What are the different methods of collecting job analysis information?
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Job analysis is the process of determining and recording information about a specific job, roles, and responsibilities associated with it, skills required for it, etc. Job analysis helps differentiate one job role from the other and is based on different methods and techniques. There are several job analysis methods, yet incorporating one or a combination of two may depend on the organization’s need. These may include interviews, questionnaires,
observation, Functional Job Analysis, job inventories or checklists, job psychographic method, etc. Job analysis is based on observation and study and helps determine and record all the information required for a
particular job. It is essential because it contributes to human resource management. The critical job analysis methods are observation, interview, functional job analysis, questionnaire, etc. A job analyst observes an employee and records all the tasks performed, duties, and responsibilities fulfilled. The observation method helps gain first-hand knowledge and information about the job that needs to be analyzed. It may
also help overview the work environment, tools, equipment used, relationships with other workers, and others. The interview method involves a discussion between the job analysis and job experts. Individual or group interviews help in collecting data for job analysis. This information collected from the employees is often supplemented by supervisors whose jobs are analyzed. The daily method requires the employees to record their daily activities in detail. The information of the employees’ everyday activities is collected in detail and then analyzed. This is a method of job analysis that uses the services of the supervisors possessing extensive knowledge about a job are used with the help of conferences. In this conference organized by the job
analyst, the supervisor provides details. Functional Job Analysis (FJA) is a data collection method for a specific job. It produces unique information related to employees’ actions and behaviour which is further used for writing job descriptions. It uses precise terminology and a structured schedule for recording information related to the job. It is beneficial in recruiting and selection functions. Subscribe to Get Our NewsletterBy checking this box, you confirm that you have read and are agreeing to our terms of use.
As discussed earlier, information is to be collected for job analysis. Such information may be collected by the trained job analysis, superiors concerned and job holders themselves. Job information is collected through the following methods: 1. Participant Diary/Logs: Workers can be to keep participant diary/long or lists of things they do during the day. For every activity he or she engages in, the employee records the activity (along with the time) in a log. This can provide you with a very comprehensive picture of the job, especially when it’s supplemented with subsequent interviews with the worker and his or her supervisor. This method provides more accurate information if done faithfully. However, it is quite time consuming. Further, each job holder may maintain records according to his own way which presents problems in analysis at later stage. Therefore, it has limited application. 2. Interview: There are three types of interviews you can use 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, since this can be a quick and inexpensive way of learning about the job. As a rule, the worker’s immediate supervisor would attend the group session; if not, you should interview the supervisor separately to get that person’s perspective on the duties and responsibilities of the job. 3. Critical Incidents: In this method, job holders are asked to describe incidents concerning the job on the basis of their past experience. The incidents so collected are analyzed and classified according to the job areas they describe, A fairly picture of actual job requirements can be obtained by distinguishing between effective and ineffective behaviors of workers on the job. However, this method is time consuming. The analyst requires a high degree of skill to analyze the contents of descriptions given by workers. 4. Technical Conference Method: This method utilizes supervisors with extensive knowledge of the job. Here, specific characteristics of a job are obtained from the “experts.” Although it is a good data gathering method, it often overlooks the incumbent worker’s perception about what they do on their job. 5. Job Performance: Under this method, the job analyst actually performs the job under study to get first-hand experience of the actual tasks, and physical and social demands of the job. This method can be used only for jobs where skill requirements are low and can be learnt quickly and easily. This is a timeconsuming method and is not appropriate for jobs requiring extensive training. 6. Functional Job Analysis: Functional job analysis (FJA) is employee- oriented analytical approach of job analysis. This approach attempts to describe the whole person on the job. The main features of FJA include the following:
7. Observation Method: Using this method, a job analyst watches employees directly on the job. Observations are made on various tasks, activities, the pace at which tasks are carried out, and the way different activities are performed. This method is suitable for jobs that involve manual, standardized, and short job cycle activities. This method also requires that the entire range of activities be observable; possible with some jobs. 8. Questionnaires: The method is usually employed by engineering consultants. Properly drafted questionnaires are sent out to job-holders for completion and are returned to supervisors. However, the information received is often unorganized and incoherent. The idea in issuing questionnaire is to elicit the necessary information from job –holders so that any error may first be discussed with the employee and, after corrections, may be submitted to the job analyst. This technique is time consuming and generally does not yield satisfactory results because many employees do not complete the questionnaire or furnish incorrect information because of their own limitations. The use of questionnaire is recommended only in case of those technical jobs where the job contents are not completely known to the supervisor or the operation is too complex to observe. There are certain standardized questionnaires developed by a few agencies which are used by various organizations for job analysis. Most of these questionnaires are of two types: position analysis questionnaire and management position description questionnaire that are decribed as follows: a. Position Analysis Questionnaire. Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) is a highly specialized instrument for analyzing a job in terms of employee activities. The PAQ developed by Purdue University is a comprehensive questionnaire for collecting information for job analysis. In this questionnaire, various job elements have been grouped into six categories with each category containing relevant job elements resulting into 195 elements as shown in Table. Position Analysis Questionnaire
The advantage of PAQ is that it provides a quantitative score or profile of any job in terms of how that job rates on the basic activities. The PAQ’s real strength is, thus, in classifying jobs. PAQ’s results can be used to compare the jobs relative to one another and pay levels can be assigned for each job. The major problem with PAQ is the time it takes for a job analyst to fill out the ratings. However, PAQ has been widely researched and tested and appears to be both reliable and valid. b. Management Position Description Questionnaire: Management position description is a highly structured questionnaire containing 208 items relating to managerial responsibilities, restrictions, demands and other miscellaneous position characteristics. W.W. Tomov and P.R. Pinto have developed the following Management position Description factors:
The above methods are the most popular ones for gathering job analysis data. They all provide realistic information about what job incumbents actually do. They can thus be used for developing job descriptions and job specifications. Caroll L. Shartle, Otis and Lenhert have provided the following suggestions for making the job analyst’s task simple.
What are the methods for collecting job analysis information?The most effective technique when collecting information for a job analysis is to obtain information through direct observation as well as from the most qualified incumbent(s) via questionnaires or interviews.
What are three 3 methods of collecting job analysis information?The job analysis method
The three most commonly used methods are the Critical Incident Technique, Task Inventory, and Functional Job Analysis. Depending on the method, the data collection will differ.
What are the four methods of job analysis?See Performing Job Analysis. Four primary methods of job evaluations used to set compensation levels are point factor, factor comparison, job ranking and job classification.
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