job Analysis is a systematic exploration, study and recording the responsibilities,

duties, skills, accountabilities, work environment and ability requirements of a specific

job. It also involves determining the relative importance of the duties, responsibilities and
physical and emotional skills for a given job. All these factors identify what a job demands
and what an employee must possess to perform a job productively.

What Does Job Analysis Involve ?

The process of job analysis involves in-depth investigation in order to control the output, i.e.,
get the job performed successfully. The process helps in finding out what a particular
department requires and what a prospective worker needs to deliver. It also helps in
determining particulars about a job including job title, job location, job summary, duties
involved, working conditions, possible hazards and machines, tools, equipments and
materials to be used by the existing or potential employee.
However, the process is not limited to determination of these factors only. It also extends to
finding out the necessary human qualifications to perform the job. These include establishing
the levels of education, experience, judgment, training, initiative, leadership skills, physical
skills, communication skills, responsibility, accountability, emotional characteristics and
unusual sensory demands. These factors change according to the type, seniority level,
industry and risk involved in a particular job.

Importance of Job Analysis

The details collected by conducting job analysis play an important role in controlling
the output of the particular job. Determining the success of job depends on the unbiased,
proper and thorough job analysis. It also helps in recruiting the right people for a particular
job. The main purpose of conducting this whole process is to create and establish a perfect fit
between the job and the employee.
Job analysis also helps HR managers in deciding the compensation package and additional
perks and incentives for a particular job position. It effectively contributes in assessing the
training needs and performance of the existing employees. The process forms the basis to
design and establish the strategies and policies to fulfill organizational goals and objectives.
However, analysis of a particular job does not guarantee that the managers or organization
would get the desired output. Actually collecting and recording information for a specific job
involves several complications. If the job information is not accurate and checked from time to
time, an employee will not be able to perform his duty well. Until and unless he is not aware of
what he is supposed to do or what is expected of him, chances are that the time and energy
spent on a particular job analysis is a sheer wastage of human resources. Therefore, proper
care should be taken while conducting job analysis.
A thorough and unbiased investigation or study of a specific job is good for both the managers
and the employees. The managers get to know whom to hire and why. They can fill a place
with the right person. On the other hand, existing or potential employee gets to know what
and how he is supposed to perform the job and what is the desired output. Job analysis
creates a right fit between the job and the employee.

Purpose of Job Analysis

1

e-mailPrint

As discussed already, job analysis involves collecting and recording job-related data such as
knowledge and skills required to perform a job, duties and responsibilities involved,
education qualifications and experience required and physical and emotional characteristics
required to perform a job in a desired manner. The main purposes of conducting a job
analysis process is to use this particular information to create a right fit between job and
employee, to assess the performance of an employee, to determine the worth of a particular
task and to analyze training and development needs of an employee delivering that specific
.job
Lets understand the concept with the help of an example. If the job of an executive sales
manager is to be analyzed, the first and foremost thing would be to determine the worth of
this job. The next step is to analyze whether the person is able to deliver what is expected of
him. It also helps in knowing if he or she is perfect for this job. The process doesnt finish
here. It also involves collection of other important facts and figures such as job location,
department or division, compensation grade, job duties, routine tasks, computer,
educational, communicational and physical skills, MIS activities, reporting structure, ability to
adapt in a given environment, leadership skills, licenses and certifications, ability to grow and
close sales, ability to handle clients, superiors and subordinates and of course, the
.presentation of an individual

Purpose of Job Analysis

Job Analysis plays an important role in recruitment and selection, job evaluation, job
designing, deciding compensation and benefits packages, performance appraisal, analyzing
training and development needs, assessing the worth of a job and increasing personnel as
.well as organizational productivity

Recruitment and Selection: Job Analysis helps in determining what kind of person
is required to perform a particular job. It points out the educational qualifications, level
of experience and technical, physical, emotional and personal skills required to carry
out a job in desired fashion. The objective is to fit a right person at a right place.

Performance Analysis: Job analysis is done to check if goals and objectives of a

particular job are met or not. It helps in deciding the performance standards,
evaluation criteria and individuals output. On this basis, the overall performance of an
employee is measured and he or she is appraised accordingly.

Training and Development: Job Analysis can be used to assess the training and
development needs of employees. The difference between the expected and actual
output determines the level of training that need to be imparted to employees. It also
helps in deciding the training content, tools and equipments to be used to conduct
training and methods of training.

Compensation Management: Of course, job analysis plays a vital role in deciding

the pay packages and extra perks and benefits and fixed and variable incentives of
employees. After all, the pay package depends on the position, job title and duties
and responsibilities involved in a job. The process guides HR managers in deciding
the worth of an employee for a particular job opening.

Job Designing and Redesigning: The main purpose of job analysis is to streamline
the human efforts and get the best possible output. It helps in designing, redesigning,
enriching, evaluating and also cutting back and adding the extra responsibilities in a
particular job. This is done to enhance the employee satisfaction while increasing the
human output.

Therefore, job analysis is one of the most important functions of an HR manager or

.department. This helps in fitting the right kind of talent at the right place and at the right time

Job Analysis Process

e-mailPrint

Where to place the employees in order to best utilize their skills and talent? How to
determine the need of new employees in the organization? How to eliminate unneeded jobs?
How to set realistic performance measurement standards? How to identify the jobs and
?prepare a plan to fill them
Well, all this can be effectively done by a proper and thorough job analysis. Managers deal
such kinds of challenges in day-to-day company operations where they need to fulfill
effectively and efficiently fulfill the organizations requirements related to human resource
recruitment, selection, performance, satisfaction and cutting down and adding extra
responsibilities and duties. And there is no scope where they can avert the risk of being
.wrong
An effective and right process of analyzing a particular job is a great relief for them. It helps
them maintain the right quality of employees, measure their performance on realistic

standards, assess their training and development needs and increase their productivity. Lets
.discuss the job analysis process and find out how it serves the purpose

Job Analysis Process

Identification of Job Analysis Purpose: Well any process is futile until its purpose
is not identified and defined. Therefore, the first step in the process is to determine its
need and desired output. Spending human efforts, energy as well as money is
useless until HR managers dont know why data is to be collected and what is to be
done with it.

