Job Analysis - Good OR Bad

Advantages of Job Analysis[/b]

Provides First Hand Job-Related Information: The job analysis process provides with valuable job-related data that helps managers and job analyst the duties and responsibilities of a particular job, risks and hazards involved in it, skills and abilities required to perform the job and other related info.

Helps in Creating Right Job-Employee Fit: This is one of the most crucial management activities. Filling the right person in a right job vacancy is a test of skills, understanding and competencies of HR managers. Job Analysis helps them understand what type of employee will be suitable to deliver a specific job successfully.

Helps in Establishing Effective Hiring Practices: Who is to be filled where and when? Who to target and how for a specific job opening? Job analysis process gives answers to all these questions and helps managers in creating, establishing and maintaining effective hiring practices.

Guides through Performance Evaluation and Appraisal Processes: Job Analysis helps managers evaluating the performance of employees by comparing the standard or desired output with delivered or actual output. On these bases, they appraise their performances. The process helps in deciding whom to promote and when. It also guides managers in understanding the skill gaps so that right person can be fit at that particular place in order to get desired output.

Helps in Analyzing Training & Development Needs: The process of job analysis gives answer to following questions:

Who to impart training

When to impart training

What should be the content of training

What should be the type of training: behavioral or technical

Who will conduct training

Helps in Deciding Compensation Package for a Specific Job: A genuine and unbiased process of job analysis helps managers in determining the appropriate compensation package and benefits and allowances for a particular job. This is done on the basis of responsibilities and hazards involved in a job.

thorough and competently conducted job analysis has a number of benefits for the human resource cycle and the organization as a whole:

HR Planning

-Provides essential information for management before making organizational decisions

-Show actual number and nature of jobs within the company

-Create precise job descriptions

-Bring the specifics of a position in focus

-Determine relative worth of each position and its appropriate class

-Maintain the competitiveness of the company in the market

Setting & Monitoring Performance Standards

-Establish a job’s specific activities and performance standards

-Carry out objective performance appraisals

-Combine responsibilities into logical job groups

-Identify major job responsibilities for inclusion in a performance management system

Compensations & Benefits

-Evaluate and establish appropriate levels of compensation based on job value

-Develop compensation programmes based on different skill levels

-Create an obvious effect in motivating employees

Recruitment & Selection

-Establish relevant standards and requirements for personnel selection purposes

-Locate suitable pool of candidates for recruit and hire

-Develop unbiased interview questions

-Get rid of unnecessary tasks and positions

-Know what should be done for the job

Training

-Expose skills that require by various jobs

-Define contents of training programmes

-Identify health and safety hazards and working conditions that require special training

Disadvantages of Job Analysis[/b]

Time Consuming: The biggest disadvantage of Job Analysis process is that it is very time consuming. It is a major limitation especially when jobs change frequently.

Involves Personal Biasness: If the observer or job analyst is an employee of the same organization, the process may involve his or her personal likes and dislikes. This is a major hindrance in collecting genuine and accurate data.

Source of Data is Extremely Small: Because of small sample size, the source of collecting data is extremely small. Therefore, information collected from few individuals needs to be standardized.

Involves Lots of Human Efforts: The process involves lots of human efforts. As every job carries different information and there is no set pattern, customized information is to be collected for different jobs. The process needs to be conducted separately for collecting and recording job-related data.

Job Analyst May Not Possess Appropriate Skills: If job analyst is not aware of the objective of job analysis process or does not possess appropriate skills to conduct the process, it is a sheer wastage of company’s resources. He or she needs to be trained in order to get authentic data.

Mental Abilities Cannot is Directly Observed: Last but not the least, mental abilities such as intellect, emotional characteristics, knowledge, aptitude, psychic and endurance are intangible things that cannot be observed or measured directly. People act differently in different situations. Therefore, general standards cannot be set for mental abilities.