Human Resource Management

1
Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

Module 003 Staffing

Matching Employees and Jobs:
Job Analysis and Design

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Figure out a task that needs to be done and execute your own full
workflow
2. Identify the five major options available for the job analysis process.
3. State the formula to calculate the motivating potential of a given job

Employee and Job Matching

In the past lessons, we have discussed how it is important to keep the
employees motivated on his job to ensure satisfaction. Most employees who
have been working in the same organization for a long time claim that they
love their job and are happy with the organization they work for.
A mismatch is one of the reasons why employees hardly care if he comes to
work or not. His work does not challenge him; his work environment is not
conducive and does not exude any sense of belongingness. The big question
is- has it ever been? Did it just happen, or has it always been that way since
day 1?
Job Matching is the act of deploying the right person to the right job. It
requires a thorough understanding of the job and the person under
consideration.

Understanding the job Funny, it may seem, but some organizations may not
have been updating the job descriptions and specifications on their career
website for a long time. Some are too general that the candidates are not
filtered properly.
Let’s find out what information is needed to identify a specific job.
Think about the nature of the post that you are trying to filling in. Will it
require working in the office or fieldwork? How much travel is involved? The
compensation package should be specific. Will it be a salary or commission
only (salary and salary bonus, employee benefits, and incentives)? If the
employee that you need will be working away most of the time, you need
someone who is self-motivated and can work with less supervision.
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Posting a specific and detailed job description will enable you to achieve the
job match that is the key to a successful hunt.

Understanding the person We have previously identified that you still get
an insignificant response from your employees on some occasions regardless
of how much you have offered. Motivation must come from within. More and
more organizations have been spending a lot in getting motivational
speakers, providing perks and incentives that can make one drool to no avail.
Employees will definitely welcome all of these, including job promotions, but
none can make them stay.
The manager should establish a good relationship with his subordinates,
know them beyond their names, mingle with them to know what their needs
are and what makes them tick. It is like finding the right button to push.
It is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is hard to uncover what is within. It
requires more time and patience.
The first step in getting the right people for the job is identifying the job
needed to fill in and determine the qualifications needed to do the job. Then
we match employees to those jobs.
Prior to creating jobs, the organization starts by designing the flow of work.

Workflow: Progression of steps (tasks, events, interactions) that comprise a

work process, involves two or more persons and creates or adds value to the
organization's activities. In a sequential workflow, each step is dependent on
the occurrence of the previous step; in a parallel workflow, two or more
steps can occur concurrently.
In other words, it is a series of steps that one has to follow to get the work
done sequentially. It is usually presented as a diagram or checklist.
Below is an example of a workflow on how to withdraw cash from an ATM
Machine.
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Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

In the business world, workflows are way more complicated. To come up

with a single task done, it may involve a series of meetings, creating a
team/department, reports, and close monitoring to make sure that they are
as efficient as possible.
Having established a workflow, your employee, both tenured and new-hire,
will have a concrete basis of how a work should be done.

Workflow Analysis It is the tool in which organizations examine the

advancement of workflow and determine ways how it should be engineered
to improve efficiency. Areas like; bottlenecks, processes or task redundancy,
and inefficient workplace layouts were identified, among others, that need
improvement.
Workflow analysis is done backward. The end state of the process is the first
to be analyzed. We focus first on how we want the product to look like once
done. Then we think about how to come up with it- our resources or capital,
materials, manpower, and the machinery we need to achieve the end result.

In an organization, line management is the one responsible for mapping out

workflows while HR managers assist in identifying the tasks and the human
inputs needed to carry out the task so they can design appropriate
organizational systems like training, development and incentive
compensation systems to keep the human resource motivated and
efficient.

Job Analysis is definitely not an easy job assigned to HR. It is a process used
to determine job placement where it has to specify the various roles
pertinent to a position.

Why do we need to analyze jobs?

The human resource department is able to perform its functions once the job
is correctly analyzed.
• It helps in getting better results through job design.
• Evaluates how much the job is worth based on what it is consist of
• Determines whom to hire based on required skills
• Identifies the extent of skills to be honed
• Gauges employee performance based on what is required versus what is
executed.

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• Protects employees from job hazards and identifies protective equipment
needed for the employee to perform his tasks safely.

https://www.template.net/business/word-templates/job-analysis-template/
Retrieved June 20, 2018

Job description A concisely written job description defines the role, what
skills are required to implement the task, and where the role fits in an
organization. It is the basis to identify the right person for the role. It is the
employee’s basis of what is required from him, and at the same time, it is the
company's measure to hold the employee accountable if they are unable to
execute what is expected in the role.

Job Specification refers to the person's competence to perform the task as

indicated in the job description. It includes the exact educational degrees,
experience, skills, requirements for a role, common day-to-day tasks,
equipment or tools used, who the role reports to, and overall goals.