Who Will Conduct Job Analysis: The second most important step in the process of
job analysis is to decide who will conduct it. Some companies prefer getting it done
by their own HR department while some hire job analysis consultants. Job analysis
consultants may prove to be extremely helpful as they offer unbiased advice,
guidelines and methods. They dont have any personal likes and dislikes when it
comes to analyze a job.

How to Conduct the Process: Deciding the way in which job analysis process
needs to be conducted is surely the next step. A planned approach about how to
carry the whole process is required in order to investigate a specific job.

Strategic Decision Making: Now is the time to make strategic decision. Its about
deciding the extent of employee involvement in the process, the level of details to be
collected and recorded, sources from where data is to be collected, data collection
methods, the processing of information and segregation of collected data.

Training of Job Analyst: Next is to train the job analyst about how to conduct the
process and use the selected methods for collection and recoding of job data.

Preparation of Job Analysis Process: Communicating it within the organization is

the next step. HR managers need to communicate the whole thing properly so that
employees offer their full support to the job analyst. The stage also involves
preparation of documents, questionnaires, interviews and feedback forms.

Data Collection: Next is to collect job-related data including educational

qualifications of employees, skills and abilities required to perform the job, working
conditions, job activities, reporting hierarchy, required human traits, job activities,
duties and responsibilities involved and employee behaviour.

Documentation, Verification and Review: Proper documentation is done to verify

the authenticity of collected data and then review it. This is the final information that is
used to describe a specific job.

Developing Job Description and Job Specification: Now is the time to segregate
the collected data in to useful information. Job Description describes the roles,
activities, duties and responsibilities of the job while job specification is a statement of
educational qualification, experience, personal traits and skills required to perform the
job.

Thus, the process of job analysis helps in identifying the worth of specific job, utilizing the
human talent in the best possible manner, eliminating unneeded jobs and setting realistic
.performance measurement standards

What to Collect during Job Analysis ?

Gathering job-related information involves lots of efforts and time. The process may become
cumbersome if the main objective of it is not known. Any information can be gathered and
recorded but may be hazardous for health and finances of an organization if it is not known
what is required and why.
Before starting to conduct a job analysis process, it is very necessary to decide what type of
content or information is to be collected and why. The purpose of this process may range from
uncovering hidden dangers to the organization or creating a right job-person fit, establishing
effective hiring practices, analyzing training needs, evaluating a job, analyzing the
performance of an employee, setting organizational standards and so on. Each one of these
objectives requires different type of information or content.
While gathering job-related content, a job analyst or the dedicated person should know the
purpose of the action and try to collect data as accurate as possible. Though the data
collected is later on divided in to two sets - job description and job specification but the
information falls in three different categories during the process of analyzing a specific job job content, job context and job requirements.

What to Collect ?

Job Content

Job Context

Job Requirements

1. Job Content: It contains information about various job activities included in a specific
job. It is a detailed account of actions which an employee needs to perform during his
tenure. The following information needs to be collected by a job analyst:

Duties of an employee

What actually an employee does

Machines, tools and equipments to be used while performing a specific job

Additional tasks involved in a job

Desired output level (What is expected of an employee?)

Type of training required

Fig 1.1 Categorization of Job Analysis Information

The content depends upon the type of job in a particular division or department. For
example, job content of a factory-line worker would be entirely different from that of a
marketing executive or HR personnel.
2. Job Context: Job context refers to the situation or condition under which an
employee performs a particular job. The information collection will include:

Working Conditions

Risks involved

Whom to report

Who all will report to him or her

Hazards

Physical and mental demands

Judgment

Well like job content, data collected under this category are also subject to change
according to the type of job in a specific division or department.
3. Job Requirements: These include basic but specific requirements which make a
candidate eligible for a particular job. The collected data includes:

Knowledge or basic information required to perform a job successfully

Specific skills such as communication skills, IT skills, operational skills, motor

skills, processing skills and so on

Personal ability including aptitude, reasoning, manipulative abilities, handling

sudden and unexpected situations, problem-solving ability, mathematical
abilities and so on

Educational Qualifications including degree, diploma, certification or license

Personal Characteristics such as ability to adapt to different environment,

endurance, willingness, work ethic, eagerness to learn and understand
things, behaviour towards colleagues, subordinates and seniors, sense of
belongingness to the organization, etc

For different jobs, the parameters would be different. They depend upon the type of job,
designation, compensation grade and responsibilities and risks involved in a job.

ob Analysis Methods
e-mailPrint

Though there are several methods of collecting job analysis information yet choosing the one
or a combination of more than one method depends upon the needs and requirements of
organization and the objectives of the job analysis process. Typically, all the methods focus
on collecting the basic job-related information but when used in combination may bring out
the hidden or overlooked information and prove to be great tools for creating a perfect job.candidate fit
Selecting an appropriate job analysis method depends on the structure of the organization,
hierarchical levels, nature of job and responsibilities and duties involved in it. So, before
executing any method, all advantages and disadvantages should be analyzed because the
data collected through this process serves a great deal and helps organizations cope with
current market trends, organizational changes, high attrition rate and many other day-to-day
.problems

Lets discuss few of job analysis methods that are commonly used by the organizations to
.investigate the demands of a specific job

Job Analysis Methods

Most Common Methods of Job Analysis

Observation Method: A job analyst observes an employee and records all his
performed and non-performed task, fulfilled and un-fulfilled responsibilities and duties,
methods, ways and skills used by him or her to perform various duties and his or her
mental or emotional ability to handle challenges and risks. However, it seems one of
the easiest methods to analyze a specific job but truth is that it is the most difficult
one. Why? Lets Discover.

