JOB ANALYSIS

Learning objectives
• What is job analysis?
• How can you use this tool
in your organization?
• Methods of job analysis
• How it works
• Real world example
Functions of HRM
 What is job analysis?
• A systematic approach to
collect information about a job
such as tasks, responsibilities
and the skills required to
perform those tasks
• An important part of Human
Resources (HR) planning
Job Analysis

• Is the process of collecting job related

information like skills, duties,
responsibilities. This includes the
content and the human requirements
of the job.

• Job is also known as work

• Helps in the preparation of Job

description & Job specification
 JOB ANALYSIS
• Job Analysis is a process to
identify and determine in detail the
particular job duties and
requirements and the relative
importance of these duties for a
given job. Job Analysis is a process
where judgments are made about
data collected on a job.
Importance/Uses of Job
Analysis

• HRP (Job-related information)

• Recruitment & Selection
• Training & Development
• Performance Appraisal
• Salary & Wage fixation
• Health & Safety
 Job Analysis: A Basic Human
Resource Management Tool
Tasks Responsibilities Duties Selection
Training and
Development
Performance Appraisal
Job
Descriptions Compensation and
Job Benefits
Analysis Job Safety and Health
Specifications Recruitment
Employee and Labor
Relations
Human Resource
Knowledge Skills Abilities Planning
Legal Considerations
Job Analysis for
Match Person & Job

Person Job
KSAs
Tasks & Duties
Talents & Interests
Rewards
Motivation

Job Outcomes
Performance
Satisfaction

Need information about the Person &

the Job.
There should be a fit between job demands (job description) & abilities
required to discharge the tasks (job specification). Any mismatch results
in job dissatisfaction.

Most organizations combine the Job Description & the Job Specification
into a single document for each job which is usually called a “Job
Description”
Job Specification
• It specifies the criteria or skills required to
be possessed by an individual related to a
particular job which could include total
years of experience, Relevant Experience,
Qualifications , Technical skills

• It includes:
– Qualifications
– Experience
– Skills
– Responsibilities
– Physical Skills
– Communication Skills
Process of Job Analysis

Uses of Job
Description &
Job Specification
• HRP
• Recruitment &
Selection
• Job Evaluation
• Performance Appraisal
• Training &
Development
• Career
Planning
Process of Job analysis
•Organizational analysis – Overall picture
•Selection of representative positions to be
analyzed
•Collection of job analysis data-behavior and
personal qualification
•Preparation of job description-functions ,
duties responsibilities and operation
•Preparation of job specification – written
statement in terms of traits skills, training and
experience
 How It Works
• Conducting the job analysis
– Know the purpose
– Gather Information about jobs to
be analyzed
• Books
• Charts
• Trade union literature
• Government agency literature
– Use employee input
 Strategic Choices
a. Extent of Employee Involvement

– Employees who are currently holding the

position are often asked to supply vital
information about the contents of the job.

– Too much involvement leads to bias in

favour of the job.

– Lack of involvement may lead to inaccurate

and incomplete information.
 Strategic Choices
b. Level of details of analysis: May be detailed or
general

– Level of details depends on the purpose for which it is being

collected.

– Eg. For clarification of jobs not much detailed analysis is needed

as compared to when it is being used to job evaluation.

c. Timing & frequency of analysis:

Usually is conducted when
– The organization is newly established
– A new job is created in an established organization
– A job is changed significantly due to change in technology or
procedures
– The organization is contemplating a new remuneration plan
– Employees feel that there exists certain inequities between job
demands and job remuneration.
 Strategic Choices

d. Past-Oriented vs. Future-Oriented

– If a lot of technological changes

happening, then future orientation is
desired.
e. Source of Job Data

– Job Analysts, Supervisors

 Gathering Information
• What type of data is to be collected?

• What methods are to be employed?

• Who should collect data?

– Trained Job Analysts (Costly; data is objective &
standardized)
– Supervisors (data may not be objective &
standardized)
– Job incumbents
Information Processing

• Leads to Job description and

Job specification
Collection of job analysis
Job Analysis Methods
Methods of Job Analysis

• Observation
• Interview
– Individual
– Group
• Questionnaires
– PAQ,MPDQ,FJA
• Diary
• Technical Conference
• Critical Incident Technique
Observation Method
• Observes the worker doing the
job , the pace, working conditions
• Average workers during average
conditions
• No direct involvement in the job
• Analyst must make note of the
‘specific job needs’ rather than
‘specific behavior’
2. Interview Method

• Information sources
– Individual employees
– Groups of employees
– Supervisors with
knowledge of the job
• Advantages • Interview formats
– Quick, direct way to – Structured
find overlooked
(Checklist)
information.
• Disadvantages – Unstructured
– Distorted information
(bias)
Interview Guidelines

