Process of Job Analysis

Process of Job Analysis:

The process of job analysis starts with making strategic choices and results in job description and job specification. Above figure shows this process and also points out the uses of information about jobs.

·         Strategic  Choices- To initiate the process of job analysis, an organization has to make strategic choices such as to what extent it will involve employees in the process, what will be the timing and frequency of process?, will it be future oriented or past oriented etc.

We all know that job analysis involves collecting job related data-responsibilities, duties, skills and knowledge required to perform a job.  For these information organization need to consult with its employees also for contents of job. Therefore it is necessary to set a limit till employee needed to involve in the process. Too much involvement may result in bias in favor of a job, as the employee is likely to inflate the duties and responsibilities. On the other hand, if employees are not involved or minimally involved, they ten to become suspicious about motives behind the job analysis.

Another strategic choice relates to the timing and frequency of conducting job analysis. Generally job analysis is conducted when new company is establishing or new job is created or there is change in the job nature due to technological or environmental changes.

Besides, organization has to decide whether job analysis will be future oriented or it will describe how the job has been done in past. Organization also has to think about the sources of collecting data/information of the job. It has to decide the ratio of human and non human resources in collecting job information.

·         Gather Information- gathering information involves three issues:

o   What type of data is to be collected?

o   What methods are to be employed for data collection?

o   Who should collect these data?

What type of data is to be collected depends on the purpose of conducting job analysis. Generally all data related to the job involved in the process of job analysis. Examples of needed data are- description of work activities, machines, tools and equipments used in work, physical working conditions, social and organizational job context, personal requirements such as specific skills, specific education, work experience and aptitudes etc.

Regarding methods of data collection, there are several methods available for collecting data such as observation, interview, questionnaires, checklists, technical conference and diary methods. An organization can use any of these methods depending upon purpose, budget and time frame of job analysis process.

Now, who will collect these data regarding job is another challenge in conducting job analysis. Organization can use three types of individuals: Trained job analysts, Supervisor or Job incumbents. Each of these has their own advantages. For example, trained job analysts will give standardized data where as supervisor and job holders will provide information without any extra cost.

·         Information Processing- To prepare job description and job specification, collected data should be processed properly. Relevant Data should be sorted out from the collected information so that they can fulfill the purpose of creating job description and job specification.

·    Job Description- After processing all data, Job description has to be prepared. Job description includes job title, tasks, duties and responsibilities involved in a job. In brief, It indicates what all job involves.

·         Job Specification- On the other hand, job specification involves listing of employee qualifications, skills and abilities. These specifications needed to do the job satisfactorily.