Before hiring an employee, new small business owners frequently forget to write a job analysis. Employers frequently use generic job titles and job descriptions in their haste to fill open positions or create new positions as their business expands, failing to take into account the specific tasks that a new hire will be expected to complete or the qualifications that a job candidate will need to succeed in the position. Don’t fall into this trap. It can lead to hiring the wrong person. Bad hires are costly, stressful, and time-consuming to deal with. They’re also quite common. 74% of small business owners say they’ve hired the wrong person for a job, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Whether you’re hiring your first employee or your tenth, conducting a job analysis will increase your chances of selecting the best candidate.
HR Basics: Job Analysis
Importance of a job analysis
A job analysis can assist a business in updating crucial procedures and data, such as salary data based on responsibilities. Using a job analysis, management can better comprehend the responsibilities of each position that reports to them. Additional responsibilities may have been added to a position that didn’t previously exist in the company as roles and technologies evolve. A job analysis can assist with fairly allocating tasks among departments or, if necessary, adjusting salaries.
What is a job analysis?
A job analysis is the process of investigating a position or role to determine what tasks are involved and what skills are required. A job analysis can also determine the circumstances in which an employee performs their duties and how those circumstances may impact other roles within the organization.
Instead of focusing on the employee or their performance, a job analysis examines the role or position itself. It is an in-depth examination of the position that is used to develop new insights and perspectives in order to improve processes. Job analysis involves gathering information on all aspects of a role, analyzing it, and developing new standards for that role.
Job analyses are typically carried out by human resources representatives, who then report the results to HR and department managers, who then make the necessary adjustments. HR representatives can typically conduct a more objective analysis because they do not work in the same department as the position they are evaluating.
How to complete a job analysis
The typical steps to follow if you’re interested in the job analysis process are as follows:
1. Plan out your timing and process
Making a plan for your procedure can guarantee a thorough and effective analysis. Consider creating a list of actions you’d like to take, coworkers or experts in the field you could speak with, and resources you might require for the project. You can schedule a deadline for finishing the project to keep the analysis on track.
2. Gather information on qualifications and the role
Once your procedure is planned, you can begin gathering data on the subject of your analysis. This can include the qualifications or abilities required for the position and the current responsibilities. Some of this information might be available in old job postings or employee handbooks. You can learn about tasks and how they might be performed from employee training manuals. They may also have test materials for activities that will enhance your data.
Additionally, you can speak with current employees to learn more about their position. They can describe their responsibilities to you and provide a history of any previous responsibilities. It’s important to note if the role has changed in your analysis because their responsibilities might have changed throughout the course of the role.
3. Speak to leaders in the company
During this step, managers, supervisors, or other human resource specialists can also be great sources of information. There may be previous job advertisements or assessments of the position from other human resource specialists. Older job responsibilities or prior titles may be listed in previous job postings. An analysis of prior employment may be included in evaluations for the position, which would supplement your data.
Additionally, managers and supervisors may have insight into workers who have held the position in the past. Supervisors could offer advice based on prior employees who performed admirably in the position and tasks they undertook. Additionally, they could provide you with information on other workers in the position and skill sets that are no longer applicable. To determine the contributions a role makes, ask the manager or supervisor how it fits into the team, department, and organization.
4. Evaluate the skill set
Once you have a list of the current requirements and competencies for the position, you can assess the skill set. While some abilities may fall under the category of “entry-level skill sets,” others may be classified as “specialized knowledge.” You could group tasks or duties performed according to the skills required for the position. You can determine what the organization might require for a new set of standards by evaluating your list.
5. Compare against industry roles
You can compare standards by looking at other roles or positions in the same industry that are comparable. This can ensure that the outcomes of your analysis are consistent with roles that are similar to it. You might be able to modify the role if your analysis differs from other roles in the industry by developing a new set of standards or a completely new title.
6. Create a list of new standards
Once you have all the information, you can make a list of requirements for your position. Depending on the findings of your analysis, this list of job duties may be similar to the previous list or it may be a new listing. If necessary, your new list of standards may result in the creation of a completely new role or just a slight modification of an existing role.
For instance, while analyzing the job of an administrative assistant, you discovered they are responsible for many payroll-related tasks that were not originally listed in the job description. Instead of creating a new payroll job because they are not a primary component of the role, you add them to the updated list of responsibilities.
Create a job description to be stored on your computer using the results of your new analysis. If your business needs to hire for the position again, you can use the information in your job posting to draw in more qualified applicants.
FAQ
What is the importance of job analysis in human resource management?
Human resources professionals can define employer expectations and the role’s requirements by conducting a job analysis; in other words, everything you need to write the most accurate job description and create the best job advertisement for your recruitment needs.
What are the five uses of job analysis?
Recruitment and selection, job evaluation, job design, deciding compensation and benefits packages, performance reviews, analyzing training and development needs, determining the value of a job, and increasing employee and organizational productivity all depend on job analysis.
Who pointed out the importance of job analysis?
Human resource planning, hiring and selection, placement, training and development, job evaluation, performance appraisal, and a few other uses are examples of where job analysis is used. Job analysis is a crucial part of the system for managing human resources.
