Job Analysis: What It Is, What It Is For, And Phases Of The Process
For a company to function in the most appropriate way, it is necessary to know what they do and how far their workers should be able to go, if there is any type of lack of training or if competing companies ask more requirements from their workers.
A correct job analysis allows the human resources department to recruit and select the best candidates for the company, in addition to knowing what the competencies, tasks, skills and needs of each position are.
Next Let’s understand what a job analysis is what is its importance, what types there are and how to make one.
A job analysis consists of an investigation of the job that is going to be offered or a certain position in the company that you want to know in depth and improve This type of analysis aims to know the necessary skills so that whoever is carrying it out can perform better by establishing all the necessary criteria to select the most suitable candidate.
Typically, this type of analysis It is the task of the Human Resources department , who has, among other functions, the mission of recruiting and selecting the most suitable workers to form the company, in addition to ensuring that, if necessary, they update their training. Companies do not function properly without suitable people for each of the positions in them, so this department must know what requirements are necessary for each job.
Once the specific job has been analyzed, it is usual to make a precise description of what it consists of. This makes it easier to establish the requirements that are considered necessary to perform the job, in addition to defining the job offer and the profile of the desired candidate. Furthermore, by delimiting and specifying each of the jobs, the company will be able to draw a complete organizational chart, finding out what each position contributes to the organization as a whole.
Advantages of this type of analysis
The compilation of all the data obtained during the job analysis helps in decision making, in addition to allowing the validation of more useful and efficient methods and techniques for the performance of individual jobs and the company as a whole. So, with this type of analysis You can make better decisions in personnel selection in addition to being able to evaluate the performance of workers and determine who should be promoted, retained, demoted or fired.
Among the clearest advantages that job analysis gives us are:
1. Organization structure
Through this type of analysis it is possible know how the organization’s tasks are divided into its most basic units : divisions, sections, departments, work units such as workers or work groups…
As its name suggests, this type of analysis allows us to know what the job itself is like, specifically its structure. It allows us to know How jobs should be grouped into positions and job ranges in addition to knowing which positions are similar in their usefulness and function for the company.
3. Degree of authority
Through job analysis we can know the organization chart of the company and, in turn, which positions are above others It allows knowing the degree of authority of each position and its implication in decision making.
4. Performance criteria
The performance criteria are the reference to know hierarchical dependency relationships within the organization, the number and types of positions That is, it allows us to know to what extent the work of a certain position depends on how well someone else does it, whether they are above or below it in terms of authority.
5. Employee redundancy
Through job analysis we can detect those positions that are practically performing the same function or are too similar to allow them to continue existing. This tool allows you to decide if it is necessary to combine two jobs into one or change their functions to avoid duplication
Types of job analysis
There are several types of job analysis that can be carried out. They are not mutually exclusive, quite the contrary, they are all necessary to specify exactly what the functions, requirements and competencies of each position in the company are, although depending on time and means you may decide to carry out only one type of analysis. The main ones are the following four:
1. Task-based analysis
Task-based job analysis It is the oldest and classic It basically consists of finding out what tasks workers perform, regardless of what skills, training and abilities they have or should have. This model aims to define and establish the tasks, duties and responsibilities associated with each of the company’s positions.
2. Competency-based analysis
The competency analysis focuses on those skills necessary to perform the job
3. Strengths-based analysis
Strengths-based analysis focuses on those actions that workers enjoy most, or those in which they perform especially well It is about looking for those motivations that have moved workers to choose the position or the desire that awakens them to perform that position.
4. Personality-based analysis
Although it is certainly a little more complicated, a job analysis can be carried out looking for those personality traits most appropriate to perform such a position. The most dysfunctional traits can also be analyzed that is, those that are a source of problems for the work in question.
Where to extract information
Job analysis is a tool that tries to follow the scientific method. It is based on sources of information and techniques that are as objective and reliable as possible to make the analysis a faithful representation of organizational reality.
