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PART TWO STAFFING: WORKFORCE PLANNING AND EMPLOYMENT
C H A P T E R
T F o u r
Job Analysis and Talent
Management
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Lecture Outline
In Brief: Talent management is the
holistic, integrated, and results and
goal-oriented process of planning,
recruiting, developing, managing,
and compensating employees. An
organization achieves an effective
talent management process through
the use of job analysis. Information
and the methods of conducting a job
analysis are detailed. The tasks of
writing job descriptions and job
specifications are also outlined.
Additionally, this chapter explains
the essential functions of a job and
what competency-based job analysis
is.
Interesting Issues: The Internet has
provided new resources for
conducting job analysis. A manager
can use the web to review existing
information about a job and may
also use online systems to gather job
analysis data. While online support
makes the job analysis process
easier to conduct, it still requires the
time and attention from HR experts
to write accurate job descriptions
and job specifications.
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ANNOTATED OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
I. The Talent Management Process
Managers traditionally view the talent management process as a series of
steps:
1. Decide what positions to fill, through job analysis, personnel
planning, and forecasting.
3. Obtain application forms and perhaps have initial screening
interviews.
5. Decide to whom to make an offer.
7. Appraise employees to assess how they’re doing.
8. Compensate employees to maintain their motivation.
A. What Is Talent Management? — The holistic, integrated, and results and
1. Starts with the results and asks, “What recruiting, testing, training, or
pay action should I take to produce the employee competencies we
need to achieve our company’s goals?”
2. Treats HR activities such as recruiting and training as holistic and
3. Will endeavor to use the same “profile” of required human skills,
4. Will take steps to coordinate/integrate talent management functions
such as recruiting and training by making sure he or she is using the
II. The Basics of Job Analysis
Talent management begins with understanding what jobs need to be
filled, and the human traits and competencies employees need to do
those jobs effectively.
A. What Is Job Analysis? — A job analysis is the procedure for determining
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equipment, and work aids; performance standards; job context; and
human requirements.
A job description is a list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting
relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities—one
The type of information collected for a job analysis includes:
1. Work activities
3. Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids
5. Job context
6. Human requirements
B. Uses of Job Analysis Information — Job analysis is the basis of several
interrelated HR activities such as:
2. EEO Compliance
4. Performance appraisal
5. Compensation
C. Steps in Job Analysis
The six steps in the process are:
Step 1: Decide how you’ll use the information.
Step 2: Review relevant background information such as
organization charts, process charts, and job descriptions.
a. Workflow Analysis — Job analysis does not answer
questions such as “Should this job even exist?”
b. Business Process Reengineering — Means
redesigning business processes, usually by
c. Job Redesign — Experts typically suggest three
ways to redesign specialized jobs to make them
more challenging:
— Job enlargement means assigning workers
additional same-level activities.
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— Job rotation means systematically moving
workers from one job to another.
— Job enrichment means redesigning jobs in a
way that increases the opportunities for the
worker to experience feelings of
responsibility, achievement, growth, and
recognition.
Step 3: Select representative positions.
Step 4: Actually analyze the job.
III. Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information
Figure 4.4 presents a sample job analysis questionnaire for developing job
descriptions.
A. 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 or her
perspective on the job’s duties and responsibilities).
B. Questionnaires
Structured or unstructured questionnaires may be used to obtain job
C. Observation
Direct observations are useful when jobs consist of mainly observable
physical activity as opposed to mental activity. Reactivity — the worker
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D. Participant Diary/Log
The employee records every activity he or she engages in, in a diary or
E. Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques
Position Analysis Questionnaire — The position analysis questionnaire
(PAQ) is a very popular quantitative job analysis tool, consisting of a
questionnaire containing 194 items. The items each belong to one of five
F. Electronic Job Analysis Methods
Face-to-face interviews and observations can be time consuming.
IV. Writing Job Descriptions
The most important product of job analysis is the job description. A job
description is a written statement of what the worker actually does, how he or
she does it, and what the job’s working conditions are.
A. Job Identification — Contains the job title, date, and possible space to
indicate who approved the description, the location of the job, the
immediate supervisor’s title, salary, or pay scale.
B. Job Summary — Should summarize the essence of the job and include
only its major functions or activities.
C. Relationships — Occasionally, a relationships statement is included. It
shows the jobholders’ relationships with others inside and outside the
organization.
D. Responsibilities and Duties — The job analysis itself will provide
information about what employees are doing on the job.
E. Standards of Performance and Working Conditions — Lists the
standards the employee is expected to achieve under each of the job
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F. HR Tools for Line Managers and Small Businesses — Internet sites such
How to use O*Net
Step 1: Decide on a plan.
Step 2: Develop an organization chart.
Step 3: Use a job analysis questionnaire.
V. Writing Job Specifications
A. Specifications for Trained vs. Untrained Personnel — Writing job
specifications for trained employees is relatively straightforward because
they are likely to focus on traits such as length of previous service,
quality of relevant training, and previous job performance. Writing job
educated guesses of people such as supervisors and human resource
C. Job Specifications Based on Statistical Analysis — The aim here is to
determine statistically the relationship between (1) some predictor
(human trait, such as height, intelligence, or finger dexterity), and (2)
some indicator or criterion of job effectiveness, such as performance as
rated by the supervisor.
The procedure has five steps: (1) analyze the job and decide how to
D. The Job Requirements Matrix — A more complete description of what the
worker does and how and why she does it. It clarifies each task’s
purpose and each duty’s required knowledge, skills, and other
characteristics.
VI. Employee Engagement Guide for Managers
A. Employee engagement is a behavior that should be included in a job
specification.
