Job Analysis, Design and Evaluation in Clinical

ResearchByDr Anjali Bansal

anjalibansal@gmail.com

Agenda

The need Job Analysis Job Design Job analysis and design in clinical

research Job Evaluation Job Evaluation in clinical research Summary

The need

To get the right person with the right skills at the right place and cost Requires understanding of the types, expectations,

deliverables, interdependence and criticality of different jobs

Job analysis, design and evaluation helps design/redesign an organisation structure to meet the goals without involving worker personalities

Is required to involve management in defining result oriented job definitions The methodology involves extensive surveys and

interactions with management and employees

What is Job Analysis?

It differentiates one job from all others in an organisation

Involves recording and defining information about each specific job

Various job aspects are analysed and recorded Tasks involved

Type, frequency, duration Skill sets required to perform the job

Physical, mental, motor Knowledge required to perform the job

Functional, technical, managerial Tools and equipment required to perform the job

Protective clothing, eyewear, gloves, etc

Job Analysis focuses on the job The Job; not the person

An important concept of Job Analysis is that the analysis is conducted of the Job, not the person.

the product of the analysis is a description or specifications of the job, not a description of the person.

JOB ANALYSIS

The process gives two sets of data Job description Job specification Right fit between the two is required.

Job description

Tasks and responsibilities Job title Duties Machines Tools and equipment Working conditions and hazards.

Job specification

The capabilities the job holder should possess Education Experience Skills Training

Process of job analysis

Strategic choices Gather information Process information Job description Job specification

Strategic choices

Employee involvement The level of details

Nature of job Purpose of analysis

When and how often New job New company Job is changed New remuneration plan

Information gathering

Observation Interview Questionnaires Checklists Technical conference Diary method

How is Job Analysis done? Various methods are deployed simultaneously

Observation of employees performing a job, e.g time and motion studies

Interviews with employees or groups Interviews with superiors and subordinates to a job

position Timesheet and activity sheets where employees record

all the activities performed by them Record work functions performed and difficulty in

performing in relation to type of data handling Type of people handling Type of communication/decision making Type of equipment/tools handling

Information gathering

Persons Trained job analyst Supervisors Job incumbents

Processing information

Job description Job specifications

Purpose of job analysis

Human resource planning Recruitment and selection Training and development Job evaluation Remuneration Performance appraisal Personnel information Safety and health( heat, noise, fumes,

dust)

Job Analysis Matrix

Job Design

Job design overview

What is job design? Elements of job design Five core job characteristics Approaches to job design Tools of job design Current trends summary

What is Job Design?

Is the process of structuring work and designation of activities at specific individual or group levels to maximise performance

It is a conscious effort to organise tasks, duties and responsiblitiess into a unit of work to achieve certain objectives.

Job analysis

It determines Job content/scope

Responsibility Tasks to be performed Relationship with other jobs

Job depth Scope of decision making Level of satisfaction Level of authority in making decisions

Elements of job design

Task analysis What tasks will be done How each task will be done How the tasks fit together to form a job

Worker analysis Capabilities the worker must possess Responsibilities the worker will have

Factors involved in Job Design Degree of specialisation

Overspecialisation may lead to increased efficiency but lower motivation, less social interaction between employees, alienation from job due to repetitive tasks

Skill variety Task identity

if job requires completion of a task by the employee, the employee can identify with a completed task

Task significance for others and organisation Degree of Autonomy to the job holder Feedback

Whether objective feedback on performance will be given to employee or not

Factors affecting job design Organizational factors

Characteristics of task Work flow Ergonomics-designing jobs to fit the

physical abilities and characteristics of individuals so that they can perform the job more effectively

Work practices

Factors affecting job design Environmental factors

Employee abilities and availability Social and cultural expectations

Behavioural factors Feedback_work on complete product or on a

significant part of it. Autonomy_being responsible for what one

does Use of abilities they value variety

Job design affects motivation Motivation personal score

Job design aims to: Decrease job dissatisfaction Increase productivity by offering non-monetary

awards such as recognition and responsibility Reduce work stress Align job goals with organisation goals to increase

competitiveness

MPS =MPS =skill variety + task identify + task significanceskill variety + task identify + task significance

