Recruitment & Retention: Assessing jobs, not persons

Job Analysis (JA) is a process to identify and determine in detail not only the particular responsibilities and requirements but also the relative importance of these responsibilities for a given job. It is a process where judgements are made about data collected on a job.

The purpose of JA is to establish and document the 'job relatedness' of employment procedures such as training, selection, compensation, and performance appraisal.

An important concept about this tool is that it analyses the job, not the person. The data required may be collected from incumbents through interviews or questionnaires.

Job Analysis can be used in:

• assessment tests to measure effectiveness of training and
• Identifying methods of training (i.e., small group, computer-based, video, classroom...)
  

It can also be used to structure compensation based on:

• skill levels of an employee
• hazards at the work place
• responsibilities of supervisors at the work place
• required level of training needed to perform the job

Selection Procedures

This technique can be used in selection procedures to identify or develop:

• job duties that should be included in advertisements of vacant positions
  appropriate salary for the position
• interview questions
• selection tools
• performance appraisal/evaluation forms
• orientation material for new employees

Job Analysis can be used in performance reviews to identify or develop:

• goals and objectives
• performance standards
• evaluation criteria
• length of probationary periods

Methods of Job Analysis

Several methods exist that may be used individually or in combination. These include:
review of job classification systems

• incumbent interviews
• supervisor interviews
• expert panels
• structured questionnaires
• task inventories
• check lists
• open-ended questionnaires
  

A common method of analysing a job would be, to give the incumbent a simple questionnaire to identify job duties, responsibilities, equipment used, work relationships and work environment. The completed questionnaire would then be assisting the Analyst to conduct an interview of the incumbent. A draft of identified job duties; responsibilities, equipment, relationships and work environment would be reviewed with the supervisor for accuracy. The analyst would then prepare a job description and/or job specifications.