In order to do this correctly, you really should receive professional training in job analysis from an HR/Management Consultant or an Organizational Psychologist who has developed expertise in this important and critical aspect of HRM. Here are some important things to consider when analysing a job. These are derived from the principals of the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). You or your consultant may consider each of the following with or without the use of the PAQ however.

• The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) consists of 195 items
• 8 items report on the type of compensation received by the employee
• The remaining 187 relate directly to job activities or to the work environment

There are six main areas to the PAQ. It considers the job requirements in terms of the following:

1. Information Input
Where and how the employee gets the information required to perform the work
Interpreting what is sensed
Using various sources of information
Watching devices/materials
Evaluating/judging what is sensed
Being aware of environmental conditions
Using various senses

2. Work Output
The physical activities, tools and devices that are employed to perform the work
Using machine/equipment
General body movements
Controlling machines/processes
Skilled/technical activities
Manual related activities
Miscellaneous equipment
Handling activities
General physical coordination

3. Mental Processes
Reasoning, planning, and decision-making activities that are involved in performing the work
Making decisions
Processing information

4. Job Context
The physical and social in which the work is performed
Stressful Environment
Personally Demanding Environment
Hazardous Situations

5. Relationships with others
The relationships with individuals that are necessary to perform the job
Communicating judgements
Supervisor related activities
Exchanging job related information
Personal contact

6. Other Job Relationships
These include:
Non Typical V’s Daily Schedule
Salary V’s Variable Basis
Irregular V’s Regular Schedule
Business Situation
Job Demanding Events
Unstructured V’s Structured Work
Being Responsive to Changing Situations

Try to consider each of the above in terms of:

1. Extent of use
2. Importance to job
3. Amount of time it is done for
4. Possibility of occurrence
5. Whether or not it actually applies to the job

See O*NET for occupational classifications and more resources for Job Analysis: http://online.onetcenter.org/

Job Analysis informs the job description which in turn informs the person specification. For more information on job descriptions, see: http://www.pao.gov.ab.ca/Practitioners/?file=class/forms/write-job-description/how-to-write-job-descr

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Job Analysis . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.