JOB ANALYSIS
Building a baseline
Job Analysis is the process of analyzing jobs to understand what people do in their roles, what skills and abilities they need to do those things well, and what kinds of experiences and education provide the qualifications needed for success.
That foundational understanding of jobs serves as a baseline for all talent practices in an organization – from recruiting and hiring through career growth and development, and informing talent strategy. Having a clear and accurate picture of what people do and the skills needed allows an organization to build talent practices that meet the needs of employees and leaders, and that differentiate them as an industry leader.
To ensure an accurate understanding of our clients’ jobs, we perform a Job Analysis to identify key job responsibilities as well as the important job requirements, such as the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) and competencies required to perform jobs successfully.
Our approach starts with the collection and thorough review of existing documentation related to the responsibilities of the job and the competencies most critical for effective job performance. This could include existing job descriptions, performance review documents, job postings, and other materials.
The APTMetrics project team then conducts job observations at a number of work sites and leads focus groups with a sample of job experts to confirm the tasks performed in each role and to identify and document the critical competencies required for successful job performance. For each competency, we survey job experts to determine whether it is required upon entry to the role or whether development of the skill takes time to acquire.
Focus groups may be conducted with leaders, managers, incumbents, and sometimes even trainers.
Additional Reading
