Chapter 4

Job Analysis
Talent Management

The goal-oriented and integrated process of planning, recruiting,

developing, managing, and compensating employees.
The goal of talent management is to create a high performance,
sustainable organization that meets its strategic and operational goals
and objectives.
The Talent Management Process
1. Decide what positions to fill
2. Build a pool of job applicants
3. Have candidates complete application forms
4. Use selection tools
5. Decide to whom to make an offer
6. Orient, train and develop employees
7. Appraise employees
8. Reward and compensate employees
The Basics of Job Analysis
Job description
• A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working
conditions, and supervisory responsibilities – one product of a job
analysis
Job specification
• A list of a job’s “human requirements,” that is, the requisite education, skills,
personality, and so on – another product of a job analysis
Job analysis = Job description + Job specification
• The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and
the kind of person who should be hired for it.
It produces information for writing job descriptions and job specifications.
Types of Information Collected
Work
activities

Human Human
requirements behaviors
Information
Collected Via
Job Analysis Machines, tools,
Job
equipment, and
context
work aids

Performance
standards

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The Basics of Job Analysis (cont’d)
Work activities (cleaning, selling, painting)
Human behaviors (sensing, communicating, deciding)
Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids (finance or law,
counselling, operating, repairing)
Performance standards (quantity or quality levels for each job
duty)
Job context (working conditions, work schedule. Social context
included)
Human requirements (education, training, work experience)
 FIGURE 4–1 Uses of Job Analysis Information

Job analysis

Job description
and specification

Recruiting Job evaluation—wage Training requirements Performance appraisal

and selection decisions and salary decisions
(compensation)

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Steps in Job Analysis
Step 1: Decide how you’ll use the information
Step 2: Review relevant background information
organizational charts
process chart –flow of inputs to and outputs from a particular job
workflow analysis – flow of work from job to job
Step 3: Select representative positions
Step 4: Actually analyze the job
Step 5: Verify the job analysis information
Step 6: develop a job description and job specification
Organization Chart
Job Analysis: A Quicker Approach
Rather to observe all workers select some of them as a sample for job
analysis.
1. Greet participants, comprising of present employees..
2. Briefly explain the job analysis process & the participants’ roles in this
process.
3. Spend about 15 mins interviewing the employees to get agreement on
a basic summary of the job.
4. Identify job’s broad areas of responsibility.
5. Identify tasks within each area.
6. Print the task list & get the group to sign off on it.
Job Analysis Guidelines
• Make the job analysis a joint effort by a human resource
specialist, the worker and the worker’s supervisor.
• Collect job analysis information from employees in different
departments, not just one.
• Make sure the questions and process are clear to the
employees.
• Use several different tools for the job analysis
Collecting Job Analysis Information
Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information

Interviews Questionnaires Observations Diaries/Logs

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information
1. The interview
• Interviewing guidelines
• Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee
• Follow a structured guide or checklist
• Ask the worker to list his/her duties in order of importance and
frequency of occurrence
• Review and verify the data
2. Questionnaires
3. Observation
4. Participant diary/logs
Job Analysis: Interviewing Guidelines
• The job analyst and supervisor should work together to identify the
workers who know the job best.
• Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee.
• Follow a structured guide or checklist, one that lists open-ended
questions and provides space for answers.
• Ask the worker to list his or her duties in order of importance and
frequency of occurrence.
• After completing the interview, review and verify the data.

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: The Interview
Information Sources Interview Formats
◦ Individual employees ◦ Structured (Checklist)
◦ Groups of employees ◦ Unstructured
◦ Supervisors with knowledge of
the job
Advantages
◦ Quick, direct way to find
overlooked information
Disadvantage
◦ Distorted information

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Questionnaires

Information Source Advantages

◦ Have employees fill out ◦ Quick and efficient way
questionnaires to describe their to gather information
job-related duties and from large numbers of employees
responsibilities
Disadvantages
Questionnaire Formats ◦ Expense and time consumed in
◦ Structured checklists preparing and testing the
◦ Open-ended questions questionnaire

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Observation

Information Source Advantages

◦ Observing and noting the physical ◦ Provides first-hand information
activities of employees as they go ◦ Reduces distortion
about their jobs by managers. of information

Disadvantages
◦ Time consuming
◦ Reactivity response distorts
employee behavior
◦ Difficulty in capturing
entire job cycle
◦ Of little use if job involves a high
level of mental activity

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Participant Diaries/Logs
Information Source Advantages
◦ Workers keep a chronological ◦ Produces a more complete picture
diary or log of what they do and of the job
the time spent on each activity ◦ Employee participation

Disadvantages
◦ Distortion of information
◦ Depends upon employees to
accurately recall their activities

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Writing Job Descriptions
• Job identification
• Job summary
• Relationships
• Responsibilities and duties
• Authority
• Standards of performance
• Working conditions
• Job specification
Writing Job Descriptions (cont’d)
Step 1. Decide on a Plan
Step 2. Develop an Organization Chart
Step 3. Use a Simplified Job Analysis Questionnaire
Step 4. Obtain List of Job Duties
Step 5. Compile the Job’s Human Requirements
Step 6. Finalize the Job Description

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Process Charts
Writing Job Specifications
• Specifications for trained versus untrained personnel
• Specifications based on judgment
 Use common sense
 Thoroughness
 Schedule flexibility
 Off task behavior
Job Analysis in a Worker-Empowered
World

Job Design:
From Specialized
to Enriched Jobs

Job Job Job

Enlargement Rotation Enrichment

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Job Analysis in a Worker-empowered
World
From specialized to enriched jobs
• Job enlargement – assigning workers additional same level
activities
• Job rotation – systematically moving workers from one job to
another
• Job enrichment – redesigning jobs in a way that increases the
opportunities for the worker to experience feelings of
responsibility, achievement, growth and recognition.
Competency-Based Job Analysis
Competency-based job analysis means describing the job in terms of
measurable, observable, behavioral competencies (knowledge, skills,
and/or behaviors) that an employee doing that job must exhibit to do
the job well.
Competency-Based Job Analysis
Competencies
◦ Demonstrable characteristics of a person that enable performance of a job.
Reasons for Competency-Based Job Analysis
◦ To support a high-performance work system (HPWS).
◦ To create strategically-focused job descriptions.
◦ To support the performance management process in fostering, measuring, and rewarding:
◦ General competencies
◦ Leadership competencies
◦ Technical competencies

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How to Write Job Competencies-
Based Job Descriptions
Interview job incumbents and their supervisors
◦ Ask open-ended questions about job responsibilities and
activities.
◦ Identify critical incidents that pinpoint success on the job.

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Major points we covered in this Chapter
• Talent Management
• Basics of Job Analysis
• Methods of collecting Job Analysis information
• Writing Job descriptions
• Writing Job specifications
• Competency-based Job Analysis