What is job analysis?

Conducting A Job Analysis

Job analysis a formal process of gathering information concerning a particular occupation or task within an organization. The job analysis is a systematic investigation of the tasks, duties and responsibilities necessary to perform a job. The purpose of the analysis is to determine the duties and skill requirements necessary to perform a job and the type of person who best fits the requirements of the job. The job analysis will take into account a variety of requirements including personal traits and characteristics that the applicant will need to possess (Brannick, Levine, & Morgeson, 2007). From this analysis, formal job descriptions and job specifications can be created.

There are a variety of ways to perform a job analysis and while these methods vary, they all include a basic step by step process. The following steps show a basic method of conducting a job analysis (Brannick, Levine, & Morgeson, 2007).

Step 1: Identify the purpose of job analysis. By identifying the purpose in the analysis this will help form the method of analysis as well as what data must be collected.

Step 2: Select the analysts or the individual who will conduct the analysis. Often these individuals will be chosen from the human resources department in an organization but in smaller companies managers or consultants will be used.

Step 3: Select the appropriate analysis method. The analyst will need to review job descriptions, production charts, background information about the job, and any other information that may relate to the particular job. The analyst may need to choose several people in similar positions in order to develop analysis methods.

Step 4: Make sure that the analyst understands the methods being used to analyze the job. This will help to avoid bias in the analysis process.

Step 5: Communicate the project to members of the organization. By communicating the project members understand the process and are more likely to participate in the analysis in an honest way.

Step 6: Perform the analysis by using the chosen method and collecting data. This data will encompass “job activities, employee behaviors, working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job…”

Step 7: Review, verify, and consolidate the results in order to have a clear picture of the results. This allows the analyst to make sure that the information concerning the job is accurate.

Step 8: Develop a job description and job specification. The job description will contain the description of the job activities and responsibilities, working conditions, and safety. The job specification will contain the description of the personal qualities, traits, skills, and background required for the position.

Job analysis has many benefits such as being able to fit the right people to the right job. The analysis process also allows the company to understand any problems associated with a position and if a particular job is too difficult or too easy (Fine & Cronshaw, 1999). The job analysis is also extremely beneficial for developing the expectations of the job and this can help to develop performance management techniques (Jerome, 2010). There are two major disadvantages to performing job analysis. The first disadvantage is cost. The process can be time consuming and expensive. Many companies cannot afford to put this form of cost into the job analysis. The second major disadvantage is that the analysis process is that it can be overthought and produce results that are not realistic (Fine & Cronshaw, 1999). By overthinking a particular job this can produce job descriptions and requirements that are not necessary for the job being studied.

References

Brannick MT, Levine EL, Morgeson FP. 2007. Job analysis — methods, research and applications for human resource management. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage.

Fine SA, Cronshaw SF. 1999. Functional job analysis — a foundation for human resource management. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.

Jerome, P.J. (2010). Performance management tools. Retrieved from http://hr.ucsb.edu/forms/pdf/Performance_Management_Tools.pdf

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