• The job analyst and supervisor should work together

to identify the workers who know the job best.
• Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee.
• Follow a structured guide or checklist, one that lists
open-ended questions and provides space for
answers.
• Ask the worker to list his or her duties in order of
importance and frequency of occurrence.
• After completing the interview, review and verify
the data.
Methods of Job Analysis
• Interview Method
– Individual
• Several workers are interviewed
individually
• The answers are consolidated into a
single job analysis
– Group
• Employees are interviewed
simultaneously
• Group conflict may cause this method
to be ineffective
 A Real World Example
• The Department of Labor
– Job analyst uses observation and
interview methods to gather
information about an employee
– Information organized into 3
categories
• Data
• People
• Things
 Questionnaire Method
• Questionnaires
– Employees answer questions about
the job’s tasks and responsibilities
– Each question is answered using a
scale that rates the importance of
each task
 Questionnaire Method
• Information source • Advantages
– Quick and efficient
– Have employees way to gather
fill out information from large
questionnaires to numbers of employees
describe their job- in a short time
related duties and – All employees
participate
responsibilities.
• Disadvantages
• Questionnaire – Expense and time
formats consumed in preparing
and testing the
– Opened-ended
questionnaire
questions
– Cannot be the sole
source of gathering
information
Methods of Job Analysis
• Questionnaires (ctnd.)
– Position Analysis Questionnaire
(PAQ)
• A structured, behavioral questionnaire
• 194 items in 6 categories
– Information input
– Mental processes
– Work output
– Relationships
– Job context
– Other characteristics
 Quantitative Job Analysis
Techniques
(Questionnaire Method)

• The position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)

– A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data
concerning the duties and responsibilities of
various jobs.-194 items- six major divisions
– PAQ permits management to scientifically and
quantitatively group interrelated job elements
into job dimensions.

• The management position description

questionnaire (MPDQ)
– Is a highly structured questionnaire with 274
items-15 sections related to management
responsibilities.
Functional job
analysis(FJA)
– Is a worker oriented job analytical
approach which tries to describe the
whole person on the job.
– Five steps- Organizational goal, Tasks,
analysis of tasks, performance standards
and training module
– Frequently used by government jobs.
– Results are helpful in fixing wage rates
and developing employee succession
 Diary Method(Diaries or logs for
daily activity)

• Information source • Advantages

– Workers keep a – Produces a more
chronological diary/ complete picture of
log of what they do the job
and the time spent in
– Employee participation
each activity.

• Disadvantages
– Distortion of
information
– Depends upon
employees to
accurately recall their
activities
 Diary Method
• Diary Method
– Employees record information into
diaries of their daily tasks
• Record the time it takes to complete
tasks
– Must be over a period of several
weeks or months
Technical Conference
Method
• Information source • Advantages
– Experts ,senior job
– Data collected from
incumbents supervisors
in every domain supervisors who
have detailed
• Format used knowledge about the
– Discussion ,interview or job
conference with
experts
• Disadvantages
– Actual job holders
not involved
therefore method
lacks accuracy
• Technical Conference Method
– Uses experts to gather information
about job characteristics
 Critical Incidents

• Qualitative Disadvantage:
approach
• Lengthy process
• Behaviorally
focused
• Dissimilarities of
descriptions the incidents of
• The analyst should behavior can
have analytical cause difficulty
skills to transform in classifying
the content into data
statement
Methods of Job Analysis
• CIT steps
– Brainstorm and create lists of
dimensions of job behaviors
– List examples of effective and
ineffective behavior for each
dimension
– Form a group consensus on
whether each incident is
appropriately categorized
– Rate each incident according to its
value to the company
Methods of Job Analysis
• Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
– Takes past incidents of good and
bad behavior
– Organizes incidents into categories
that match the job they are related
to
• Involves 4 steps
Checklist Method
• Information source • Advantages
– Have employees – Useful in large
fill out firms with large
questionnaires in number of people
checklist format assigned to one
• Checklist formats particular job.
– Structured
checklists • Disadvantages
– Employees cant
write additional
information
 New Views on Job Analysis

• Competency-Based Job Analysis

Links business strategies to individual performance.
Skill and attitude based competencies

measurable and observable behavior.

For example – requiring a software engineer to design a

complex software programme.

The competency approach to job analysis encourages

employees to develop Role based competencies.

– Identify the observable performance dimensions that differentiate

effective from ineffective employees
Define the job’s critical success factors, which shoul be tied to
the organization’s objectives and strategy
Future-Oriented Strategic Job
Analysis (CRITICALLY COGNITIVELY
FOCUSED)
Identify the tasks, knowledge, skills,
& abilities that will be needed to
perform a job in the future
• Instead of describing how a job is today,
describe how it will be in the future
• Typically uses experts to help make
predictions of the future
• CTA(Cognative Task Analysis)-Keeping
the changing nature of jobs in mind ,the
need to process work in teams
Preparation of Job
description(functions
duties,responsibilities and operations)
• Job Title – Tells about the job title , code
no. and department where it is done.
• Job Summary – Brief write-up
• Job Activities – Description of tasks done ,
facilities used , extent of supervisory help.
• Working conditions – Physical environment
• Social Environment – Size of work group or
interpersonal interactions
Potential problems with
Job Descriptions
• Sometimes job descriptions are not update
• They can limit the scope of activities of the job
holder.
• It is not easy to reduce all the essential
components of job in the form of a clear and
precise document.
• Lacking in sufficient details and
comprehensiveness.
• Perceived to be inaccurate
• Not structured well
• Job is perceived to “escape definition” or it
changes too often.
Preparation of Job
specification
• Conversion of a job description
statements into a job
specification.
• Written statement of personal
attributes in terms of
traits,skills,training and
experience.
THANK YOU