It is due to the fact that every person has his own way of observing things. Different
people think different and interpret the findings in different ways. Therefore, the
process may involve personal biasness or likes and dislikes and may not produce
genuine results. This error can be avoided by proper training of job analyst or
.whoever will be conducting the job analysis process
This particular method includes three techniques: direct observation, Work Methods
Analysis and Critical Incident Technique. The first method includes direct observation
and recording of behaviour of an employee in different situations. The second
involves the study of time and motion and is specially used for assembly-line or
factory workers. The third one is about identifying the work behaviours that result in
.performance

Interview Method: In this method, an employee is interviewed so that he or she

comes up with their own working styles, problems faced by them, use of particular
skills and techniques while performing their job and insecurities and fears about their
careers.

This method helps interviewer know what exactly an employee thinks about his or her
own job and responsibilities involved in it. It involves analysis of job by employee
himself. In order to generate honest and true feedback or collect genuine data,
questions asked during the interview should be carefully decided. And to avoid errors,
it is always good to interview more than one individual to get a pool of responses.
.Then it can be generalized and used for the whole group

Questionnaire Method: Another commonly used job analysis method is getting the
questionnaires filled from employees, their superiors and managers. However, this

method also suffers from personal biasness. A great care should be takes while
framing questions for different grades of employees.
In order to get the true job-related info, management should effectively communicate
it to the staff that data collected will be used for their own good. It is very important to
ensure them that it wont be used against them in anyway. If it is not done properly, it
.will be a sheer wastage of time, money and human resources
These are some of the most common methods of job analysis. However, there are several
other specialized methods including task inventory, job element method, competency
profiling, technical conference, threshold traits analysis system and a combination of these
methods. While choosing a method, HR managers need to consider time, cost and human
.efforts included in conducting the process

ob Analysis Tools
e-mailPrint

Job Analysis supports all other management activities including recruitment and selection,
training and development need analysis, performance analysis and appraisal, job evaluation,
job rotation, enrichment and enlargement, a right job-individual fit creation and regulation of
entry and exit of talent in an organization. The process is the basis of all these important
management activities, therefore, requires solid ground preparation. A properly performed
.job analysis is adequate for laying strong organization foundation
There are various tools and techniques such as O*Net model, PAQ model, FJA model, FJAS model and competency model that help HR managers to develop genuine job
description and job specification data. Though not very new but these specialized tools and
techniques are used by only a few of very high profile organizations. Not very common in
use but once understood, these systematic approaches prove to be extremely useful for
.measuring the worth of any job in an organization

10

Job Analysis Tools

O*Net Model: The beauty of this model is that it helps managers or job analysts in
listing job-related data for a very large number of jobs simultaneously. It helps in
collecting and recording basic and initial data including educational requirements,
physical requirements and mental and emotional requirements to some extent. It also
links the level of compensation and benefits, perks and advantages to be offered to a
.prospective candidate for a specific job
FJA Model: FJA stands for Functional Job Analysis and helps in collecting and
recording job-related data to a deeper extent. It is used to develop task-related
statements. Developed by Sidney Fine and his colleagues, the technique helps in
determining the complexity of duties and responsibilities involved in a specific job.
This work-oriented technique works on the basis of relatedness of job-data where
complexity of work is determined on a scale of various scores given to a particular
.job. The lower scores represent greater difficulty
PAQ Model: PAQ represents Position Analysis Questionnaire. This well-known and
commonly used technique is used to analyze a job by getting the questionnaires filled
by job incumbents and their superiors. Designed by a trained and experienced job
analyst, the process involves interviewing the subject matter experts and employees
.and evaluating the questionnaires on those bases
F-JAS Model: Representing Fleishman Job Analysis System, it is a basic and
generic approach to discover common elements in different jobs including verbal
abilities, reasoning abilities, idea generation, quantitative abilities, attentiveness,
spatial abilities, visual and other sensory abilities, manipulative abilities, reaction time,
speed analysis, flexibility, emotional characteristics, physical strength, perceptual
abilities, communication skills, memory, endurance, balance, coordination and
.movement control abilities
Competency Model: This model talks about the competencies of employees in
terms of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, expertise and performance. It also
helps in understanding what a prospective candidate requires at the time of entry in
an organization at a particular designation in a given work environment and schedule.
The model also includes some basic elements such as qualifications, experience,

11

education, training, certifications, licenses, legal requirements and willingness of a

.candidate
Job Scan: This technique defines the personality dynamics and suggests an ideal
job model. However, it does not discuss the individual competencies such as intellect,
experience or physical and emotional characteristics of an individual required to
.perform a specific job
Different tools can be used in different situation. Selection of an ideal job analysis tool
.depends upon job analysis needs and objectives and amount of time and resources

Problems with Job Analysis

inShare1
e-mailPrint

No process can be entirely accurate and fully serves the purpose. Job analysis is no
exception to it. The process involves a variety of methods, tools, plans and a lot of
human effort. And where there people are involved, nothing can be 100 percent
accurate. However, they may be appropriate considering various factors including
organizational requirements, time, effort and financial resources. Since the entire job
analysis processes, methods and tools are designed by humans only, they tend to
have practical issues associated with them. Human brain suffers with some
limitations, therefore, everything created, designed or developed by humans too have
.some or other constraints
Coming back to the subject, even the process of job analysis have lot of practical
problems associated with it. Though the process can be effective, appropriate,
practical, efficient and focused but it can be costly, time consuming and disruptive
for employees at the same time. It is because there are some typical problems that are
encountered by a job analyst while carrying out the process. Lets discuss them and
understand how the process of job analysis can be made more effective by treating
.them carefully

Problems with Job Analysis

12

Lack of Management Support: The biggest problem arises when

a job analyst does not get proper support from the management.
The top management needs to communicate it to the middle level
managers and employees to enhance the output or productivity of
the process. In case of improper communication, employees may
take it in a wrong sense and start looking out for other available
options. They may have a notion that this is being carried out to fire
them or take any action against them. In order to avoid such
circumstances, top management must effectively communicate the
right message to their incumbents.

