JOB ANALYSIS & JOB DESIGN

The Basics of Job Analysis

Job analysis – The procedure for determining the duties and skill
requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired
for the job by collecting the following types of information: work
activities; human behaviors; machines, tools, equipment, and work
aids; performance standards; job context; and human
requirements.

Job description – A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting

relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities.

Job specification – A list of a job’s “human requirements”: the

requisite education, skills, knowledge, and so on.

A. Uses of Job Analysis Information

1. Recruitment and Selection – Job descriptions and job specifications

are formed from the information gathered from a job analysis,
which help management decide what sort of people to recruit and
hire.

2. Compensation – The estimated value and the appropriate

compensation for each job is determined from the information
gathered from a job analysis.

3. Training – Based on the job analysis, the job description should

show the job’s required activities and skills.

4. Performance Appraisal – Managers use job analysis to determine a

job’s specific activities and performance standards.

5. Discovering Unassigned Duties – Job analysis can help reveal

unassigned duties.
B. Steps in Job Analysis

1. Decide how the information will be used because that will

determine what data will be collected and how it should be
collected.

2. Review relevant background information, such as organization

charts, process charts, and job descriptions.

3. Select representative positions to analyze because there may be too

many similar jobs to analyze, and it may not be necessary to analyze
them all.

4. Analyze the job by collecting data on job activities, required

employee behaviors, working conditions, and human traits and
abilities needed to perform the job.

5. Verify the job analysis information with job incumbents and

supervisors to confirm that it is factually correct and complete.

Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information

An HR specialist (an HR specialist, job analyst, or consultant), an employee,

and the employee’s supervisor usually work together in conducting the job
analysis. In most manufacturing companies’ data is also collected through
the workers working in the shop floor. Job analysis data is usually collected
from employees and supervisors familiar with the job (subject matter
experts) using interviews and questionnaires. The data is then averaged,
taking into account the departmental context of the employees, to
determine how much time a typical employee spends on each of several
specific tasks. It is important to make sure that surveys and questions are
clear and understandable, and that respondents are observed and
questioned early in the process to allow time for adjustments, if needed.

The Interview

The three types of interviews managers use to collect job analysis data
are: individual (to get the employee’s perspective on the job’s duties
and responsibilities, group (when large numbers of employees perform
the same job), and supervisor (to get his/her perspective on the job’s
duties and responsibilities).
 1. Typical Questions – “What is the job being performed?” “In what
activities do you participate?” “What are the health and safety
conditions?”

2. Structured Interviews – You can also use a structured or

checklist format to guide the interview.

3. Pros & Cons – of using an interview are that it is: simple, quick,
and more comprehensive because the interviewer can unearth
activities that may never appear in written form. The main problem
is distortion, which may arise from the jobholder’s need to impress
the perceptions of others.

Questionnaires

Structured or unstructured questionnaires may be used to obtain job

analysis information. Questionnaires can be a quick, efficient way of
gathering information from a large number of employees. But,
developing and testing a questionnaire can be expensive and time
consuming.

Observation

Direct observations are useful when jobs consist of mainly observable

physical activity as opposed to mental activity. Reactivity can be a
problem with direct observations, which is where the worker changes
what he/she normally does because he/she is being watched.
Managers often use direct observation and interviewing together.

Participant Diary/Logs

The employee records every activity he/she engages in, in a diary or log
along with the amount of time to perform each activity to produce a
complete picture of the job. Pocket dictating machines can help remind
the worker to enter data at specific times, and eliminates the challenge
of trying to remember at a later time what was done.

Develop a job description and job specification from the information. Increasingly,
these steps are being streamlined through the use of collaboration software.
Job Description

Job description includes basic job-related data that is useful to advertise a specific job and
attract a pool of talent. It includes information such as job title, job location, reporting to and
of employees, job summary, nature and objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed,
working conditions, machines, tools and equipments to be used by a prospective worker and
hazards involved in it.

Purpose of Job Description

▪ The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise
for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right
candidate for the right job.
▪ It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what
employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
▪ It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular
department or division to perform a specific task or job.
▪ It also clarifies who will report to whom.

Job Specification

Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of

educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional,
technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a
job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health,
intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability,
flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

Purpose of Job Specification

▪ Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates to analyze
whether they are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
▪ It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of qualifications,
qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a candidate to make him or
her eligible for the job opening.
▪ Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job
responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and much
more.
▪ It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis. They define a job
fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of
recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit
between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and
measuring the worth of a particular job.

JOB DESIGN

Job design is the process of Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing
or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and
mechanistic tasks. Through job design, organizations try to raise productivity levels
by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of
personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of one's
work. Job enlargement, job enrichment, and job rotation, are the various techniques
used in a job design exercise.

Job Enlargement

Horizontal loading of job- expands the scope generally by combining more than one
job so more variety and wholeness.

• E.g. A driver is given additional tasks of computer data entry at office between
schedules (waiting)

Job Enrichment

It is the Vertical loading of job. The employee is responsible for the next step
processes as well. More responsibility within own function to set their own pace,
deciding their own methods, increasing their autonomy. E.g. A stores person directly
making his own dispatch plans

Job Rotation

The Employee is rotated from one job to another job to add variety. It breaks
monotony of performing highly specialized job by placing persons on different skills
& abilities. It also helps them acquire new skills.

E.g.: Let's say you are a junior executive at a multinational consulting firm on the fast
track. Your mentor and supervisor have just informed you that you have been
approved for the company's advance executive training program. You will spend the
next two years rotating from your home office to the headquarters in New York, to
the company's office in London, then onto Dubai, and finally onto Hong Kong before
returning to your home office. Your job responsibilities will change a bit at each office,
but you will basically still serve as a financial analyst. Upon your return, you will
receive an important promotion so long as the rotations are successful.