What is Job Analysis?
Job analysis is a process whereby the scope and demands of a job are determined. It involves collecting information about the duties and activities of a job; the working conditions; interactions with internal and external people; the skills, knowledge, and abilities required to perform the work; and the tools and equipment used to perform the job.
Why is Job Analysis Important?
Job analysis helps organizations build a more efficient, engaged, and productive workforce. It is used to inform a range of processes, such as the creation of job descriptions, hiring decisions, the development of performance reviews and employee development plans, identifying job-related risks, and determining fair compensation packages.
How to Perform a Job Analysis:
Five easy steps for performing a job analysis.
Research and assess the role.
Collect data about the job.
The first step is to gather information about the position at your company from current and possibly former employees. The data sought should relate to all aspects of the job to get a complete picture of its demands, including the tools used, tasks performed, the context of the role, skills requirements, and working conditions.
There are several ways to do so, with some of the most common methods being observation, interviews, questionnaires, and employee work diaries.
Evaluate your research.
Review the data you collected and make a list of the activities and responsibilities of the role as well as the skills required. Then, rank these according to their importance, difficulty, and the competencies or level of expertise that is required.
Research industry standards.
Look up job descriptions of similar roles, industry standards, and occupational studies to gain further insight and potentially develop the role at your company.
Revise the job description and monitor developments.
Rework the job description.
Using the outcome of your research, amend the original or create a new job description for the position, including the duties, responsibilities, skills, and knowledge required to succeed in this position, as well as the salary band and any benefits. You may also want to include desirable attitudes and expectations.
Continuously review and evolve the job description.
Keeping in mind that the scope of a job and expectations may change over time, it is advisable to update the job description as the role evolves, adding new tasks and skills as well as removing any that have fallen away or been replaced with other processes.
These changes may come to light during performance reviews and changes in the goals and expectations set by management. It's also worth keeping an eye on trends in the industry.
Common Job Analysis Methods:
Questionnaire.
Giving employees questionnaires to complete is among the most widely used methods for performing a job analysis. These typically cover a range of job-related topics, including tools, tasks, skills used, working conditions, interactions with others, and training needs, and are carefully evaluated to assess the function and demands of the job.
Interview.
Performing a job analysis by interviewing employees involves asking employees about all aspects of their job, from their responsibilities, tasks, and tools to their daily interactions with others, their working styles, and their work environment. To get a more comprehensive overview of a role, interviewers may approach several employees.
Observation.
This method involves shadowing an employee to observe them in their work environment, what duties they perform, the processes they follow, the tools they use, and how long they spend on tasks in order to understand their role and function. Throughout the observation, the analyst shadowing the employee takes detailed notes.
Work log.
Another method is to ask employees to keep a diary or log in which they record their daily activities at work, including the tools they use, the time they spend on tasks, and who they interact with throughout the course of each day over a specified period of time.
