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How to Figure Out What
the Job Actually Entails

Dale J. Dwyer, Ph.D.

 First Things First

‡  are the building blocks of jobs.

‡ |
are the building blocks of the organization.

‡ To understand the requirements to   

  , we need to understand what the job
entails.

‡ We do this by looking at 
  . But where

does this information come from in the first place?

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 Job Analysis

‡ A 
  is a    to collect data

about work activities; equipment; context; and the
knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) required of the job.

‡ It examines a job¶s mental and physical requirements; the

KSAs necessary for job success; the environment where
work is carried out; and the job¶s primary and secondary
functions.

‡ It is a legal safeguard for many HR practices.

‡ Job analyses are usually done through interviews and

questionnaires.

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 What Jobs Should Be Analyzed?

‡ Jobs whose content has changed.

‡ Jobs where adverse impact in hiring has occurred.
‡ Entry-level jobs.
‡ Jobs in which incumbents have poor performance or high
turnover.

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 What¶s Wrong with this Job Description?

O       

 
   
O O

‡ Excellent verbal
‡ Professionally administer all
incoming calls.
‡ Ensure phone calls are
redirected accordingly.
‡ Greet guests in a
professional, friendly and
hospitable manner.
‡ Open and close visitor area
(locking doors, closing
blinds, turning off lights).
‡ Type memos,
correspondence, reports
and other documents.
‡ Perform a variety of clerical
duties. For more on Indian HR industry, click here
‡ Excellent phone etiquette.
communication skills.
‡ Punctual.
‡ Able to work with minimum
supervision.
‡ Should be customer service-
driven.
‡ Knowledge of MS Office
(Word, Excel, Outlook,
Access).
‡ Able to multi-task.
‡ Professional appearance.
‡ High school diploma or GED.
‡ Minimum one year
experience.
 Job Components

 
  
 

· What does an incumbent actually do?

· What are the duties, responsibilities and performance
expectations?
· What KSAs are needed for success?
· What are the conditions--location, physical and social
needs, supervision needs, etc.-- under which the job is
performed?

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 Job Analysis Process

1. Decide on the 
 to be analyzed.

2. Decide on the   who will provide job data.
3. Decide on the !  to gather job data.

4. Meet with selected employees (manager and

incumbents) to explain process and method.
5. Collect data.
6. Prepare final job analysis data form.
7. Send to manager and incumbents for feedback.
8. Revise if needed. Create the job description and send
to manager for approval.

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 _OO"

Job Analysis Interviews and

Questionnaires

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 Job Analysis Interview

· Most frequently used · Used to identify critical job

method. tasks.
· Interviews with · Task statements are
incumbents and written to describe what
supervisors. the worker does, to what
or whom, to produce what
· Assumes a thorough outcome, using what tools,
familiarity with the job equipment, processes, etc.
.
· Best when conducted
using a structured
format.

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 Limitations to Job Analysis Interviews

· Heavily dependent on interviewing ability.

· Takes time and may not be cost-efficient if there are a

number of jobs to analyze.

· Incumbent may distort information to reflect a more

complex job. It is important to verify information with
other incumbents and supervisors.

· Should not be relied upon as the only source of

information.

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 Job Analysis Questionnaire

‡ Task inventories are ‡ Can help combat some of the

usually the most shortcomings of the interview
widely used. method.

‡ Contains ‡ Can be bought or designed.

demographic data,
listing of job tasks and ‡ Usually specific to one job or
rating scales, as well job family.
as working conditions,
equipment used, etc.
HOWEVER --
‡ Still time-consuming and
costly.
‡ Literacy issues.

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 How to Interpret a Job Analysis

‡ First, look at the job analysis information (key activities)

about ³WHAT´ is accomplished and ³HOW´ it is
accomplished:
>  
>  
> 
  
> #  

‡ Extract the major points from each aspect and decide

how to word the dimensions and use the weighting to
scale the importance of each.

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 Once the Job Analysis is Done

Job analysis data can be used to:

‡ Create job descriptions.
‡ Contribute to the content in recruitment advertising.
‡ Determine appropriate selection tests.
‡ Assess training needs.
‡ Conduct wage and salary evaluation.
‡ Determine performance criteria and standards.
‡ Provide legal documentation for protection against
discrimination lawsuits.

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