Business
Human Resource Management

Methods of job analysis

Methods of job analysis

Job analysis is a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job.

There are different methods used by organization to collect information and conduct the job analysis.

The methods of job analysis are:

Personal observation :-
In this method the observer actually observes the concerned worker. He makes a list of all the duties performed by the worker and the qualities required to perform those duties based on the information collected, job analysis is prepared.

Actual performance of the job :-
In this method the observer who is in charge of preparing the job analysis actually does the work himself. This gives him an idea of the skill required, the difficulty level of the job, the efforts required etc.
 
Interview method :-
In this method an interview of the employee is conducted. A group of experts conduct the interview. They ask questions about the job, skilled levels, and difficulty levels. They question and cross question and collect information and based on this information job analysis is prepared.

Critical incident method :-
In this method the employee is asked to write one or more critical incident that has taken place on the job. The incident will give an idea about the problem, how it was handled, qualities required and difficulty levels etc. critical incident method gives an idea about the job and its importance. (a critical means important and incident means anything which takes place in the job)

Questioner method :-
In this method a questioner is provided to the employee and they are asked to answer the questions in it. The questions may be multiple choice questions or open ended questions. The questions decide how exactly the job analysis will be done. The method is effective because people would think twice before putting anything in writing.

Log records :-
Companies can ask employees to maintain log records and job analysis can be done on the basis of information collected from the log record. A log record is a book in which employees record /write all the activities performed by them on the job. The records are extensive as well as exhausted in nature and provide a fair idea about the duties and responsibilities in any job.

HRD records :-
Records of every employee are maintained by HR department. The record contain details about educational qualification, name of the job, number of years of experience, duties handled, any mistakes committed in the past and actions taken, number of promotions received, area of work, core competency  area, etc. based on these records job analysis can be done.