Lack of Co-operation from Employees: If we talk about

collecting authentic and accurate job-data, it is almost impossible to
get real and genuine data without the support of employees. If they
are not ready to co-operate, it is a sheer wastage of time, money
and human effort to conduct job analysis process. The need is to
take the workers in confidence and communicating that it is being
done to solve their problems only.

Inability to Identify the Need of Job Analysis: If the objectives

and needs of job analysis process are not properly identified, the
whole exercise of investigation and carrying out research is futile.
Managers must decide in advance why this process is being carried
out, what its objectives are and what is to be done with the
collected and recorded data.

Biasness of Job Analyst: A balanced and unbiased approach is a

necessity while carrying out the process of job analysis. To get real
and genuine data, a job analyst must be impartial in his or her
approach. If it cant be avoided, it is better to outsource the process
or hire a professional job analyst.

13

Using Single Data Source: A job analyst needs to consider more

than one sources of data in order to collect true information.
Collecting data from a single source may result in inaccuracy and it
therefore, defeats the whole purpose of conducting the job analysis
process.

However, this is not the end. There may be many other problems involved in a job
analysis process such as insufficient time and resources, distortion from incumbent,
lack of proper communication, improper questionnaires and other forms, absence of
verification and review of job analysis process and lack of reward or recognition for
.providing genuine and quality information

Advantages and Disadvantages of Job

Analysis

hough job analysis plays a vital role in all other human related activities but every process that
has human interventions also suffers from some limitations. The process of job analysis also
has its own constraints. So, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of job analysis
process at length.

Advantages of Job Analysis

Provides First Hand Job-Related Information: The job analysis process provides
with valuable job-related data that helps managers and job analyst the duties and
responsibilities of a particular job, risks and hazards involved in it, skills and abilities
required to perform the job and other related info.

14

Helps in Creating Right Job-Employee Fit: This is one of the most crucial
management activities. Filling the right person in a right job vacancy is a test of skills,
understanding and competencies of HR managers. Job Analysis helps them
understand what type of employee will be suitable to deliver a specific job
successfully.

Helps in Establishing Effective Hiring Practices: Who is to be filled where and

when? Who to target and how for a specific job opening? Job analysis process gives
answers to all these questions and helps managers in creating, establishing and
maintaining effective hiring practices.

Guides through Performance Evaluation and Appraisal Processes: Job Analysis

helps managers evaluating the performance of employees by comparing the standard
or desired output with delivered or actual output. On these bases, they appraise their
performances. The process helps in deciding whom to promote and when. It also
guides managers in understanding the skill gaps so that right person can be fit at that
particular place in order to get desired output.

Helps in Analyzing Training & Development Needs: The process of job analysis
gives answer to following questions:

Who to impart training

When to impart training

What should be the content of training

What should be the type of training: behavioral or technical

Who will conduct training

Helps in Deciding Compensation Package for a Specific Job: A genuine and

unbiased process of job analysis helps managers in determining the appropriate
compensation package and benefits and allowances for a particular job. This is done
on the basis of responsibilities and hazards involved in a job.

Disadvantages of Job Analysis

15

Time Consuming: The biggest disadvantage of Job Analysis process is that it is very
time consuming. It is a major limitation especially when jobs change frequently.

Involves Personal Biasness: If the observer or job analyst is an employee of the

same organization, the process may involve his or her personal likes and dislikes.
This is a major hindrance in collecting genuine and accurate data.

Source of Data is Extremely Small: Because of small sample size, the source of
collecting data is extremely small. Therefore, information collected from few
individuals needs to be standardized.

Involves Lots of Human Efforts: The process involves lots of human efforts. As
every job carries different information and there is no set pattern, customized
information is to be collected for different jobs. The process needs to be conducted
separately for collecting and recording job-related data.

Job Analyst May Not Possess Appropriate Skills: If job analyst is not aware of the
objective of job analysis process or does not possess appropriate skills to conduct the
process, it is a sheer wastage of companys resources. He or she needs to be trained
in order to get authentic data.

Mental Abilities Can not be Directly Observed: Last but not the least, mental
abilities such as intellect, emotional characteristics, knowledge, aptitude, psychic and
endurance are intangible things that can not be observed or measured directly.
People act differently in different situations. Therefore, general standards can not be
set for mental abilities.

e of Job Analysis in Establishing

Effective Hiring Practices
e-mailPrint

A major change has been observed in the world of work since 1980s. The era of structured
jobs, packed or fixed work schedules, male-dominated working culture and no family
intruding started diminishing gradually. Companies and employees around the world faced
dramatic effects of modernization, flexibility in work schedules, job sharing, work from home
options and employee-supportive policies, etc. All thanks to the then managers who
analyzed the importance of fitting an individual at a job he or she excelled at to increase the
company turnover, employee satisfaction and achieve a professional-personal life balance.
And all this was possible by analyzing the worth of a specific job and collecting genuine job.related data
A proper job analysis, hence, may prove to be a turning point for an organization. It not only
creates the right job-candidate fit but also enhance the success of management practices,
which in turn, lays the foundation for a strong organization. A step-by-step process of

16

discovering the different aspects of a job results in a proper regulation of incoming and
outgoing of the talent or human resource. Job Analysis thus, started gaining popularity in
early 1990s in order to create competitive advantage and has been considered as the basis
.for other HRM practices since then

The data collected during the process helps managers in identifying the risks and challenges
involved in a specific job and kind of person suitable for delivering the desired duties perfectly.
An employers recruitment and selection process purely depends on job analysis. Until the
recruiting managers do not know about job to be performed, expectations from prospective
candidate and the right individual profile required for performing a specific job, it is almost
impossible to source or target talent or human resource in order to fill the vacancy. Job
analysis process helps in establishing effective hiring practices and guides managers in
.identifying the selection criteria required to deliver the expected output. Lets discuss how

? How to Establish Effective Hiring Strategies

Identifying KRAs: Job Analysis process helps in identifying Key Result Areas/ Key
Responsibilities Areas (KRAs) such as knowledge, technical, communication and
personal skills, mental, aptitude, physical and emotional abilities to perform a
particular task. Different jobs have different requirements. Therefore, the process
needs to be performed every time when there is a requirement to fill the job opening.
This is a basis for developing questionnaires, devising interview questions and setting
selection test papers. The information in the form of scores or grades can then be
used for hiring process.

