Introduction
There are various ways to collect information on the duties, responsibilities, and activities of the job, and we'll discuss the most important ones in this section. In practice, you could use any one of them or combine the techniques that best fit your purpose. Thus, an interview might be appropriate for creating a job description, whereas the position analysis questionnaire that we'll discuss is more appropriate for determining the worth of a job for compensation purposes. Conducting the job analysis usually involves a joint effort by an HR specialist, the worker, and the worker's supervisor. The HR specialist(perhaps an HR manager, job analyst, or consultant) might observe and analyze the job and then develop a job description and specification. The supervisor and worker will also get involved, perhaps by filling
questionnaires listing the subordinate's activities. The supervisor and worker may then r view and verify the job analyst's conclusions regarding the job's activities and duties. Popular methods for collecting job analysis information are discussed next.
The Interview
Three types of interviews are used to collect job analysis data individual interviews with each employee, group interviews with groups of employees having the same job, and supervisor interviews with one or more supervisors who are thoroughly knowledgeable about the job being analyzed. The group interview is used when a large number of employees are performing similar or identical work, and it can be a quick and inexpensive way to learn about the job. As a rule, the immediate supervisor would attend the group session; not, you should interview the supervisor separately to that person's perspective on the job's duties and responsibilities.
The job analysis process begins when the analyst collects information from the worker and supervisor about the nature of the work and the specific tasks to be done.
Whichever interview you use, the interviewee should fully understand the reason for the interview, since there's a tendency for such interviews to be viewed-rightly or wrongly efficiency evaluations" when they are, interviewees may not be willing to describe jobs accurately.
PROS AND CONS The interview is probably the most widely used method for deter mining a job's duties and responsibilities, and its wide use reflects its advantages. Most important, interviewing allows the worker to report activities and behaviors that might not otherwise come to light. For example, important activities that occur only occasion- ally, or informal communication(between, say, a production supervisor and the sales manager) that would not be obvious from the organization chart could be unearthed by skilled interviewer. The interview also provides an opportunity to explain the need for and functions of the job analysis. And, it can let the employee vent frustrations or views that might otherwise go unnoticed by management. Interviews are also relatively simple a quick ways to collect information.
The major problem with interviews is distortion of information, whether due to outright falsification or honest misunderstandings. job analysis is often a prelude to changing a job's pay rate. Employees, therefore, sometimes(legitimately) view them as efficiency evaluations that may affect their pay. They may then tend to exaggerate certain responsibilities while minimizing others. Obtaining valid information can thus be a slow process, and it's useful to get multiple inputs.
TYPICAL QUESTIONS Despite their drawbacks, interviews are widely used. Some typical interview questions include: What is the job being performed?
What are the major duties of your position?
What exactly do you do?
What physical locations do you work in?
What are the education, experience, skill, and(where applicable) certification and licensing requirements?
What activities do you participate in?
What are the job's responsibilities and duties?
What are the basic accountabilities or performance standards that typify your work?
What are your responsibilities?
What are the environmental and working conditions involved?
What are the job's physical demands?
The emotional and mental demands?
What are the health and safety conditions?
Are you exposed to any hazards or unusual working conditions?
Most fruitful interviews follow a structured or checklist format. One such job analysis questionnaire is presented in Figure 3-3. it includes a series of detailed questions regarding such matters as the general purpose of the job; supervisory responsibilities; job duties; and education, experience, and skills required. A list like this can also be used by a job analyst who collects information by personally observing the work being done or by administering it as a questionnaire, two methods that will be explained shortly.