Every HR decision about a job, whom to hire, how to train them, how much to pay them and how to judge their performance, depends on understanding the job itself. Job analysis provides that understanding.
This article explains what job analysis is, what it involves and, above all, the purposes it serves in an organization.
What is Job Analysis?
Job analysis is the systematic study and recording of a job’s responsibilities, duties, skills, accountabilities, working environment and ability requirements. It also determines the relative importance of the duties, responsibilities and the physical and behavioral skills a job requires.
In other words, job analysis collects and records job-related data, such as the knowledge and skills needed, the duties and responsibilities involved, the education and experience required, and the physical abilities and behavioral qualities, such as staying calm under pressure, needed to do the job well. Together, these factors identify what a job demands and what an employee must have to perform it productively.
What Does Job Analysis Involve?
Job analysis is an in-depth investigation aimed at getting the job done successfully. It shows what a department needs and what a prospective worker must deliver.
Facts about the job
It records particulars such as:
- Job title and location
- Job summary
- Duties involved
- Working conditions
- Possible hazards
- Machines, tools, equipment and materials used
Human requirements
It also identifies the qualifications a person needs to do the job, such as:
- Education and experience
- Judgment, initiative and responsibility
- Training needed
- Leadership and communication skills
- Physical skills and any unusual sensory demands
- Behavioral qualities, such as handling stress, and accountability
These requirements change depending on the type of job, its seniority, the industry and the level of risk involved.
The two outputs of job analysis
Job analysis produces two key documents:
- Job description: what the job involves, including its title, duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships and working conditions.
- Job specification: the qualities the person needs, including education, experience, skills and personal characteristics.
An Example: Analyzing a Sales Manager’s Job
Suppose an organization wants to analyze the job of an executive sales manager.
- Determine the worth of the job. How important is this role to the organization, and how does it compare with other roles?
- Check whether the job holder delivers what is expected, and whether they are the right fit for the role.
- Collect detailed facts, such as job location, department, compensation grade, duties and routine tasks, computer, educational, communication and physical skills, reporting activities and structure, adaptability, leadership skills, required licenses and certifications, ability to grow and close sales, ability to handle clients, managers and team members, and presentation.
This information then feeds into hiring, appraisal, training and pay decisions for the role.
Turning Job Analysis into a Job Description
Once the information is collected, HR turns it into a written job description and job specification. A simple four-part structure, like the one below, works for most roles, including the sales manager in this example.
| Section | What it is for | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Role summary | Explains where the job fits and how senior it is | Job title, department, who the person reports to, who reports to them, and the main purpose of the role |
| Key result areas (KRAs) | Lists the main duties the person is responsible for | A short list of the most important duties and recurring tasks, and any projects the person owns |
| Performance measures | Shows how success will be judged | Clear, measurable targets, such as sales achieved, number of new clients or time taken to complete tasks |
| Job specification | Describes the person needed | Education, experience, licenses or certifications, technical and computer skills, and behavioral qualities such as communication and leadership |
The Purposes of Job Analysis
The main purposes of job analysis are to create the right fit between job and employee, to assess performance, to determine the worth of a job and to identify training and development needs. More specifically, job analysis plays an important role in the following areas.
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Recruitment and selection
Job analysis shows what kind of person is needed for a job: the educational qualifications, level of experience, and technical, physical, emotional and personal skills required. The aim is to put the right person in the right place.
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Performance appraisal
Job analysis helps set performance standards, evaluation criteria and expected output. It shows whether a job’s goals and objectives are being met, and employees are appraised against these standards.
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Training and development
The gap between expected and actual output shows how much training employees need. Job analysis also helps decide training content, tools and equipment, and the methods of training.
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Compensation management
Job analysis plays a vital role in deciding pay packages, perks and benefits, and fixed and variable incentives. Pay depends on the position, title, duties and responsibilities, all of which job analysis captures. Combined with job evaluation, which ranks jobs inside the organization, and market pay data, it guides HR managers in deciding what a job, and the person in it, is worth.
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Job evaluation
Job analysis provides the information needed to compare jobs with each other and rank them by their relative worth, which forms the basis of a fair pay structure.
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Job design and redesign
Job analysis helps streamline human effort to get the best possible output. It supports designing, redesigning, enriching and evaluating jobs, and adding or removing responsibilities, to increase both employee satisfaction and productivity.
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Human resource planning
By clarifying the skills each job needs, job analysis helps organizations forecast future staffing needs and plan succession.
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Health, safety and legal compliance
Recording working conditions and hazards helps organizations protect employees, meet safety rules and defend hiring and pay decisions if they are challenged.
HR activity How job analysis supports it Recruitment and selection Defines the qualifications, experience and skills to look for Performance appraisal Sets performance standards and evaluation criteria Training and development Reveals the gap between expected and actual performance Compensation Sets pay for each job using its duties, its rank and market pay rates Job evaluation Provides data to rank jobs by relative worth Job design Shows where jobs can be enriched, simplified or restructured HR planning Clarifies future skill and staffing needs Safety and compliance Records hazards and working conditions
Why Job Analysis Must Be Done Carefully
The success of a job depends on an unbiased, thorough and accurate analysis. But job analysis alone does not guarantee results. Collecting and recording information about a job can be complicated, and the information quickly becomes outdated as jobs change.
If job information is inaccurate or not reviewed from time to time, employees may not know what they are supposed to do or what is expected of them. Then the time and effort spent on job analysis is wasted. That is why job analysis should be done carefully and updated regularly.
Common methods of collecting job information include:
| Method | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Observation | Analyst watches the job being done | Manual and repetitive jobs |
| Interviews | Analyst talks to job holders and supervisors | Complex or varied roles |
| Questionnaires | Job holders fill in structured forms | Gathering data from many people |
| Work diaries or logs | Job holders record activities over time | Jobs with irregular tasks |
| Critical incident technique | Collecting examples of especially good and poor performance | Identifying key behaviors |
Who Benefits?
A thorough, unbiased job analysis benefits everyone:
- Managers know whom to hire and why, and can fill each position with the right person.
- Employees, existing and new, know what they are supposed to do, how to do it and what results are expected.
- The organization gets a sound basis for its strategies and policies, and higher productivity.
Conclusion
Job analysis is one of the most important functions of an HR manager. By systematically studying what a job involves and what it takes to do it well, it produces the job description and job specification that underpin recruitment, appraisal, training, compensation, job evaluation, job design, HR planning and compliance. Done carefully and kept up to date, it puts the right talent in the right place at the right time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is job analysis?
Job analysis is the systematic process of studying and recording a job’s duties, responsibilities, working conditions and the skills and qualifications needed to perform it.
What is the main purpose of job analysis?
Its main purpose is to create the right fit between the job and the employee, and to provide the information needed for hiring, appraisal, training, pay and job design decisions.
What are the outputs of job analysis?
The two main outputs are the job description, which describes the job, and the job specification, which describes the qualities the person needs.
How is job analysis used in compensation?
It records the duties, responsibilities and skills of each job, which helps determine the job’s worth and set fair pay and benefits.
How often should job analysis be updated?
Whenever a job changes significantly, and ideally reviewed regularly, because outdated job information leads to poor hiring, training and pay decisions.
