Job Analysis: Objectives, Methods, Advantages & Disadvantages

Job analysis is crucial in all human activities but like all human inventions, it also suffers from various limitations.

Introduction of Job analysis consists of job responsibilities, information, expertise, capabilities and personal traits and all this lead to success, for the workers.

The basic reason for which the organizations require job analysis is to ensure proper selection measures for choosing the suitable applicants.

A logical selection modus operandi is always necessary to make reasonable and trust-worthy job selections. A genuine selection procedure requires job analysis since it identifies the fundamental requirements for that specific job.

The purpose of Job Analysis is to establish and document the ‘job relatedness‘ of employment procedures such as compensation, training, performance appraisal, and selection

What is Job Analysis?

Job analysis helps to recognize and verify the requirements of a job and delineate the duties and obligations of the job.

In a job, evaluations done on the information collected about the job, the significance should always be given on the job and never on the worker or the individual. The basic notion of job analysis is that the evaluations and judgments are done depending on the job and not on the person.

It is done through cross-examinations and surveys according to the necessities of the occupation and the analysis provides a specific explanation and requirements of the job.

Objectives of Job Analysis:

The aims of Job analysis is to always ascertain and record the job-related information of the employment measures like training, selection, payment and performance assessment.

Job Analysis is used for classifying both training and requirement evaluations which consist of the training matter, evaluation exams to understand the usefulness of training, devices used for training and also the techniques of training.

Job Analysis Process Methods:

Job analysis data is collected in several ways with only the specification of the person who is going to carry out the job analysis.

Often workers from the HR department participate in job evaluations; also depending on the different methods of job analysis even the managers, bosses, and employees participate. During complicated job analysis, the industrial engineers handle time and motion studies.

Another facet of job analysis is the contemplation of the technique used; some techniques of job analysis or methods are observations, interviews, questionnaires and other specific analysis methods.

The applications of the techniques used in job analysis mostly depend on the type of organization, its fundamental requirements and circumstances.

The various methods of Job Analysis are:

1. Observation:

In the job analysis method of observation, the performance of the worker is monitored by a manager, supervisor or job analyst, industrial engineer; the performance is recorded to see whether the tasks and duties are properly done.

Job analysis observation may either be continuous or intermittent sampling but the observation is always of limited use since most jobs do not have the capability of doing an observation of the complete job cycles.

Hence observation is efficient in cyclic jobs and when used combined with other methods. The observation might be used by the supervisor or manager to be familiar with the job and its requirements.

During other methods in job analysis, the observation method is immensely useful as it provides vital information about the job.

2. Work Sampling:

Work Sampling is a kind of observation; it does not need a thorough concentration on all its minute aspects through the whole work cycle.

As an alternative; the person doing the job analysis decides the matter and work pace on a specific workday according to a statistical sampling of various actions rather than by constant monitoring and detailed timing of each action.

Work Sampling is mostly effective for regular monotonous jobs and cyclic repetitive jobs.

3. Employee Diary/Log:

In this method, the employee himself records his performance in a diary/log along with the frequency of the duty and the time needed to perform.

This technique is useful in some ways but becomes tiresome for the employees to record all their duties and the timings.

Even some employees believe that the employee diary/log method diverts them from their work and creates unnecessary distractions.

4. Interviewing:

In the interview technique of collecting data, the manager or the overseer monitors every job place and the worker performing it. Then a model question or interview form is made to ask the workers and note the answers and to get the proper analysis and complete comprehension of the job and its requirements; one has to talk and interview both the employee and the supervisor.

This method is exhaustive when the interviewer has to converse with two or more employees in one job. Often the professional and managerial jobs are very difficult and complex to analyze; hence require complex longer interviews. Thus the interviewing method should be combined with any other method for proper assessment.

5. Questionnaires:

The questionnaires method is the most popular technique for collecting information in job analysis and a survey device is created and distributed amongst the employees and managers to read and answer.

The merits of this method are that bulk information can be collected from the employees without much effort; that also in a short span of time.

But the problems of job analysis is that it assumes the employee to answer the questions truthfully without any bias but that in reality is quite impossible; as opinions on their work and other things will always be influenced by their personal beliefs.

Due to this problem, the job analysis questionnaire is mostly combined with interviews and observations.

6. Critical incident method:

This method consists of observation and documentation of other instances and whether the behaviours were effective or futile to produce the desired results.

The critical incident method of behaviour includes; the reason of the incident and the circumstance, the work was done by the employee and how it was futile or useful, the assumed outcome of the behaviour and also an analysis on the influence the behaviour of an employee has on the outcome.

This method vastly differs from the other job evaluation, methods of conducting job analysis as only here the employee behaviour is not recorded when it is performed but later when the behaviour has been evaluated to be futile or useful depending on the results.

Here the behaviour is described in retrospect and it is acknowledged that recording of past actions is more difficult and complicated than of present actions when the performance is continued.

How to Perform a Job Analysis?

Job analysis is the process of collecting all the details like the duties, responsibilities and skills required for a particular job. The data you acquire through this method should be quite enough such that you can create a job description out of it.

Some of the top ways to perform a job analysis are,

• Reviewing the responsibilities of present employees
• Doing research online
• Analyzing the work duties, tasks, and responsibilities
• Researching and sharing the data acquired
• Organize the whole data in a comprehensible manner

In simple words, job analysis is gathering knowledge relating to a particular job.

As per Jones and Deco, “Job analysis is the process of getting information about jobs: especially, what the worker does; how he gets it done; why he does it; skill, education and training required; relationship to other jobs, physical demands; environmental conditions”.

Major Aspects of Job Analysis:

There are mainly 2 major aspects of job analysis and they are,

1. Job description
2. Job specification

Here job description is nothing but the complete content description of the job role, whereas the job specification states the basic qualification and skills required by the candidate to get the job.

