CHAPTER THREE

JOB ANALYSIS AND HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter we cover two major functions of HRM job analysis and human resource planning.
We begin the chapter by defining and describing why job analysis is a basic human resource
management tool and explaining the reasons for conducting job analysis. Next, we review the
human resource planning process and some human resource forecasting techniques. Next, we
discuss forecasting human resource requirements and availability and describe what actions could
be taken should either a surplus or a shortage of workers exist. The chapter ends with a discussion
of succession planning and development and factors affect human resource planning.

3.1. JOB ANALYSIS

Job Analysis is the systematic process of collecting and making judgments about all the important
information related to a job. Job analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties
and nature of the jobs and the kinds of people who should be hired for them. You can utilize the
information it provides to write job descriptions and job specifications that are utilized in
recruitment and selection, compensation, performance appraisal, and training. Studying and
understanding jobs through the process known as job analysis is a vital part of any HRM program.
Considerable information is needed if job analysis is to be accomplished successfully. Knowledge
of the types of machines, tools, equipment, and work aids that are used in performing the job is
important. Some job analysis systems identify the standards that are established for the job.

Questions Job Analysis Should Answer

• What physical and mental tasks does the worker accomplish?
• When does the job have to be completed?
• Where is the job to be accomplished?
• How does the worker do the job?
• Why is the job done?
• What qualifications are needed to perform the job?

PURPOSES OF THE JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis is used to acquire the information in following areas

 Major duties or activities required
 Conditions under which the job is performed
So this process helps us to learn the following concepts:
• Job: A group of tasks that must be performed if an organization is to achieve its goals.
• Position: The tasks and responsibilities performed by one person; there is a position for every
individual in an organization.
• Task: A distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions
• Duty: A larger work segment composed of several tasks that are performed by an individual.
• Responsibility: An obligation to perform certain tasks and duties.
REASONS FOR CONDUCTING JOB ANALYSIS

A sound job analysis system is extremely critical for numerous reasons.

• Staffing: all areas of staffing would be haphazard if the recruiter did not know the
qualifications needed to perform the job. Recruitment and Selection – Job descriptions and
job specifications are formed from the information gathered from a job analysis, which help
management decide what sort of people to recruit and hire.
• Training and Development: if the specification suggests that the job requires a particular
knowledge, skill, or ability and the person filling the position does not possess all the
qualifications required training and/or development is probably in order.
 Discovering Unassigned Duties: Job analysis can help reveal unassigned duties.
• Performance Appraisal: Managers use job analysis to determine a job’s specific activities
and performance standards.
• Compensation and Benefits: The relative value of a particular job to the company must be
known before a dollar value can be placed on it. From an internal perspective the more
significant its duties and responsibilities, the more the job is worth.
• Safety and Health: Information derived from job analysis is also valuable in identifying
safety and health considerations.
• Employee and Labor Relations: Regardless of whether the firm is unionized, information
obtained through job analysis can often lead to more objective human resource decisions.
• Legal Considerations: having properly accomplished a job analysis is particularly
important for supporting the legality of employment practices.

WHEN JOB ANALYSIS IS PERFORMED?

Job analysis is conducted under following situations.

• When the organization is founded
• When new jobs are created
• When jobs are changed significantly as a result of new technologies, methods, procedures.

3.2. STEPS IN JOB ANALYSIS

The job analysis process has the following steps:

• Identify how the information will be used because that will determine what data will be
collected and how it should be collected. Interviewing and position analysis questionnaire
are some examples of data collection techniques.
• Review relevant background information, such as organization charts, process charts, and
job descriptions.
• Select representative positions to analyze because there may be too many similar jobs to
analyze, and it may not be necessary to analyze them all.
• Analyze the job by collecting data on job activities, required employee behaviors, working
conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job.
• Review and verify the job analysis information with job incumbents to confirm that it is
factually correct and complete.
• Develop a job description and job specification from the job analysis information.
JOB ANALYSIS OUTCOMES

A. Job description: A job description is a written statement of what the jobholder actually
does, how he or she does it, and under what conditions the job is performed. There is no
standard format for writing job descriptions, but most descriptions include sections on:
• job identification
• job summary
• relationships, responsibilities, and duties
• authority of incumbent
• standards of performance
• working conditions
• job specifications
B. Job specification: A job specification is a document containing the minimum acceptable
qualifications that a person should possess in order to perform a particular job. Items
typically included in the job specification are educational requirements, experience,
personality traits, and physical abilities.

