Job Analysis and Design

• NATURE & USES

• STEPS
• METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION
• WRITING JOB DESCRIPTIONS
• EMPLOYMENT PLANNING & FORECASTING
 What is Job?

A JOB is a pattern of Tasks, Duties and Responsibilities that can be done by a person.

 A task is a single unit of work - an action to accomplish in a project, a single step in a multi-step project. A task is
accomplished by a set deadline, and must contribute toward work-related objectives.

 A duty (also called an obligation) is something that a citizen is required to do, by law. Example: obeying laws,
paying taxes.

 Responsibilities means the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's
power, control, or management.
 Human Resource Information System - HRIS

A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is a software or online solution that is used for data entry of jobs,
data tracking and the data information requirements of an organization's human resources (HR) management, payroll and
bookkeeping operations. A HRIS is usually offered as a database. The resulting aggregation of data about a company’s
jobs, when organized into useful and accessible information, forms a cornerstone of a firm’s Human Resource
Information System (HRIS).

A study of 568 firms found that 74% use computers to track job applicants, suggesting that those who seek a career in
HR management need computerized, data management skills.
 Job Analysis & Job Analysis Information

Job analysis in human resource management (HRM) refers to the process of identifying and determining the duties,
responsibilities, and specifications of a given job. It encompasses the collection of data required to put together a job
description that will attract the right person to fill in the role. Job analysis in HRM helps establish the level of
experience, qualifications, skills and knowledge needed to perform a job successfully.

Job analysis is the basis for job description, job specification, job evaluation and performance appraisal. Such
information enables the management to know what an employee is expected to do on the job. Such knowledge serves as
a basis for meaningful forecast of job performance.
 Uses of Job Analysis

 1. Organizational Design: Authority, Responsibility, Accountability.

 2. Manpower Planning: Future job requirement, Skill Requirements.
 3. Procurement of Manpower: Matching job requirement and skills.
 4. Orientation: Expectations to perform a given job more effectively.
 5. Performance Appraisal: Performance standards, Review of perfor­mance.
 6. Training and Development: Updating skills, changing job requirements.
 7. Job Design: Engineering the design, methods improve­ment, man-machine system.
 8. Job Evaluation: Classification of jobs, salary structure.
 9. Career planning and counseling: Future prospects, vocational guidance reha­bilitation.
 10. Labour Relations: Helpful to resolve disputes relating to work load, work procedure etc.
 Job Analysis and Information

Major Human Resource Management Actions that rely on Job Analysis Information

 Evaluate – how environmental challenges affect individual job.

 Eliminate – unneeded job requirements that can cause discrimination in employment.
 Discover – job elements that help or hinder the quality of work life.
 Plan - for future human resources requirement .
 Match - Job applicants and job openings.
 Determine – training needs for new and experienced employees.
 Create – plan to develop employee potentials.
 Set – realistic performance standards.
 Place – employees in jobs that use their skills effectively.
 Compensate – jobholders fairly
 Job Analysis Activities?

The job analysis may include the following activities:

1. Reviewing the job responsibilities of current employees.
Frequently, HR and management (especially senior management) have no idea what encompasses the day to day
functions of any particular job. They may see the output but they have no idea what work actions and behaviors go into
the employee producing it.
If you're asked to list your current responsibilities for a job analysis, be thorough with the information you provide. Don't
just say you “produce monthly reports.” Say, that you “gather the data from six different departments, check the data
for accuracy using a custom designed Access tool that I created and maintain, and etc, etc, etc.” If you leave off the
details, they may think that your report is generated by a button that you push once a month to produce.
Make certain that you have described your daily duties in sufficient detail so that your organization is able to hire a
qualified new employee who has the capacity to do the job correctly.
2. Doing internet research and viewing sample job descriptions online or offline highlighting similar
jobs.

