Personnel Psychology: Job Analysis

1. Personnel Psychology: Job Analysis Guide for UHS 2062 students at UTM, Malaysia Prepared by : SitiRokiahSiwoksrsiwok@gmail.com

2. Major Fields in IOP • Personnel Psychology • Organizational Psychology • Ergonomics

3. Personnel Psychology :Overview • Job analysis • Employee Recruitment • Different methods of recruitment • Recruiting special populations • Employee Selection • Characteristics of effective selection techniques • Different types of employee selection

4. Job analysis • It is a process of gathering, analyzing and structuring about a job’s components, characteristics and requirements ( Sanchez & Levine, 2000) • A process of determining the work activities and requirements

5. Job Analysis • Very important. • A job analysis provides information for : • Job description • Employee selection • Performance Appraisal/Competency criteria • Job Evaluation • Job Classification • Job Design • Organizational analysis • Training • etc

6. Job Analysis: Essential Questions • Who will conduct? • How often? • Who should participate?

7. Who will conduct Job Analysis? • Internal Department • Internal Task Force • Supervisors • Employees • Consultants • Interns

8. Who should participate? • Choices • All employees • Random sample • Representative sample • Convenience sample • Consisderations: Diversities • Job competence • Race • Gender • Education • Perspectives

9. Job Analysis : The Basic process • Identify task performed • Write tasks statements • Rate task statements • Determine essential KSAOs • Select tests to tap KSAOs

10. Conducting a Job Analysis

11. Step 1: Identify Tasks Performed • Gathering existing information • Interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) • Individual interviews • Subject Matter Experts Conferences • Ammerman Technique • Observing incumbents • Job participation

12. Step 2: Write Task Statements • Characteristics of well-written task statements • One action and one object • Appropriate reading level • The statement should make sense by itself • All statements should be written in the same tense • Should include the tools and equipment used to complete the task • Task statements should not be competencies • Task statements should not be policies

14. Step 3: Rate Task Statements • Tasks can be rated on various scales • Importance • Part-of-the-job • Frequency of performance • Time spent • Relative time spent • Complexity • Criticality • Research shows only two scales are necessary • Frequency • Importance

15. Example of a Rating Scale

16. Step 4: Determine Essential KSAOs

17. Examples of KSAOs

23. Job Description • The written product of the job analysis is the job description, which is a brief 2-5 page summary of the tasks and job requirements found in the job analysis. • Thus, job analysis is the process of determining the work activities and requirements and job description is the written result of the job analysis. • Job analysis and job description is the basis for many HR activities, such as employee selection, evaluation , training, performance appraisal, job design etc (Brannick & Levine, 2002)

24. Job Description

25. Job Description Sections • Job title • Brief summary • Work activities • Tools and equipment used • Work context • Work Performance • Compensation information • Job competencies

26. Job Description sections: Job title • The job title must describe the nature of the job. • Assists in employee selection and recruitment • The job title influences the perceptions of job worth and status. • Affects the accuracy of resumes.

27. Job Description sections: Brief summary • The summary is useful for recruitment advertising • The language used should be easily understandable. • Avoid the use of jargon and abbreviations

28. Job Description sections: Work Activities • Organize work activities by dimensions • Similar activities • Similar KSAOs • Temporal order • Task statements • One activity per statement • “stand alone” statements • Written in easy to understand style • Precise, not general

29. Job Description sections: Tools and equipment used

30. Job Description sections: Work Context • Work context includes: • Work schedule • Degree of supervision • Ergonomic details

31. Job Description sections: Work Performance • Contains description of performance evaluation, which includes: • The standard used • Evaluation frequency • Evaluation dimensions • Evaluation personnel

32. Job Description sections: Compensation Information

33. Job Description sections: Job Competencies

34. The importance of Job Analysis

35. Employee Selection • Without a clear understanding of the tasks performed and competencies needed to perform the tasks, employee selection cannot be made. • With clear understanding and requirements for tasks identified, tests or interview questions can be formulated to determine suitability of applicants.

36. Performance Appraisal • The evaluation of employee performance must be job related, thus job analysis is crucial in the construction of a performance appraisal instrument (PAI). • Through job analysis, performance appraisal instrument, are specific, job-related and valid; leading to accurate performance appraisals. • PAI, when properly administered and utilized, serve as excellent source of employee training and counselling.

37. Job classification • Job analysis enables the HR to classify jobs into groups based in requirements and duties. • Useful in determining pay levels, transfers and promotions.

38. Job Evaluation • Another use of the job analysis is to determine the worth of a job . • The process of determining a job’s worth is called job evaluation. • Job evaluation is usually done in 2 stages, namely determining internal pay equity and determining external pay equity

39. Job Design • Job analysis information can be use to determine the optimal way in which a job should be performed. • Examples : the best way to sit at the computer table, the best way for a warehouse person to lift boxes etc • Good work design prevents wasted and unsafe motions; resulting in higher productivity and reduced number of injuries.

40. Training • Job analysis provides requirements of a job and yields lists of job activities that can be used to create training programs.

41. Personpower Planning • Personpower planning is important (but seldom used). • Personpower planning is to determine employees’ mobility within an organization, that is looking into other jobs that employees can be expected to be eventually promoted and become successful. • Job analysis results are used to compare all jobs in the company so as to promote the best employee from the most similar job, thus better match between the person being promoted and the requirements of the job.

42. Also…..

43. Legal Guidelines Compliance • Any employment decision must be based on job-related information and job analysis is one of the ways to directly determine job relatedness. • No law specifically requires a job analysis , but several important guidelines and court cases mandate job analysis for all practical purposes.

44. Organizational Analysis • During the course of their work, job analysts often become aware of certain problems within the organization. • Job analysts thus help to correct lapses in the organization and correct problems so as to promote better organizational functioning.

45. Main references: • Aamodt, M. G ( 2010). Industrial/Organizational Psychology. An Applied Approach.( 6th Ed) USA: Wadsworth • Spector, P. E. ( 2008). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (5thed). USA: Wiley • Job Analysis (2010). Cengage Learning