Setting Selection Standards: Job Analysis also helps managers in setting certain
standards for selection process in terms of educational qualifications, work
experience, expertise, special skill sets, unusual sensory abilities, specific career
track, certifications and licenses and other legal requirements. This helps in
identifying the basic requirements that make a candidate eligible for a particular post.

17

Identifying KSAs: The process also helps managers in determining Key Success
Areas or Key Performance Areas. These are performance measurement tools that
are used by companies around the world to measure those aspects that determine
success of a job such as organizational goals, individual goals and the actions
required to achieve these goals. This is about comparing the actual results delivered
by an individual with pre-set success factors and analyzing the performance. Once
through, the whole process may require few changes if achieved results are around
the set standards. They may require a complete change if there is a huge gap
between the expected and delivered results.

Therefore, a thorough and unbiased job analysis process can help organizations source right
.candidates, hire the most suitable individual and set appropriate selection standards

ob Analysis and Strategic HRM

e-mailPrint

Human Resource Management is the most critical function of any organization as it deals
with the most complicated problems - the people problems, especially when the
organizations are operating in highly competitive and uncertain environments. Strategic HRM
lays emphasis on developing and implementing policies and strategies in order to get the
desired output. Therefore, job analysis and strategic HRM are inter-related. In fact, we
.can say, establishing a person-job-environment fit is the basic function of SHRM

Person-Job-Environment Fit
Job analysis demonstrates who can fit at a particular place and why. The process promotes
the alignment of other HR processes and functions. Additionally, it supports the
organizational strategy to deal with talent crisis and market competition. The process of job
analysis involves collecting job-related information and assembling it together to design a
corporate strategy that helps HR managers in determining whom to target and how to fill a
.particular job vacancy

It also creates linkages between other HR verticals including recruitment and selection,
training needs analysis, performance evaluation and appraisal, entry and exit of talent and
many more. Strategic Human Resource Management endeavors to connect all these HR
functions with organizational goals, work quality, organizational culture, annual turnover and
.profit and tapping resources for future organizational needs
SHRM is basically concerned with the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of an
organization. The identification of organizations competencies and flaws is extremely crucial
for its success. It provides a clear vision to managers to source, recruit and retain people,
develop their skills and competency, address their issues and concerns, motivate people to
.produce desired output and ensure future planning

Inter-relationship between Job Analysis and SHRM

18

Job Analysis, being an integral part of strategic planning, provides a detailed analysis of tasks
and responsibilities, risks and hazards, functions and duties, tools and equipments to be used
and the expected output. The main objective of conducting the process is to understand who
to fit at a particular place to get the work done. Whereas, the fundamental aim of Strategic
Human Resource Management is to determine how to exploit human capital to achieve
.organizational goals
Job Analysis deals in determining the training needs analysis of employees to get the desired
output whereas SHRM decides upon the training content, when and how to train the
employees to increase the output to achieve higher business profits. To successfully plan the
future strategies of a company, the process of job analysis serves as the basis. If information
collected during the process is genuine, managers can make effective strategies and policies
.in advance and can remain pro-active to deal with unforeseen situations
The main aim of conducting job analysis process is to determine the things affecting human
behaviour in an organization. The idea is to find out if they are competent enough to perform
the assigned job successfully or they need to be placed somewhere else. Strategic Human
Resource Management is all about making strategies and policies to place right person at the
right place and at the right time to get the maximum out of an employee. In other way, it is
.concerned about optimal utilization of human resources

ob Analysis and Total Quality

Management (TQM)
e-mailPrint

TQM is a management approach that concentrates on teamwork, integrity, continuous

improvement and continuous assessment jobs and their worth. On the other hand, job
analysis deals in investigating each job separately and collecting the job-related information.
Usually, the process is conducted in an organization once in a while especially when HR
department has to source candidates for a particular job. TQM is a new approach and is
almost inconsistent with traditional management approaches and processes. Job Analysis is
.no exception

Points of Inconsistency between Job Analysis and TQM

The concept of Total Quality Management stresses on continuous improvement of
management processes as well as employees. For example, if employee joins an
organization at a certain level, according to TQM, he or she should not confine themselves to
their basic jobs only. Instead they should consider other options and try to learn more and
more in order to explore other areas of operations. Whereas, job analysis process is
conducted to determine what an employee is supposed to do and how specific duties and
.activities need to be performed

Total Quality Management approach focuses on an all-round development of

employees and expects them to do everything while on job in order to attain higher
levels of quality. It also concentrates on their continuous improvement personally as well as

19

professionally. While job analysis defines specific duties and responsibilities of an employee
and each one of them is supposed to do only what is assigned to them. The concept is just
.opposite to TQM approach
The job description and job specification talk about employees job title, job summary, job
duties, job responsibilities, educational qualifications and working conditions. While it does not
discuss about maintaining quality in operations, treating waste and scraps properly and
quality of services delivered. It simply gives brief details about what an employee needs to do
and how. Though it deals in assessing a job but has nothing to do with improving quality in
.operations
TQM does not confine employees only to a particular job. The concept leaves scope for
additional duties along with the basic job duties. Whereas, it is not true in case of job analysis.
It simply measures the worth of a job and determines the duties involved in it. Employees are
not encouraged to explore other areas of operations. Instead they are supposed to perform
.only the assigned job