Job Analysis Methods:

There are five methods used for job analysis. Each of these aims to identify
the work performed in a particular job and the competence of the person to
assume the position and be successful in it.
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Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

• Questionnaires.
A questionnaire is composed of queries to evaluate a job in question; the
respondents may be a jobholder, supervisor, or those who are greatly
affected by the group's performance.
The purpose of a questionnaire is for the respondent to identify his job
and the condition under which it is carried out. Each answer has a
corresponding point value to the function that it represents. The answers
will determine the items to be modified in a job description and serve as
an aid in carrying out job evaluation.
The Position Analysis Questionnaire and the Management Position
Description Questionnaire are two examples of the type of job analysis.
Advantage
Easiest way to get responses from a large number of sources
Does not require a trained interviewer or observer
Low cost
Disadvantage
Incomplete responses are hard to interpret
No follow-up

• Interviews.
The respondents in this method are solely the current jobholders. The
interviewer collects a variety of information from a respondent to
describe the task and duties performed.
A trained and skillful interviewer is required to perform the task. The
questions may be prepared or free-flowing. Regardless of which is used,
the interviewer must explain to the respondent the purpose of the study
and the particular focus of the interview.
Responses must be recorded for interpretation.
Advantage
The respondent is most qualified due to firsthand experiences
Qualitative data may be included
Incomplete or vague answers can be followed up
Disadvantage
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 The result is dependent on the series of questions asked
Respondent may exaggerate job duties
Time-consuming and training needed.

• Diaries
In this technique, the employee records his performance in a diary; the
task accomplished while going about the job, along with the frequency of
the duty and the time needed to perform. This document becomes the
basis for the job description.
Advantage
Useful for the jobs that are hard to observe
Workers can tell which is working and not
Participatory form of analysis
Disadvantage
Additional task for an employee to record all duties and timing
Diverts employees from their work and creates unnecessary
distractions

• Observation.
The superior monitors the performance of his employee. Employee’s
performance is recorded to ensure that the task and duties are properly
executed. The superior may be a manager, supervisor, job analyst, or
industrial engineer who wants to be familiar with the job and its
requirements.
Observation can also be combined with other methods to get vital
information about the job.
Advantage
Exposure of the observer to the work environment
Simple
Firsthand knowledge
Disadvantage
A worker may feel discomfort during an observation
May not apply to all types of jobs
Time-consuming
Requires a trained observer

• Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel.

This technique is also known as the "technical conference “method. The
experts' inclusion paved way to bring to the process their strong knowledge
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Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

of the job they evaluate. The panel gets to brainstorm to identify key factors
on the job, identify major tasks associated with the jobs they are tasked with
analyzing, based on their background and expertise.
Advantage
SMEs were nominated by expertise and competence
Able to provide comprehensive data
Can determine which other techniques can be incorporated
Disadvantage
Time-consuming; expensive

The panel has to arrive with a consensus decision.

The result is dependent on the validity of the opinions and judgments of
the
SME

Job design is an effort to identify what must be performed, how it will be

performed, where, and who will perform. Usually, it takes place in case of a new job
profile in any organization.

Job redesign is done to reorganize the task, duties, and responsibilities for making
it more satisfactory from humans as well as the organization's benefit point of view.
It takes place for the existing job profile in any organization.

Motivating Employees through Job Designs:

Job design has a major impact on work motivation. A properly designed job has
more staying power than a handsome salary package.

Job Simplification is breaking down a task into the simplest components and
assigning them to the employees in such a way that one concentrates on the task
assigned to him. This approach requires less training as the employee focuses on
just one task and does it repetitively.
From the motivational point of view, this approach is less challenging and boring,
that it triggers absenteeism and turnover.
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Job specialization is ineffective in a fast-paced environment where employees need
to adapt to time and situation demands.

Job Rotation is the best alternative to job specialization. It will ensure that the
employees will be given a new challenge before they get bored with the repetitive
task. Job rotation gives the employees a chance to work from job to job at regular
intervals.
In a garment factory, one team will cut the cloth, and the others may either attach
the sleeves, sew the sides, put collars and buttons and etc. Job rotation gives hope to
the employee in the event that he is not comfortable with the current task - he
knows that he will soon move to a different task in the next month or so.
Job rotation has reduced the employees' stress level and increased the employees'
confidence level as they acquire additional skill once they move to a different task
and keep them marketable in the long run.

Job enlargement is adding variety in the task being done by the employee. Multiple
tasks will require additional training. Performing a broader task is tantamount to
saying you trust their skill. Employees feel confident and empowered.