While you never want to copy another company's job description, looking at several is helpful in writing your own job
descriptions.
You can find sample job descriptions by searching for “[Job Title] Sample Description” or you can look at job postings
for positions companies are currently hiring. You can also look at LinkedIn to see how people describe their
accomplishments in a job.
You can also see the job descriptions that are listed on such sites as Salary.com. All of this searching can help you
figure out how to word the job analysis and help remind you of tasks and responsibilities that you may have forgotten.
3. Analyzing the work duties, tasks, and responsibilities that the employee filling the position needs
to accomplish.
Not every job within a company is optimized. You may find duties that are undone or projects that you should move
from one department to another. You may discover tasks that another job would more successfully and easily
accomplish.

When you're doing a job analysis, make sure you look at the needs of the company and at any unassigned or illogical
responsibility. Then, work with management to add the proper tasks to the proper job analysis.
4. Researching and sharing with other companies that have similar jobs.

Sometimes companies will happily share information about their job descriptions. There are also salary survey
companies, where you can match up your jobs to their descriptions and share salary information. But, they can also help
you figure out what to include in your own job descriptions.
5. Articulate the most important outcomes or contributions needed from the
position.
Sometimes you get so caught up in the tasks that you forgot to look at the needed outcomes. For instance, if it's the
report that is needed, all the gathering and auditing of data is worthless without the final analysis and report.
Sometimes, you can identify holes in your organization and figure out a way to fill them by doing job analyses. Tasks
are not assigned to any employee that need to be done, for example. Or, one job has more tasks than any one person
could accomplish.
The more information you can gather, the easier you will find the actual writing of the job description. You don't need
to worry about pretty language. You want a functional job description more than anything else. Make sure it is clear
and concise. Ask yourself, “If somebody else read this, would they know what the person in this position actually
does?”
 To Do List for Job Analysis Information

Steps:
 Identify the jobs to be analyzed : Different jobs and classifications.
 Develop a job analysis Questionnaire: Status and Identifications, Duties and responsibilities, Human
characteristics and working conditions, Performance Standards.
 Collect job Data through: Interviews, Panel of Experts, Mail Questionnaire, Employee Log/ Diary
with tasks summery.
What is job identification?

Job identification collects the specific description of a position, along with skills required to perform the
individual tasks of the position into a document. This process is used at the outset of the recruiting process
to define when a new position is need and to outline what the position entails. Following the identification
of a job need, the job description and requirements are written, the job is assigned a compensation level,
and approval from the finance department may be required.
What is job analysis questionnaire?

Position analysis questionnaire is a job analysis questionnaire that evaluates job classifications and create job
descriptions, job skill level and basic characteristics of applicants for a set match of employment opportunity. It is not
used to evaluate performance, but rather to relate the duties performed, decisions made, and the skills needed.
Data Collection Methods
(i) Observational method,
(ii) Interviews,
(iii) Questionnaire,
(iv) Checklists,
(v) Technical conferences/ Panel Expert
(vi) Employee log / Diary
(vii) A combination of these approaches may be used depending upon the situation and the organization.
Observation
In this method, the job analyst carefully observes the job holder at work and records what he or she does, how he or she
does, and how much time is needed for completion of a given task. This method has both positive as well as negative
sides. On the positive side, the method is simple, and the data collected are accurate because of direct observation. On
the flip side, it may be told that the method is time consuming and inapplicable to jobs which involve high proportions
of unobservable mental activities and those which do not have complete and easily observable job cycles.
The analyst needs to be trained to carefully observe and record the competence of a job incumbent. And training means
additional cost. Considering all these, the observation method may be used for analyzing repetitive, short-cycle,
unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. Better results will be available when the observation method is used along with other
method(s) of job analysis.
Interview
In this, the analyst interviews the job holder and his/her supervisor to elicit information about the job. Usually, a
structured interview form is used to record the information. During the interview, the analyst must make judgements
about the information to be included and its degree of importance.
The interview method is time consuming. The time problem will be compounded if the interviewer talks with two or
more employees doing the same job. Furthermore, professional and managerial jobs are more complicated to analyze
and usually require a longer interview. Then, there ts the problem of bias. Bias on the part of the analyst and the job
holder may cloud the accuracy and objectivity of the data obtained. The interview method has one positive feature, that
is, it involves talking to the job holders who are in a good position to describe what they do, as well as the
qualifications needed to perform their duties in a competent manner.
The effectiveness of the interview method depends on the interviewer and on the ability of the job holder to make
meaningful responses.
Questionnaire
Job holders fill in the given structured questionnaires, which are then approved by their supervisors. The filled-in
questionnaires offer enough data on jobs. Standard questionnaires are available or they may be prepared for the
purpose by the analysts. Standard or prepared, questionnaires should contain the following basic information:
1. The job title of the job holder;
2. The job title of the job holder’s manager or supervisor;
3. The job titles and numbers of the staff reporting to the job holder (best recorded by means of an organization chart);
4. A brief description (one or two sentences) of the overall role or purpose of the job; and
5. A list of the main tasks or duties that the job holder has to carry out; as appropriate, these should specify the
resources controlled, the equipment used, the contracts made and the frequency with which the tasks are carried out.
Questionnaires advantages
The questionnaires method has its own advantages and limitations. The major advantage of the questionnaire method is
that information on a large number of jobs can be collected in a relatively short period of time. But some follow-up
observations and discussions are necessary to clarify inadequately filled-in questionnaires and interpretation problems.
Further, the questionnaire method helps save time and the staff required to carry out the programme. Finally, all the job
holders participate in the method unlike in an interview where one or two workers only would participate.
Checklists
A checklist is similar to a questionnaire, but the response sheet contains fewer subjective judgements and tends to be either-yes-
or-no variety. Checklists can cover as many as 100 activities and job holders tick only those tasks that are included in their jobs.
Preparation of a checklist is a challenging job. The specialists who prepare the list must collect all relevant information about
the job concerned. Such information can be obtained by asking supervisors, industrial engineers, and others familiar with the
work.