The data is extracted from the job itself, such as the tasks the employee performs, how they perform them, and the behaviors associated with their employment. But Beyond these observations, there are several techniques to extract all the necessary information
Development of job analysis
Below we will see how to develop a job analysis and the steps to follow. It is essential that when proceeding with an analysis of this type, you know what aspects have to be documented, which people in the organization can provide them, and how the information will be managed.
1. Set tasks
The first part of the process consists of analyze the tasks performed by workers This is the oldest and most fundamental type of job analysis. It is necessary to know what types of tasks and how they are being carried out within the organization in order to carry out a thorough job analysis. Therefore, in order to collect information in this step, it is necessary to ask the following questions:
Trying to answer these questions for each job position We can write a whole list of the tasks carried out in the organization For example, if we want to analyze the job of a waiter we can ask ourselves these questions regarding the following two tasks: bringing food and drinks and cleaning the table.
In the case of bringing food and drink, the waiter uses a tray to bring these things to the customer who has ordered those foods. The reason for this is that we are interested in ensuring that the customer is satisfied by consuming what he has ordered.
In the case of cleaning the table, the waiter does it with a cloth, disinfectant and other cleaning products so that the table is in condition to be used by other customers. The reason for this is to avoid not complying with the hygiene standards ordered by the Ministry of Health, in addition to avoiding complaints from dissatisfied customers.
2. Job responsibilities and functions
Once you know what tasks are performed within the organization they are grouped into different functions It may be the case that there are tasks that only fulfill one function, others that are very different from each other but serve the same purpose, and a task that, in turn, performs different functions within the organization.
Taking the example of the waiter, we could consider that bringing food to customers would be within the “customer service” function, while cleaning would have “establishment hygiene” as its main function, although it could also be related to the of customer service.
Once the functions of the tasks performed in the organization have been established, these They are organized according to the degree of responsibility within it They can be classified on a scale in case we can talk about responsibilities that are much more important than others, however, in many cases most tasks imply a similar degree of responsibility, which means they can be equally prioritized.
A fundamental aspect during the job analysis is the evaluation of the experience and knowledge necessary to perform the job. So that The skills, abilities and training that are recommended or required to carry out the tasks of the job are evaluated
In many cases this necessary knowledge is easy to establish. For example, to be able to work in a clinic as a doctor, the training required will be a degree in medicine and, preferably, a postgraduate or master’s degree. In other cases, however, the qualifications necessary to perform the job are not so clear. For example, to work in a supermarket they may require a food handling degree or vocational training, although this is not always the case.
During the job analysis to know what the desired training is The ideal is to go directly to employees and managers They will give their opinion or experience, what qualifications they have, what they have been asked for and what they have seen in previous companies where they have worked. It is very useful to know what competing companies ask of their workers since, in this way, we will prevent the company from losing strength in its field due to the lack of training of its workers.
4. Skills in job analysis
At this point it is important to carry out a job analysis based on the skills of your workers. Three very useful techniques can be used here which can be complemented.
4. 1. Interview with managers
Managers are a key figure within the organization, since they are who know the job first-hand and know what skills are necessary to properly perform tasks.
4.2. Performance evaluation
It is deduced what skills differentiate a good employee from one who does not do their job well.
4.3. Critical incidents
With this technique Those key behaviors are established in the workplace, those that determine success or failure of the organization. It is found out what behaviors can benefit or harm the company’s performance and the aim is to replicate or eradicate them.
5. Have clear goals
Regardless of which technique is used, the ideal is to use all three, The fundamental thing is that with its use it is possible to answer the following questions :
In any case, it should be noted that each company has its own idea about what the ideal skills are for its workers depending on what position they occupy, that is, this is a very subjective step.
This variability in the requested competencies is greatly influenced by the company’s organizational culture, which varies greatly from one company to another. Furthermore, each company has a different client, so the criteria extracted from the job analysis in one company may not be of any use to another.
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Leal Millán, A., Román Onsalo, M., Alfaro de Prado Sagrera, A., Rodríguez Félix, L. (2002). The human factor in labor relations, Management and Management Manual: Pyramid.
