees in this type of position. =e sure to include as many of the e%uivalent combinations of education and e!perience as possible. Consider the availability of %ualified people in the job market and ensure the %ualifications are reasonable given that market. $t is important to determine a %ualification that is appropriate to the job on day one and not inappropriately high or low. $f %ualifications are set too high, candidates that have the competencies may be inadvertently eliminated at the screening stage before having the opportunity to prove themselves. Alternatively, if the %ualifications are set too low, most of the applicants will need to be considered which can be a time consuming process and many may not have the re%uired competencies. Step (: Special onsiderations

&ow is the time to identify and include any special considerations you may wish to include.*ome jobs may re%uire additional specific criteria like the following: Criminal records review /rivers, firearms or other licenses 9rofessional designations (for e!ample: 9rofessional 8ngineer) 'ccupational certifications 9hysical re%uirements to lift heavy objects, work in strenuous situations etc. +illingness statements (for e!ample: willingness to work in dusty or noisy environments

Step ): *evie+ and ,inali-e At this point you have completed the job analysis process. "his final step is to give you an opportunity to stand back and take a second look at your work to ensure it>s valid and stands the >common sense> check. "o do this, ask yourself the following %uestions: ?iven what $ know about the accountabilities of this job.role, are the Competencies, knowledge skills and abilities chosen really the most critical ones, +ill they help me identify the difference between a high performer and a poor one, /o the behavioural levels identified really define what high or poor performers actually do in this job.role, Are the e!perience, education and training re%uirements related to the C7*A chosen: job#related, inclusive, reasonable and appropriate, Have all necessary special considerations been included,

$f you answered >no> to any of these %uestions, review your work and make adjustments so that you can answer each %uestion with a >yes>. $f you answered >yes> to all of the %uestions, finali4e your *tatement of @ualifications. "hese may now be added to ob /escriptions, included in applicant packages and advertisements, and used as a basis for determining the most appropriate assessment methods to be used in the hiring process. Step .: Usin# *esults "he list of %ualifications and competencies developed through job analysis are used to create: "he *tatement of @ualifications to be attached to ob /escriptions Advertising content and.or applicant information packages Criteria for short listing applicants As a basis for determining the most effective assessment methods