Relevance of Job Analysis

Job Analysis is not consistent with TQM. They do not go hand in hand as they focus on
entirely different theories and operate on different models. But it does not mean that job
analysis has lost its relevance in todays world. It has its own importance and is still required
to be carried out as this gives basic information related to specific jobs and helps managers in
.decision making process
It assists in various other management processes including recruitment and selection, job
evaluation, performance evaluation and appraisal and training and development need
analysis. It also regulates the entry of talent in an organization and helps in sourcing and
.attracting a pool of talent to work with the organization

eneral and Specific Purpose of Job

Description
e-mailPrint

Job description is all about collecting and recording basic job-related data that includes job
title, job location, job summary, job duties, reporting information, working conditions, tools,
machines and equipments to be used and hazards and risks involved in it. A job description
may or may not have specific purpose. It depends on what HR managers want to determine
.and what is the objective of conducting the process of job analysis
Job Description is a summary of job analysis findings that helps managers determine what
an employee is supposed to do when onboard. The purpose of job description depends
on the level of details the job findings include. Job description carried for general
purpose typically involves job identification (title, designation, location) and a statement of
duties and functions of a prospective or existing employee. A specifically carried job
description includes detailed information about the kind of job, how it is supposed to be
performed and what is expected to be delivered. Lets discuss the general and specific

20

.purpose of conducting a job description process

General Purpose of Job Description

General purpose job descriptions are used by organizations to find the very basic information
about a particular job opening. Though data includes workers duties but does not contain sub
tasks, performance standards and basis for evaluating jobs and establishing right
.compensation packages

Advantages
The main benefit of general purpose job description is that it does not consume much time
and quickly provides basic information to managers. It does not require much human efforts
and is very easy and convenient to carry out. Additionally, a job analyst does not have to
.conduct deep research to gather the required details

Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of general purpose job description is that it does not provide
managers with full-fledged information about job context and sub tasks. Sometimes, a
.manager may fail to extract correct information from such small amount of data

Specific Purpose of Job Description

Specific purpose job description includes detailed information about job responsibilities of an
employee. It also covers sub tasks, essential functions and detailed job duties. It involves
huge amount of details such as what an employee needs to do, how it is to be done and what
.are the performance standards, etc

Advantages
21

The main benefit of specific purpose job description is that it offers ample information to
evaluate job performance and determine training needs of employees. It serves as a basis for
all other HR processes including recruitment and selection, performance appraisal,
.compensation decision and many more

Disadvantages
Though it assists managers in decision making process but it has its own limitations. The
process, however, may take very long and consume lots of human efforts. Since, it involves
collecting detailed information; the biased nature of job analyst can cause severe problems.
.The data collected may not be 100 percent genuine
Therefore, it can be said that information collected during job analysis defines the purpose of
job description. If data collected is extremely basic, it will serve only the general purpose and
therefore, can not be used for making management decisions. On the other hand, detailed
.data serves the specific purpose and can be easily used while making important decisions

ob Design - Meaning, Steps and its

Benefits
e-mailPrint

Job design follows job analysis i.e. it is the next step after job analysis. It aims at
outlining and organising tasks, duties and responsibilities into a single unit of work
for the achievement of certain objectives. It also outlines the methods and
relationships that are essential for the success of a certain job. In simpler terms it
.refers to the what, how much, how many and the order of the tasks for a job/s
Job design essentially involves integrating job responsibilities or content and certain
qualifications that are required to perform the same. It outlines the job
responsibilities very clearly and also helps in attracting the right candidates to the
.right job. Further it also makes the job look interesting and specialised
There are various steps involved in job design that follow a logical sequence,
:those that were mentioned earlier on. The sequence is as follows
1. What tasks are required to e done or what tasks is part of the job?
2. How are the tasks performed?
3. What amount are tasks are required to be done?

4. What is the sequence of performing these tasks?

22

All these questions are aimed at arriving upon a clear definition of a specific job and
thereby make it less risky for the one performing the same. A well defined job
encourages feeling of achievement among the employees and a sense of high self
.esteem
The whole process of job design is aimed to address various problems within the
organisational setup, those that pertain to ones description of a job and the associated
:relationships. More specifically the following areas are fine tuned

Checking the work overload.

Checking upon the work under load.

Ensuring tasks are not repetitive in nature.

Ensuring that employees don not remain isolated.

Defining working hours clearly.

Defining the work processes clearly.

The above mentioned are factors that if not taken care of result into building stress
.within the employees

Benefits of Job Design

:The following are the benefits of a good job design
1. Employee Input: A good job design enables a good job feedback.
Employees have the option to vary tasks as per their personal and
social needs, habits and circumstances in the workplace.
2. Employee Training: Training is an integral part of job design.
Contrary to the philosophy of leave them alone job design lays
due emphasis on training people so that are well aware of what
their job demands and how it is to be done.
3. Work / Rest Schedules: Job design offers good work and rest
schedule by clearly defining the number of hours an individual has
to spend in his/her job.
4. Adjustments: A good job designs allows for adjustments for
physically demanding jobs by minimising the energy spent doing
the job and by aligning the manpower requirements for the same.