33x autonomy x feedbackx autonomy x feedback

Techniques of Job Design

JOBDESIGNJOBDESIGN

Job Job EngineeringEngineering

Job Job EngineeringEngineeringJob Job

EnrichmentEnrichment

Job Job EnrichmentEnrichment

Job Job EnlargementEnlargement

Job Job EnlargementEnlargement

Job Job RotationRotation

Job Job RotationRotation

Job Job SimplificationSimplification

Job Job SimplificationSimplification

Quality of Quality of Work LifeWork Life

Quality of Quality of Work LifeWork Life

Scientific managementBehavioral approach

Social technical system

Scientific management

Job engg Focuses on the tasks to be performed, methods used,

workflows among employees, layout of the workplace, interdependencies among people and machines

Specialisation of labour is hallmark of job engineering. Job simplification

higher productivity through reduced physical and/or mental effort

Advantages of specialization Simplifies training High productivity Low wage costs

Disadvantages of specialization Difficult to motivate quality Worker dissatisfaction

Behavioral approach Job enlargement

add larger variety of tasks to reduce monotony Increase scope Does not necessarily add/increase challenge

Job rotation to provide exposure to different skills Reduces boredom, Broadens experiences However,

Increased training costs Reduced productivity Demotivates specialists

Job enrichment higher responsibility, authority and control on the job Lower staff turnover Less absenteeism

Social technical system

Quality of work life participation in decision making, technology interface,

overall climate

Job should be reasonably demanding Employee should be able to continue

learning on the job Employees need recognition in work

place Employees need to relate what they

produce to their social life

Current trends

Flexitime Compressed workweek Job sharing telecommuting

Job Design & organization goals Job designing can help organization find

the most efficient way to operate Job design can improve the quality of

work life and satisfaction for employees This leads to a smoother running and

more profitable business

Job analysis and design in CR A Wide variety of activities are involved

in CR Protocols writing Clinical Trial Materials logistics Selection of sites, investigators, Labs Training of investigators, Investigators’

meet Obtaining regulatory approvals Monitoring of studies, ensuring reliable &

regular capture of correct data Ensuring compliance with protocol

Job Analysis and Design in CR To identify tasks involved, skills sets required

for each job To structure work in different job levels To prevent monotony of work To orient job goals with task achievement To ensure checks and balances and prevent

short cuts – authority and control To provide career paths to employees with

different skills – pharmacists, graduates, statisticians, doctors, MBAs

Variety of career pathways are possible in CR jobs Project Management Site management Contract management Data management Clinical Bio-analytical Laboratory Bio-statistics Quality Pharmaco-vigilance Medical writing Regulatory Business Development

Example of Job analysis and Job design options in CR Clinical research associate

Job may be restricted to collecting data once the trial has been set up by a medical adviser

Or may involve participating with a doctor in designing trial and protocol as well as writing reports after data has been collected

Clinical Data Manager May be restricted to ensuring that the data

collected is submitted to the database Or the Job maybe enlarged/enriched if he/she needs

to ensure completeness/consistency of data to meet regulatory requirements, designing data sheets and training CRAs

Implications of Job design Defines the type of employees that need to

be hired Skill sets, experience levels, knowledge levels

Supply and demand for employees must be analysed by HR manager

Varies for size of the organisation Large organisation will require a large pool of highly

specialised jobs and a pool of multi-skilled managers at the top

Small organisation will tend to have flexible and multi-skill jobs at most levels

Cost implications of job design

Job Evaluation

What is Job Evaluation?

