What is Job Analysis ?Job analysis is the process of collecting data to describe observable (or otherwise verifiable) work behaviors and characteristics of the work environment. Decisions about classifying positions into jobs and jobs into job families, setting wage and salary rates, articulating standards to guide employee selection or performance appraisal, and training and developing employees are all based on information about jobs.While most human resource managers agree on the value of job descriptions, few consider how differences in the quality of job descriptions can affect Human Resources (HR) systems. Popular narrative job descriptions, written by one individual or obtained from stock, generic descriptions, have serious limitations. Such descriptions can be costly to develop and maintain, date very easily, focus only on the most important functions, and contain numerous inaccuracies. Worse, these descriptions do not provide all the information needed to classify, compensate, evaluate, and develop employees. Rather than waste money and energy on old-style narrative descriptions, consider conducting a formal job analysis.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) places further emphasis on the importance of job analysis in human resource management. ADA Title I prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to all terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. This equal employment opportunity law requires employers to determine whether individuals with disabilities are qualified to perform essential functions of a job, and if so, whether and what form of reasonable accommodation would suffice to remove any barriers to employment. Central to determining this is accurate job information.
As suggested in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines on ADA (20 CFR Part 1630), a job analysis should:
· List all the functions of each job,In addition, job analysis techniques should:· Define which functions are essential (that is, central to accomplishing the main mission of the job),
· Offer proof of essentiality by:
· Elaborating an "employer’s judgment" argument for essentiality.· Collecting time-spent ratings.
· Collecting consequence of inadequate or nonperformance ratings.
· Surveying employees directly, including employees who currently hold or previously held the job, or hold similar jobs, and
· Designate marginal functions to support accommodation inquiries.
· Produce results that support the definition of the prerequisites (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics (KSAOs) and competencies required to perform each job, and· Be capable of establishing the job-relatedness of all selection criteria and selection tests.
This
definition courtesy of Dr. Lozada-Larsen (Ph.D., I/O Psychology, Rice University,
1987); she is Principal at Larsen & Associates in Shreveport, LA. Previously,
Dr. Lozada-Larsen worked as Project Director for The Psychological Corporation,
supervising the development of the CMQ and other instruments. She is also
involved with the Personnel Systems and Technologies Corporation, which
handles the CMQ (see gratuitous commercial below), and can be reached via
email at SRLL@pstc.com
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revised May 17, 2000