C. Job evaluation: In Job Evaluation process the worth of job is identified based upon job
comparability and according to worth; importance of job and relative value Compensation
is designed and selected.

3.3. METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION

An HR specialist (an HR specialist, job analyst, or consultant), a worker, and the worker’s
supervisor usually work together in conducting the job analysis. Job analysis data is usually
collected from several employees from different departments, using interviews and questionnaires.
The data is then averaged, taking into account the departmental context of the employees, to
determine how much time a typical employee spends on each of several specific tasks.

THE INTERVIEW The three types of interviews managers use to collect job analysis data are:
 Individual (to get the employee’s perspective on the job’s duties and responsibilities,
 Group (when large numbers of employees perform the same job), and
 Supervisor (to get his/her perspective on the job’s duties and responsibilities).
The pros of using an interview are that it is: simple, quick, and more comprehensive because the
interviewer can unearth activities that may never appear in written form.

The following questions are some examples of typical questions. “What is the job being
performed?” “In what activities do you participate?” “What are the health and safety conditions?”

The following are interview guidelines:

A. The job analyst and supervisor should identify the workers who know the job best and would be
objective;
B. Establish a rapport with the interviewee;
C. Follow a structured guide or checklist;
D. Ask worker to list duties in order of importance and frequency of occurrence; and e) review and
verify the data.

QUESTIONNAIRE Structured or unstructured questionnaires may be used to obtain job analysis

information. Questionnaires can be a quick, efficient way of gathering information from a large
number of employees. But, developing and testing a questionnaire can be expensive and time
consuming.

OBSERVATION Direct observations are useful when jobs consist of mainly observable physical
activity as opposed to mental activity. Reactivity can be a problem with direct observations, which
is where the worker changes what he/she normally does because he/she is being watched. Managers
often use direct observation and interviewing together.

PARTICIPANT DIARY / LOGS The employee records every activity he/she engages in, in a
diary or log along with the amount of time to perform each activity to produce a complete picture of
the job. Employees may try to exaggerate some activities and underplay others.

QUANTITATIVE JOB ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data
concerning the duties and responsibilities of various jobs, on five basic activities: a) having
decision-making/communication/social responsibilities, b) performing skilled activities, c) being
physically active, d) operating vehicles/equipment, and e) processing information.
Functional job analysis:
1. rates a job on data; people; things; the extent to which specific instructions are necessary to
perform the task; the extent to which reasoning and judgment are required to perform the task; and
mathematical ability required to perform the task; and
2. Identifies performance standards and training requirements.

USING MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION Likely, no one job analysis method will
be used exclusively. A combination is often more appropriate. Where possible, collect job analysis
data using several types of collection techniques and respondents. Potential inaccuracies in peoples’
judgments could lead to inaccurate conclusions

SOURCE OF DATA

Main sources of collection of data for job analysis are as following:

• Employees, Supervisor,
• Manager, Job Analyst, Job Analyst (HR) ,
• Outside consultant or Supervisor/Manager

3.4. PROBLEMS WITH JOB ANALYSIS

Too lengthy
• Time consuming and requires much patience
 • Might be a reflection of stereotypes

3.5 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (HRP)

Human resource planning determines the human resources required by the organization to achieve
its strategic goals. It is ‘the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an
organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements’. Human resource
planning is based on the belief that people are an organization’s most important strategic resource.
It is generally concerned with matching resources to business needs in the longer term, although it
will sometimes address shorter term requirements.

It addresses human resource needs both in quantitative and qualitative terms, which means
answering two basic questions: first, how many people, and second, what sort of people? Human
resource planning also looks at broader issues relating to the ways in which people are employed
and developed in order to improve organizational effectiveness. It can therefore play an important
part in strategic human resource management.
It is the process of systematically reviewing human resource requirements to ensure that the
required number of employees, with the required skills, is available when they are needed.

AIMS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

The aims of human resource planning in any organization will depend largely on its context but in
general terms, the typical aims might be to:
 attract and retain the number of people required with the appropriate skills, expertise and
competencies;
 anticipate the problems of potential surpluses or deficits of people;
 develop a well-trained and flexible workforce, thus contributing to the organization’s ability
to adapt to an uncertain and changing environment;
 reduces dependence on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply by
formulating retention, as well as employee development strategies;
 Improve the utilization of people by introducing more flexible systems of work.