When a checklist has been prepared for a job, it is sent to the job holder. The job holder is asked to check all listed tasks that
he/she performs and indicate the amount of time spent on each task as well as the training and experience required to be
proficient in each task. He/she may also be asked to write any additional tasks he/she performs which is not stated in the
checklist.
Advantage of Checklist
One advantage of the checklist method is that it is useful in large firms that have a large number of people assigned to
one particular job. Also, this technique is amenable to tabulation and recording on electronic data-processing
equipment. The technique, however, is costly and, hence, not suitable for small firms.
Technical Conference Method
In this method, services of supervisors who possess extensive knowledge about a job are used. It is from these experts
that details about the job are obtained. Here, a conference of supervisors is used. The analyst initiates discussion which
provides details about jobs. Though a good method of data collection, this method lacks accuracy because the actual
job holders are not involved in collecting information.
Diary Method
This method requires the job holders to record in detail their activities each day. If done faithfully, this
technique is accurate and eliminates errors caused by memory lapses the job holder makes while answering
questionnaires and checklists. This method, however, is time consuming because the recording of tasks
may have to be spread over a number of days. It also engages considerable time of a production worker.
No wonder, the diary method is not used much in practice.
 Applications of Job Analysis Information

 Job Descriptions : Job Summery and Duties, Working conditions.

 Job Specification: Describes the job demands on the employees.

 Job Performance Standards: Target the employee effort and set criteria against which job
success is measured
 Job description

A job description or JD is a written narrative that describes the general tasks, or other related duties, and
responsibilities of a position. A job description should include important company details — company
mission, culture and any benefits it provides to employees. It may also specify to whom the position reports
and salary range.

An effective job description will provide enough detail for candidates to determine if they’re qualified for
the position.
How to Write a Job Description

 Job Title. Make your job titles specific.

 Job Summary. Open with a strong, attention-grabbing summary.
 Responsibilities and Duties. Outline the core responsibilities of the position.
 Qualifications and Skills. Include a list of hard and soft skills.
 Job Specification

A job specification defines the knowledge, skills and abilities that are required to perform a job in an
organization. Job specification covers aspects like education, work-experience, managerial experience etc which
can help accomplish the goals related to the job.