Job design is a continuous and ever evolving process that is aimed at helping
employees make adjustments with the changes in the workplace. The end goal is
reducing dissatisfaction, enhancing motivation and employee engagement at the
.workplace
23

Approaches to Job Design

e-mailPrint

Job design is the next step after job analysis that aims at outlining, and organizing tasks and
responsibilities associated with a certain job. It integrates job responsibilities and
qualifications or skills that are required to perform the same. There are various methods or
approaches to do this. The important ones are discussed below

Human Approach
The human approach of job design laid emphasis on designing a job around the people or
employees and not around the organizational processes. In other words it recognizes the
need of designing jobs that are rewarding (financially and otherwise) and interesting at the
.same time
According to this approach jobs should gratify an individuals need for recognition, respect,
growth and responsibility. Job enrichment as popularized by Herzbergs research is one the
ways in human approach of job design. Herzberg classified these factors into two categories
.- the hygiene factors and the motivators

Motivators include factors like achievement, work nature, responsibility, learning and growth
.etc that can motivate an individual to perform better at the work place
Hygiene factor on the other hand include things like working conditions, organizational
policies, salary etc that may not motivate directly but the absence of which can lead to
.dissatisfaction at the work place

Engineering Approach
The engineering approach was devised by FW Taylors et al. They introduced the idea of the
task that gained prominence in due course of time. According to this approach the work or
task of each employee is planned by the management a day in advance. The instructions for
the same are sent to each employee describing the tasks to e undertaken in detail. The
.details include things like what, how and when of the task along with the time deadlines
The approach is based on the application of scientific principles to job design. Work,
according to this approach should be scientifically analyzed and fragmented into logical tasks.
Due emphasis is then laid on organizing the tasks so that a certain logical sequence is
followed for efficient execution of the same. The approach also lays due emphasis on
.compensating employees appropriately and training them continuously for work efficiency

The Job Characteristics Approach

24

The job characteristics approach was popularized by Hackman and Oldham. According to this
approach there is a direct relationship between job satisfaction and rewards. They said that
employees will be their productive best and committed when they are rewarded appropriately
for their work. They laid down five core dimensions that can be used to describe any job - skill
.variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback

Skill variety: The employees must be able to utilize all their skills and develop new
skills while dealing with a job.

Task Identity: The extent to which an identifiable task or piece or work is required to
be done for completion of the job.

Task Significance: How important is the job to the other people, what impact does it
create on their lives?

Autonomy: Does the job offer freedom and independence to the individual
performing the same.

Feedback: Is feedback necessary for improving performance.

These are different approaches but all of them point to more or less the same factors that
need to be taken into consideration like interest, efficiency, productivity, motivation etc. All
.these are crucial to effective job design

sues in Job Design

e-mailPrint

As we know, job design is a systematic organization of job-related tasks, responsibilities,

functions and duties. It is a continuous process of integration of content related to job in
order to achieve certain objectives. The process plays a vital role as it affects the productivity
of employees and organizations. However, there are a number of existing issues emerged
recently while designing the jobs in organizations. These are alternative work patterns that
.are equally effective in handling organizations functions

25

Telecommuting / Work from Home: Telecommuting or work from home is

considered as the best alternative of working from the actual office. The concept of
virtual office is gaining more and more popularity because of ease and convenience
associated with it. By using computer networks, fax machines, telephones and
internet connection, employees can communicate and perform the job from home. It
eliminates the need of coming to office everyday and offers employees the
convenience to work at the comfort of their home.

Though there are lots of advantages associated with this working style but it suffers
from many limitations. It allows employees to stay at home and manage their job
tasks and functions without actually being present in the office but it doesnt allow
them to communicate with other employees and establishing relationships with them.
They only deal with machines whole day, thus lose creativity. Moreover, it is a great
.hindrance in their way as it does not allow skill upgradation

Job Sharing: It is the second most preferable alternative of traditional working styles
where two or more individuals share the responsibilities of a full time job. They divide
the tasks, responsibilities and compensation according to their mutual consent. This
option is generally used by women who are on maternity leave or have family and
kids to look after but want to continue their job. These days, organizations are open to
this kind of working style where two or more individuals can share a job.

Flexi-Working Hours: These days, organizations allow their employees to work

according to the timings that suit them best. There are 3-4 working schedules and
individuals can choose any one of them depending upon their availability. Employees
can work in early hours as well as night hours. This is good for those individuals who
have colleges or some other engagements during the day or specific hours of the
day. The best part is that unlike telecommuting, flexi-timings give them chance to
communicate with other employees too.

Alternative Work-Patterns: Companies these days allow their employees to work on

alternate months or seasons. Though the concept is not that common in India but can
be seen in European and American world of work. They also have the option of
working two to three full days and can relax after that.

According to the latest concept, employees can work for fixed number of hours and
.then can attend to their personal needs during the left days

26

Technostress: Technostress is the latest technology to keep a check on employees

performance even when they choose to work from home. Because of the introduction
of new machines, there performance can be electronically monitored even when they
are not aware of it.

Task Revision: Task revision is nothing but modification of existing work design by
reducing or adding the new job duties and responsibilities to a specific job.

Factors affecting Job Design

inShare
e-mailPrint

A well defined job will make the job interesting and satisfying for the employee. The result is
increased performance and productivity. If a job fails to appear compelling or interesting and
leads to employee dissatisfaction, it means the job has to be redesigned based upon the
.feedback from the employees
Broadly speaking the various factors that affect a job design can classified under three
:heads. They are
1. Organizational Factors
2. Environmental Factors
3. Behavioural Factors

Organizational Factors

.1

Organizational factors that affect job design can be work nature or characteristics,
.work flow, organizational practices and ergonomics

Work Nature: There are various elements of a job and job design is required
to classify various tasks into a job or a coherent set of jobs. The various tasks
may be planning, executing, monitoring, controlling etc and all these are to be
taken into consideration while designing a job.

Ergonomics: Ergonomics aims at designing jobs in such a way that the

physical abilities and individual traits of employees are taken into
consideration so as to ensure efficiency and productivity.

Workflow: Product and service type often determines the sequence of work
flow. A balance is required between various product or service processes and
a job design ensures this.

27

Culture: Organizational culture determines the way tasks are carried out at
the work places. Practices are methods or standards laid out for carrying out
a certain task. These practices often affect the job design especially when the
practices are not aligned to the interests of the unions.