3.6. THE PROCESS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Step1. Define organization mission

A mission statement defines what business the organization is in, including why it exists and who
its customers are. It is the foundation or direction of every organization decisions. The mission
statement clarifies for all organization members what exactly the company is about. After reaching
on mission statement agreement on what business the company is and who the consumers are, then
the management go to the next part that is establishing corporate goal and objectives. All jobs in the
organization must tide with the organization mission.

Step 2. Establishing corporate goal and objectives

At this stage senior management set Strategic goals to establish targets for the organization to
achieve. Objective is broader statement that establish target the organization will achieve.
Organizational objectives help determine what organization action is required to align HR demand
with HR supply. Organizational objectives direct the planning process by identifying the desired
activity to achieve organizational goals.
.
Step 3. Corporate assessment

Is a stage company to analyze its goal, its currents strategy, its external environment, its strength
and weakness and its opportunity and treat, interims of whether goal and objectives can be achieved
with the current organizational resources? ‘Commonly referred to as Gap or SWOT (Strengths-
Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis. Strengths and weaknesses and core competencies
are identified HRM determines what knowledge, skills and abilities are needed by the
organization’s human resources. Ensures that people are available to meet the requirements set
during strategic planning and also indicate organizational departmental ability such as training and
development, marketing, accounting, HR, research and development and MIS.

This phase of HRP serve as the link between the organization goal and insuring the organization can
meet its objective by establishing the direction of the company through strategic planning.
This is the stage that organization determine what jobs need to be done and how many and what
type of workers will be require. It is stage of organizing function.
To determine what skills are needed HRM conduct a job analysis and then HRP become more
critical in organization to ensure that appropriate personals are available to meet the requirement set
by the strategic planning process

Step 4 Assessing current human resources

Assessing current human resource is the stage of HRP that develop a profile of organization current
employees to determine what skills are currently available in the organization?
Identifying current workforce dynamics is a critical step in the development of an HR plan. A skills
inventory is a computerized or manual system designed to take stock of information about current
employees’ experience, education, compensation history, and/or unique abilities. A skills inventory
can be useful in revealing what skills are immediately available in an organization by providing a
snapshot view of the existing talent in an organization. A human resources inventory report is
derived from forms completed by employee and checked by supervisor., it summarizes information
on current workers and their skills by list all organization employee name, education, training, prior
experience current position, performance rate, salary level, capability, special skill, language skill
etc.

Technological advancement came up with Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS). HRIS
is a data base system that keeps important information about employees in accessible location and
provide quick track of information about employee and job. It is increasingly become popular in the
past two decades due to manager’s nees timely information and new technology significantly cut
the cost of the system.
In addition to HRIS organization also generate a separate management inventory report through
succession plan. Succession plan is a replacement chart that portrays middle-to-upper level
management position that may become vacant in the near future and list information about
individuals who might qualify to fill the position. It gives management an indication of time frame
for succession as well as helping to spot any skill shortage.
A human resource inventory can be developed to project year-by-year estimates of future HRM
needs for every significant job level and type. Forecasts must be made of the need for specific
knowledge’s, skills and abilities. Human resource forecasting includes
 Forecasting Human Resource Requirements A requirements forecast is an estimate of the
numbers and kinds of employees the organization will need at future dates in order to realize
its goals.
 Forecasting Human Resource Availability Determining whether the firm will be able to
secure employees with the necessary skills and from what sources these individuals may be
obtained is called an availability forecast.

Step 5. Determining the Demand for Labor

Demand analysis identifies the future workforce requirements needed to maintain the
organization’s mission and goals. The end result of a demand analysis is the identification of the
required number of employees in an organization and the necessary functions that the employee
must perform to meet organizational objectives. In HR planning, labor demand is determined
separately from supply estimates because it facilitates a re-examination of embedded assumptions
about the labor force. As well, different variables affect demand analysis.
Due to the high number of environment- and organization-specific variables that influence demand
analysis, there is no single correct way to estimate future HR demand. Instead, a number of
quantitative and qualitative methods are available to aid HR professionals in this step.
Ultimately, the decision of which method to use will be dependent on the size of the organization,
the resources available, and the expertise of the HR planning team.

SUCESSION PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

• Succession Planning: The process of ensuring that a qualified person is available to assume
a managerial position once the position is vacant.
• Succession Development: It is the process of determining a comprehensive job profile of
the key positions and then ensuring that key prospects are properly developed to match these
qualifications.