The importance and purpose of job specification is a thoroughly understand the specific details of a job. Jobs
can be of different types and can require a different skill sets to get the maximum output from a particular. Job
specification gives important details related to the job like education & skills, prior work experience,
managerial experience, personality traits etc which would help an employee accomplish the objectives of a job.
 What is Job Performance Standards:

Performance standards describe the accepted level of performance by an employee on the job. They are
based on the position, not the individual. They describe the specific indicators of success for each skill
within a competency map. They illustrate “what a good job looks like”.
They are the observable behaviors and actions which explain how the job is to be done, plus the results that
are expected for satisfactory job performance. They tell the employee what a good job looks like. The
purpose of performance standards is to communicate expectations.
What are the benefits of performance standards?

 Provide a means for employers to measure job performance and productivity for each
skill.
 Present employees with specific performance expectations for each skill.
 Ensure a fair evaluation of all employees doing the same job tasks.
 Encourage communication between the supervisor and the employee.
 Promote a common understanding by employers and employees about job
expectations.
 Job Design

The Job Design means outlining the task, duties, responsibilities, qualifications, methods and relationships
required to perform the given set of a job.

Job design is a core function of human resource management and it is related to the specification of
contents, methods and relationship of jobs in order to satisfy technological and organizational requirements
as well as the social and personal requirements of the job holder or the employee.
Job Simplification:
Breaking the job into relatively easier sub-parts with the intention to enhance the individual's productivity by
minimizing the physical and mental efforts required to perform a complex job.
Job Rotation:
Employees are moved from job to job for break the monotony, personal skill growth, increase the value of self image.
Job Enrichment:
Vertical loading. Adds new sources of satisfaction to jobs. “Plan , DO and Control”. Attempts to add more planning and
controlling responsibilities.
Job Enlargement:
Horizontal loading. Expands the number of related tasks in a job.
 How to Forecast a Firm's Demand for Employees

Determining the human resources required by an organization involves identifying the jobs, skills and
knowledge required by those jobs and the performance level of the current workforce. Using this data,
you can forecast hiring or reorganizing needs for both the short and long term. Forecasting methods
typically includes using past data to predict future staffing. Additionally, organizations can use survey,
benchmarking and modeling techniques to estimate workforce staffing numbers. Use several methods and
cross-check your findings to obtain the most accurate results.
Demand forecasting is the process in which a business predicts the number and type of employees it requires in the
future. Small businesses undertake demand forecasting to effectively meet business objectives, such as to increase
production. The two general approaches to demand forecasting include statistical and judgmental methods. The most
effective way of forecasting a firm’s demand for employees entails taking a multidimensional approach. This entails
using both statistical and judgmental methods of forecasting to come to accurate conclusions.
1. Analyze your work operations. Conduct a detailed job analysis for each function in your company and list the
policies and procedures required to complete each task. Document the standard output per hour per person.
Determine the desired level of output in order to calculate the number of people you need to produce that volume of
operations.

2. Conduct a series of online surveys using the Delphi technique--asking several experts in your organization their
opinion on forecasting needs based on their experience managing the employees in your organization who directly
contribute to the creation of products or services. Experts typically do not share their opinions with each other.
Create and distribute your survey using a tool such as Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics to gather your data.
Examine the input and prepare a forecast. Send the forecast to the original participants to get their new input. Repeat
the survey process until all participants reach consensus that the forecast appears accurate.
3. Use calculators available from the Society of Human Resource Management website (see Resources) to calculate metrics
such as the “average length of service” and “90-day turnover” rates based on your current human resources data. Use this
information to help predict future staffing needs.

4. Read reports available from the Department of Commerce on workforce planning needs to help you learn about trends and
forecast your budget for hiring, training and paying staff required to compete in a global marketplace. For example, the
Department of Defense estimates it spends about $250 annually to support workforce foreign language needs.

5. Document your forecasting process and follow it consistently throughout your company so that all managers align their
forecast to your strategic direction, identify skill gaps, create action plans to address shortages, implement plans to hire and
retain skilled personnel and evaluate forecasts on an ongoing basis. Using this model, you can more accurately guide workforce
planning efforts for all skill areas such as information technology and knowledge management.
The following are the benefits of job analysis.