Process of systematically determining a relative internal value of a job in an organization

Idea is to evaluate the job, not the person doing it

Job Evaluation is required for determining: Remuneration levels HR planning Recruitment and selection Training and development focus

How is Job Evaluation Done? Job Ranking

The different jobs, depending upon their requirements, responsibilities involved and their importance to the organization are ranked, graded or placed from top to bottom

Job Classification Jobs are classified or graded in groups or levels of equal

skill, difficulty, responsibility, importance and requirements. Classes or grades are defined to describe a group of jobs

Points Method Jobs are expressed in terms of key factors. Points are

assigned to each factor after prioritizing each factor in the order of importance. The points are summed up to determine the wage rate for the job. Jobs with similar point totals are placed in similar pay grades

Job ranking

Simplest method jobs are arranged from highest to

lowest, in order of their value or merit to the organization. Jobs also can be arranged according to the relative difficulty in performing them.

jobs are examined as a whole rather than on the basis of important factors in the job;

Job ranking

the job at the top of the list has the highest value and obviously the job at the bottom of the list will have the lowest value.

it is best suited for a small organization.

Job ranking disadvantages Ranking is highly subjective In large organizations rankings are

difficult to develop

Job classification

a predetermined number of job groups or job classes are established and jobs are assigned to these classifications

This method places groups of jobs into job classes or job grades.

Separate classes may include office, clerical, managerial, personnel, etc

Job classification eg

  Class I – Executives Class II - Skilled workers Class III - Semiskilled workers Class IV - unskilled workers

Job classification

Less subjective Easy to understand Takes into account all the factors that a

job comprises

How is Job Evaluation Done? Factor Comparison method

More complex but consistent and appreciable

Each job is ranked according to a series of factors Skill (the experience, training, ability, and education ) Mental effort (problem solving, repetitive work) Physical effort Responsibility (size, supervision, scope) Working conditions

Pay is then assigned by comparing the weights of the factors required for each job

Factor comparison merits Analytical and objective. Reliable and valid as each job is

compared with all other jobs in terms of key factors.

Money values are assigned in a fair way based on an agreed rank order fixed by the job evaluation committee.

Factor comparison demerits Difficult to understand, explain and

operate. Its use of the same criteria to assess all

jobs is questionable as jobs differ across and within organizations.

Time consuming and costly.

Why is Job Evaluation important? Method should be carefully selected based on organisation

type – new, old, small, complex, multi-location, sunrise vs traditional industries, etc

Employees use comparative pay levels across jobs to judge the level of fairness in an organisation. Perceived unfairness is counterproductive

Costs of jobs compared to worth impacts the ability to achieve organisation goals Costs vs worth of a job impacts profitability A team leader’s ability to manage a team is high if the team

members perceive the leaders job to be higher value than theirs and low otherwise

Inter-departmental interactions have frictions if job evaluation is imperfect

Quality of job evaluation directly impacts ability to hire talent Pay scale Career path Non-monetary motivators

What makes a good Job Evaluation? Worth of superior vs subordinate jobs should not be

neither too close nor too far apart Too close leads to friction and far apart creates

alienation Quality of Job Design, which is input to Job Evaluation, is

crucial Job designs should be non-overlapping Different jobs should have either different key factors or

have distinctly different levels of factor importance on the same factor

Weightages and monetary value assigned to different job ranks or factors should be fair and logical Should be consistent with industry benchmarks Should be in line with criticality for the organisation

Job Evaluation in Clinical Research Many different job types contribute to the success of a

clinical research program, e.g. CRA, Medical advisor, Medical writer, data manager,

logistics manager, regulatory compliance manager, etc Criticality and cost of each job must be evaluated

Fair compensation levels should be designed Fair reporting relationships should be designed Intensive human interaction ability with suffering

patients should be properly valued Job with higher value should help, direct and enable

holders of jobs with lower value Work of holders of jobs of lower value should contribute

to the work of jobs with higher value Sense of fair worth at all levels is important for a multi-

disciplinary team in a CR to function effectively

To Summarise

Clinical Research organisations are: Large Multi-disciplinary Time and compliance critical service providers Highly process oriented where a series of sequential

tasks contribute to completion of a program Therefore,

Objective, detailed Job Analysis is essential Job Designs to create non-overlapping yet co-

creating and synergistic jobs is important for success

High levels of multi-disciplinary, multi-level team require that Job Evaluation is done systematically and is perceived to be fair

Thank you