Purpose of Job Description:

• Categorization of jobs
• Placement and directing new employees
• Transfers
• Promotions
• Bordering for the career path
• Improving work standards
• Employees counselling
• Confinement of authority

Purpose of Job Specification:

• Personnel planning
• Appraisal review
• Recruiting
• Development and development
• Job review and compensation
• Health and safety
• Employee discipline
• Scheduling of work
• Career planning

Advantages and Disadvantages of Job Analysis:

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Merits or Advantages of Job Analysis:

A few advantages or merits of job analysis are-

1. Direct job-related information is given:

Job analysis provides direct and detailed information about the job and the right way to perform the duties.

The insightful information imparted is useful for the supervisors and managers as learning this they can decide the duties and requirements of the job properly and according to that select the workers.

The risks and difficulties associated with the work are also understood and the expertise and knowledge required is also known through job analysis. Hence the process of selection becomes much easier after job analysis.

2. Useful for constructing the proper Job-Employee combination:

This is a vital activity in any organization as only with the suitable workers can an organization become successful.

So the worker suitable and custom-made for the job should be hired after examination of their skills, knowledge and other requirements by the manager or supervisor.

Job Analysis helps the organizations to select suitable candidates as the workers; who can perform according to the job necessities efficiently.

3. Useful for Effectual hiring methods:

The decisions of which candidate to select and whom to reject is confusing; job evaluation makes this easy as the requirements of each job is detailed properly and only the candidates who fulfill this criterion will be selected.

4. Monitoring of performance assessment and appraisal methods:

Job Analysis is useful in reviewing the performance of the workers by making the comparison of the desired result with the actual result. By depending on this results the examination and evaluation of the performance is done; whether it has been efficient or not.

Job evaluation is essential in deciding who are responsible and dedicated workers, and also award incentives and promotions to the dedicated employees to encourage them further.

It also helps in understanding the faults of individual workers and with proper analysis, the solutions are found and good workers are made responsible for the difficult tasks so that the end outcome will be effective and wanted.

5. Assist in analyzing the instruction and progress requirements:

The practice of job analysis answers numerous difficulties and queries; the person giving the instructions and training, the time of training and instructing, the matter of instruction and training, how should the training be given and is it behavioural or technical, and the process of conducting the training. All this information and decisions are taken by job analysis.

6. It is essential for determining the worthy Compensation Package for the particular job:

To take a legitimate and valid decision about the compensation packages, benefits and grants of the workers, no amount of contemplation by the managers or supervisors will do.

Only with the help of job analysis can they come to an unbiased and indisputable decision of allowances and perks related to a specific job. The allowances and reimbursement are decided to depend on the liabilities and risks of the profession.

Demerits or Disadvantages of Job Analysis:

The various drawbacks of Job Analysis are-

1. Tiresome and lengthy:

The drawback which discourages most people from doing a job analysis is the lengthy procedure and unnecessary time-consumption and time-wastage during the interviews or observations.

The prolonged time required for completing a job analysis is a major drawback and becomes more of a hindrance as the employee can change the job before the manager or supervisor has completed the job analysis.

2. Involves personal liking and biases:

Though job analysis is a very efficient method of understanding the job requirements when done properly; but most often the analysis is distorted by personal likes and dislikes.

If the manager likes one worker more than the other his personal opinions will influence the job analysis and it will not be a genuine analysis.

The biases and prejudices will always be present in job analysis since it is done by human beings and they are never free from biases and prejudices completely. This favouritism and partiality causes difficulties in collecting genuine and real information.

3. Both the basis of information and supply is small:

The size and source of the data is mostly insignificant and small as the sample size is small. This makes the source of data small and only the information collected from a few workers who may even be influenced by their own personal opinions is recorded and analyzed. Then this information of job analysis is portrayed as significant and consistent.

But in reality, this is not the case as a sample of a few workers is not enough to decide the norm and become a standard.

4. Need immense amounts of hard work and dedication:

The methods for job analysis require immense dedication and hard work for the proper completion of the analysis.

It becomes all the more difficult and complex since all the different jobs has different demands and requirements in no single outline. So the same method of job analysis and the same questions and evaluation systems will not suffice for the different jobs; tailor-made questions are required for the different jobs for their proper job analysis.

The analysis and recording of information for different jobs should be done separately to get the correct results.

5. The reviewer or the job analyst may not be suitable:

Often it occurs that the analyst himself is not worthy of doing the analysis work; with an unworthy analyst, a proper job analysis is impossible to do.

He may be unaware of the goals and aims of the job on which the job evaluation is being done. If this is the case then the job analysis is nonsense and misuse of time, effort and money. It will never be any good for the organization or the workers.

So when the analyst is not properly trained he should never be given the duty of doing job analysis; he should be rigorously trained with real and authentic information to get the sense of the real world.

6. No one can analyze mental potential through Job Analysis methods:

The last drawback seen in job analysis is that the mental aptitudes like intelligence, sentiments, knowledge and wisdom, propensity, patience and stamina are never to be seen as these are intangible characteristics of each individual.

During the questioning in job analysis, the complete mental analysis can never be done as people respond differently in diverse circumstances. Hence one can never standardize the mental ability requirements in any given job.

Job analysis gathers information on the duties and responsibilities of the job; it specifies the basic requirements and qualifications for the job. The work environment is also evaluated and assessment is done about whether the work surroundings are worker-friendly or difficult to work in.

Supervision and analysis is done on the work relationship shared by the workers and the relationship with customers. In job analysis, evaluation of workers is done on the basis of knowledge, expertise, and aptitudes of the workers. Through this analysis, only the minimum requirements are taken into consideration.

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