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B. Job Specifications and Employee Engagement — What traits should
C. The Employee Engagement Manager’s Job Description — Many
VII. Using Competencies Models
Many people still think of a “job” as a set of specific duties someone carries
out for pay, but the concept of job is changing. Therefore, relying on a list of
static job duties that itemizes specific things you expect the worker to do is
often impractical. In such situations, the better option to using a job
description may be to use what managers call competency models or job
profiles.
A. How to Write Competencies Statements — Identifying the job’s required
competencies and writing them up is similar to traditional job analysis.
However, instead of compiling lists of job duties, your aim is to finish the
statement, “In order to perform this job competently, the employee
should be able to. . .”
In practice, a useful competency statement for each of a job’s
competencies includes three elements:
The name and a brief description of the competency
KEY TERMS
Talent management
The holistic, integrated, and results and goal-oriented
process of planning, recruiting, selecting, developing,
managing, and compensating employees.
Organization chart
A chart that shows the organization-wide distribution of
work, with titles of each position and interconnecting lines
that show who reports to and communicates with whom.
Job analysis
The procedure for determining the duties and skill
requirements of a job and the kind of person who should
be hired for it.
Job descriptions
A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting
relationships, working conditions, and supervisory
responsibilities—one product of a job analysis.
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Job specifications
A list of a job’s “human requirements,” that is, the requisite
education, skills, personality, and so on—another product
of a job analysis.
Process chart
A workflow chart that shows the flow of inputs to and
outputs from a particular job.
Workflow analysis
A detailed study of the flow of work from job to job in a
work process.
Business process
reengineering
Redesigning business processes, usually by combining
steps, so that small multifunction process teams using
information technology do the jobs formerly done by a
sequence of departments.
Job enlargement
Assigning workers additional same-level activities.
Job rotation
Systematically moving workers from one job to another.
Job enrichment
Redesigning jobs in a way that increases the opportunities
for the worker to experience feelings of responsibility,
achievement, growth, and recognition.
Diary/log
Daily listings made by workers of every activity in which
they engage, along with the time each activity takes.
Position analysis
questionnaire (PAQ)
A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data
concerning the duties and responsibilities of various jobs.
Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC)
Classifies all workers into one of 23 major groups of jobs
that are subdivided into minor groups of jobs and detailed
occupations.
Job-requirements matrix
A more complete description of what the worker does and
how and why he or she does it; it clarifies each task’s
purpose and each duty’s required knowledge, skills,
abilities, and other characteristics.
Task statement
Written item that shows what the worker does on one
particular job task; how the worker does it; the knowledge,
skills, and aptitudes required to do it; and the purpose of
the task.
Competency-based job
analysis
Describing the job in terms of measurable, observable,
behavioral competencies (knowledge, skills, and/or
behaviors) that an employee doing the job must exhibit to
do the job well.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
4-1. Why, in summary, should managers think of staffing, training, appraising, and
paying employees as a talent management process? (LO 4.1: Define talent
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4-4. Describe the types of information typically found in a job specification. (LO 4.5:
4-5. Explain how you would conduct a job analysis. (LO 4.2: Discuss the process of job
4-6. Do you think all companies can really do without detailed job descriptions? Why or
why not? (LO 4.4: Explain how you would write a job description.) Job descriptions are
4-7. Explain how you would create a job requirements matrix for a job. (LO 4.4: Explain
how you would write a job description.)
A typical matrix includes the following information in five columns:
4-8. In a company with only 25 employees, is there less of a need for job descriptions?
Why or why not? (LO 4.4: Explain how to write a job description.) Small businesses face
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP ACTIVITIES
4-9. Working individually or in groups, obtain copies of job descriptions for clerical
positions at the college or university where you study, or the firm where you work.
What types of information do they contain? Do they give you enough information
to explain what the job involves and how to do it? How would you improve on the
description? (LO 4.4: Explain how you would write a job description.) Depending on the
4-10. Working individually or in groups, use O*NET to develop a job description for a
position of your choosing—perhaps an accounting clerk, or your professor in this
class. Based on that, use your judgment to develop a job specification. Compare
your conclusions with those of other students or groups. Were there any
significant differences? What were they? What do you think accounted for the
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4-11. For this activity, you will need the documents titled (1) “HRCI PHR® and SPHR®
Certification body of Knowledge” and (2) “About the Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM) Body of Competency and KnowledgeTM Model and
Certification Exams.” Your instructor can obtain these documents from the
Pearson Instructor Resource Center and pass them on to you. These documents
list the knowledge someone studying for the HRCI or SHRM certification exam
needs to have in each area of human resource management (such as in Strategic
Management and Workforce Planning). In groups of several students, do four
things: (1) review the HRCI and/or SHRM documents; (2) identify the material in
this chapter that relates to the required knowledge the appendix lists; (3) write four
multiple-choice exam questions on this material that you believe would be suitable
for inclusion in the HRCI exam; and (4) if time permits, have someone from your
team post your team’s questions in front of the class, so the students in other
teams can take each other’s exam questions. (Covers all learning objectives) The
4-12. Why, in summary, should managers think of staffing, training, appraising, and
paying employees as a talent management process? (LO 4.1: Define talent
4-13. Do you think companies can really do without detailed job descriptions? Why or
APPLICATION EXERCISES
HR in Action Case Incident 1: Optima Air Filter Company: The Flood
4-14. Should Phil and Linda ignore the old–timers’ protests and write the job
descriptions as they see fit? Why? Why not? How would you go about resolving
the differences? (LO 4.4: Explain how you would write a job description.) Students
4-15. How would you have conducted the job analysis? What should Phil do now? (LO
HR in Action Case Incident 2: Carter Cleaning Company: The Job Description