HRMLecture 5:Job AnalysisInstructor: Shawn Komar, PhDOffice: P2022Office Hours: Mon & Wed, 2:30-3:30Email: skomar@wlu.ca

What is a job?

Group of related activities and duties

“natural units of work”

Job Analysis• Job analysis:• Formal procedure to determine• Tasks, duties & responsibilities of a job• Human attributes (KSAs) required to

perform job

Job Analysis•…is not just a procedure that HR people

use

•…it is a TOOL that should serve a specific organizational goal(s)

Job Analysis• Job analysis informs:• Job descriptions• Job specification• Compensation• Training needs• HR planning• Criteria for performance appraisals• Classification of jobs (unionized workplace)•…what else?

What the job entails

The human requirements for the job

Purolator (2006)• Employed 11,600 Canadians• Workers compensation bill came in at $13 billion (!)• 90% of compensation claims come from two jobs: couriers

and sorters• These jobs require constant lifting, hauling, pushing, and

pulling• Leads to soft tissue, orthopedic, and joint injuries

• They conducted job analysis for the 25 jobs where most of the injuries were occurring• “Early and safe back-to-work” initiative• Reduced lost day severity, total number of lost days, and

number of modified or accommodated days

Other Purposes for a Job Analysis

• Another organization used job analysis to assist employees with career planning. How?

• Another used job analysis to increase employee performance and decrease stress. How?

• Another organization used job analysis to ensure that their hiring practices weren’t discriminating on the basis of prohibited grounds. How?

Why Do a Job Analysis?• If an organization didn’t do (or didn’t

use) a job analysis, what would happen?•What would their hiring, compensation,

planning, training, managing, etc., look like?

Job Analysis Steps 1. Relevant organizational information is

reviewed2. Jobs are selected to be analyzed3. Collect data 4. Verify and modify data as needed5. Develop job descriptions and job

specifications6. Communicate and update information as

needed

Job Analysis Steps 1. Determine the strategy, goals and priorities of

the organization, and then decide if job analysis is needed to serve those goals

2. Relevant organizational information is reviewed3. Jobs are selected to be analyzed4. Collect data 5. Verify and modify data as needed6. Develop job descriptions and job specifications7. Communicate and update information as needed

1. Determine if JA is needed• JA requires significant resources (time, money). Is it needed?• Think about the purpose that it will serve. Is a job analysis a

good way to achieve that purpose?

• Important considerations/practical trade-offs• Quality of the analysis: how rigorous does the data

collection need to be?• Cost: how much is the organization willing or able to spend?• Resources: does the HR staff have the necessary time

and/or the expertise? Do employees and managers have the necessary time?• Legal defensibility: does the organization anticipate legal

challenges to its HR practices?

2. Review Organizational Information The choice of what information to review (e.g., organizational chart) should relate to the purpose of the job analysis

3. Choose the Jobs to be AnalyzedThe choice of which job to analyze should relate back to the purpose of the job analysis. Choice could be based on:• Jobs that are critical to the success of the

organization • Jobs that are difficult to learn to perform (training)• Jobs in which the firm continuously hires new

employees• Jobs that exclude members of protected groups• Jobs that have significantly changed (e.g., use new

technology, work environment has changed, job demands have changed, etc.)

4. Determine Data to Collect• Examples:• Tasks (work operations used to carry out a duty)

•Duties (major subdivision of work)

•Responsibilities (accountability)

•Human characteristics (skills, abilities, training, etc.)

•Working conditions •Performance standards

Top Hat Question

4. Determine Approach

Traditional Job Analysis

• Collect detailed information on tasks, duties, responsibilities and human characteristics required for the job

Competency-based Job Analysis

• Describe the job in terms of the knowledge, skills and abilities that an employee doing that job must be able to do well

• Organizations develop competency models by choosing competencies that are believed to be critical for the organization to execute its strategy

• The model is then used to assess the degree to each job requires each competency

Competency-based JA: ExampleCompetencies: Engineer ManagerTechnical Expertise High Medium

Problem-solving Medium High

Creativity Medium High

Communication Skills High High

Organization Skills Medium High

Leadership Low High

Schwind et al. (2013)

Top Hat Question

4. Determine Data Collection MethodsJob Analysis Methods

Pro Con

Observational Methods

Don’t need to rely on recall Can’t observe mental activities

Individual interviews

More detailed info (can ask follow-up questions)

May not know some aspects of the job (things that have been highly routinized)

Group interviews Achieve a shared view of the job

Group processes can bias results (e.g., groupthink)

Questionnaires Can assess reliability across ratersStandardized, well-researchedOr can be customized

Can include hundred of questions that can overwhelm respondents and lead to inaccuracy

NOC and O*NET Theoretical foundation and easy to use classification system

May be too general and could be out-of-date

Morgeson & Dierdorff (2011)

4. Determine Data SourceThe choice of who to survey should relate back to the purpose for the job analysis.

•Which job incumbents should be surveyed?•Which supervisors/managers should be

surveyed?•What important stakeholders need to be

included?

Is Job Analysis Relevant in the 20th Century?

• Is JA relevant for “boundary-less” and “de-jobbed” organizations where employees are “expected to seamlessly move from job to job”?

Next Class• Job design