Job Enrichment is a job redesign technique that gives the employee control over
how they want their task to be performed. They must be responsible for the
outcome. As much trust is given, this approach is assigned to the selected few. Not
all employees are willing and capable of taking responsibility over work. It may
cause more frustration than enrichment once incorrectly assigned.

The Job Characteristics Model has five core job dimensions.

Source: Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey.
Journal of Applied Psychology,60(2), 159-170. doi:10.1037/h0076546; June 30, 2018

• Skill Variety

Worker's skill variety may be categorized into Low Skill variety or High
skill variety.
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Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

Security personnel whose job is to open the door for the customer
displays a low level of skill variety, whereas the security personnel who
acts as a parking attendant, opens the door for the customer and gives
him his number in the queue, displays a high level of skill variety.

• Task Identity
It refers to the extent of the job that the worker provided from start to
end. It is a variety of tasks done for the customer to achieve the end goal.
An example of this is the job of a Customer Service Advocate. A single
worker will address everything that the customer needs on a single call,
be it a billing dispute, invoice request, technical support, or book for a
technician appointment. The worker owns the entire task until the end
result is achieved.

• Task Significance
It refers to whether the job exerted has a great impact on the customer or
other people. In the example given above, the assistance provided has
created a great impact on customer experience. Thus, it makes the
Customer Service Advocate's task significant.

• Autonomy
It is a degree at which the employee has the freedom to execute his job in
any way he wants it done. It's like giving him control and responsibility at
the same time. Most employees show more creativity and discover ways
on how to work smart.
• Feedback
Giving feedback is essential to show appreciation to your employees.
Whether positive or negative, it will definitely create an impact on the
amount of work exerted. Negative feedback is married to an action plan.
Once you correct a work habit, one should develop an action plan on how
to overcome the presented opportunity. A manager must be well trained
in the art of giving out feedback.

Based on the Job Characteristic Model, these five core job dimensions
direct the employees towards the three psychological states: they begin
to perceive their job's significance and find it meaningful. Autonomy at
work has made them responsible for getting positive outcomes and
knowledge of results.
Regular touch base for feedback, whether formal or casual, motivates the
employee to perform well. It boosts job satisfaction that totally
diminishes if not lowered the instances of absenteeism and turnover.
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 Hackman and Oldham’s model proposed the following formula to
calculate the motivating potential of a given job.

The equation shows that autonomy and feedback play the most significant
role. It goes to show that well-appreciated employees tend to work even
better to exceed expectations. Let us not discount the fact that not all people are the
same. The manager may be giving the same amount of encouragement, but one may
perceive things differently. Encouragement and support may assist in changing
one's perspective.
 Human Resource Management
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Staffing
Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design

Glossary:

Autonomy Human resource management: A degree or level of freedom and discretion allowed to
an employee over his or her job.
Job Analysis is not an easy job assigned to HR. It is a process used to determine job placement to
specify the various roles pertinent to a position.

Workflow Progression of steps (tasks, events, interactions) comprises a work process, involves
two or more persons, and creates or adds value to the organization's activities. In a sequential
workflow, each step is dependent on the occurrence of the previous step; in a parallel workflow,
two or more steps can occur concurrently.

Workflow Analysis It is the tool in which organizations examine the advancement of workflow
and determine ways how it should be engineered to improve efficiency.

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References and Supplementary Materials
Books and Journals

1. BRANNICK, M. T. (2018). JOB AND WORK ANALYSIS: Methods, research, and

applications for human resource management. LOS ANGELES: SAGE PUBLICATIONS.

2 Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. . Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of
Applied Psychology,60(2), 159-170. doi:10.1037/h0076546

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. Akpabli, Y., & Geer, S. (2010, May 28). Yvonne Akpabli. Retrieved from
https://precast.org/2010/05/job-matching-to-hire-motivated-employees/
June 17,2018

2. Pearson, S. (2018, May 08). Definition – What is Workflow Analysis? Retrieved from
https://tallyfy.com/workflow-analysis/ June 20, 2018

3. https://www.template.net/business/word-templates/job-analysis-template/
Retrieved June 20, 2018

4. Job Analysis: Methods Of: Interview. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://job-

analysis.net/G011.htm June 21, 2018

5. Job Analysis: Objectives, Methods, Advantages & Disadvantages. (2018, February 01).
Retrieved from https://content.wisestep.com/job-analysis-objectives-methods-
advantages-disadvantages/ June 21, 2018

6. Job Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-

oversight/assessment-and-selection/job-analysis/ June 23,2018

7. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the Job Diagnostic

Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology,60(2),
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fh0076546; June 23,2018

Online Instructional Videos

• The video demonstrates how stressful and unchallenging a job can be when not
designed properly. Job Design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEuFcg79-q0;
June 23,2018

• Hackman and Oldham The Job Characteristics Model;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8nKuA0x9Fo; June 25, 2018