Environmental Factors

.2

Environmental factors affect the job design to a considerable extent. These factors
include both the internal as well as external factors. They include factors like
employee skills and abilities, their availability, and their socio economic and cultural
.prospects

Employee availability and abilities: Employee skills, abilities and time of

availability play a crucial role while designing of the jobs. The above
mentioned factors of employees who will actually perform the job are taken
into consideration. Designing a job that is more demanding and above their
skill set will lead to decreased productivity and employee satisfaction.

Socio economic and cultural expectations: Jobs are nowadays becoming

more employee centered rather than process centered. They are therefore
designed keeping the employees into consideration. In addition the literacy
level among the employees is also on the rise. They now demand jobs that
are to their liking and competency and which they can perform the best.

Behavioural Factors

.3

Behavioural factors or human factors are those that pertain to the human need and
that need to be satisfied for ensuring productivity at workplace. They include the
elements like autonomy, diversity, feedback etc. A brief explanation of some is given
:below

Autonomy: Employees should work in an open environment rather than one

that contains fear. It promotes creativity, independence and leads to
increased efficiency.

Feedback: Feedback should be an integral part of work. Each employee

should receive proper feedback about his work performance.

Diversity: Repetitive jobs often make work monotonous which leads to

boredom. A job should carry sufficient diversity and variety so that it remains
as interesting with every passing day. Job variety / diversity should be given
due importance while designing a job.

Use of Skills and abilities: Jobs should be employee rather than process
centered. Though due emphasis needs to be given to the latter but jobs
should be designed in a manner such that an employee is able to make full
use of his abilities and perform the job effectively.

28

Job Redesign - Meaning, Process and its

Advantages
e-mailPrint

Restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in
order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees or workers is known as
job redesigning. The process includes revising, analyzing, altering, reforming and reshuffling
the job-related content and dimensions to increase the variety of assignments and functions
to motivate employees and make them feel as an important asset of the organization. The
main objective of conducting job redesigning is to place the right person at the right job and
.get the maximum output while increasing their level of satisfaction

Job Redesign Process

Revising the Job Content: Job redesigning process involves recollecting and
revising job-related information to determine the inconsistency between person and
the job.

Analyzing Job-related Information: Once the job analyst is through with

recollecting and revising the job content, analyzing the discrepancies is the next step.
It is done to determine the hindrances in performing job-related tasks and duties and
investigate why an employee is not able to deliver the expected output.

Altering the Job Elements: The next step is to amend the job elements. It may
include cut back on extra responsibilities or addition of more functions and a higher
degree of accountability. The basic aim of altering the job content is to design a job in
such a manner that encourages employees to work harder and perform better.

Reformation of Job Description and Specification: After altering the job elements,
a job analyst needs to reform the job description and specification in order to make

29

sure that the worker placed at a particular place is able to deliver what is expected of
him.

Reshuffling the Job-related Tasks and Duties: Next is to reallocation of new or

altered tasks and functions to employees. It may be done by rotating, enriching,
enlarging and engineering the job. The idea is to motivate the performers while
increasing their satisfaction level.

Advantages of Job Redesigning

Enhances the Quality of Work-Life: Job redesigning motivates the employees and
enhances the quality of their work life. It increases their on-the-job productivity and
encourages them to perform better.

Increases Organizations and Employees Productivity: Altering their job functions

and duties makes employees much comfortable and adds to their satisfaction level.
The unambiguous job responsibilities and tasks motivate them to work harder and
give their best output. Not only this, it also results in increased productivity of an
organization.

Brings the Sense of Belongingness in Employees: Redesigning job and allowing

employees to do what they are good at creates a sense of belongingness in them
towards the organization. It is an effective strategy to retain the talent in the
organization and encouraging them to carry out their responsibilities in a better
fashion.

Creates a Right Person-Job Fit: Job Redesigning plays an important role in

creating a right person-job fit while harnessing the full potential of employees. It helps
organization as well as employees in achieving their targets or goals.

Therefore, the purpose of job redesigning is to identify the task significance and skill variety
available in the organization and reallocating the job-related tasks and responsibilities
.according to the specific skills possessed by an employee

30

b Rotation - Meaning and its Objectives

e-mailPrint

Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more
assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an
organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and
competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the
.monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights
Job rotation is a well-planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job
everyday and explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose
of both the management and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent
of employees and determining what he or she is best at. On the other hand, it gives an
individual a chance to explore his or her own interests and gain experience in different fields
.or operations

Job Rotation Objectives

Reducing Monotony of the Job: The first and foremost objective of job rotation is to
reduce the monotony and repetitiveness involved in a job. It allows employees to
experience different type of jobs and motivates them to perform well at each stage of
job replacement.

Succession Planning: The concept of succession planning is Who will replace

whom. Its main function of job rotation is to develop a pool of employees who can be
placed at a senior level when someone gets retired or leaves the organization. The
idea is to create an immediate replacement of a high-worth employee from within the
organization.

Creating Right-Employee Job Fit: The success of an organization depends on the

on-job productivity of its employees. If theyre rightly placed, they will be able to give
the maximum output. In case, they are not assigned the job that they are good at, it
creates a real big problem for both employee as well as organization. Therefore,
fitting a right person in right vacancy is one of the main objectives of job rotation.

31

Exposing Workers to All Verticals of the Company: Another main function of job
rotation process is to exposing workers to all verticals or operations of the
organization in order to make them aware how company operates and how tasks are
performed. It gives them a chance to understand the working of the organization and
different issues that crop up while working.

Testing Employee Skills and Competencies: Testing and analyzing employee skills
and competencies and then assigning them the work that they excel at is one of the
major functions of job rotation process. It is done by moving them to different jobs and
assignments and determining their proficiency and aptitude. Placing them what they
are best at increases their on-job productivity.

Developing a Wider Range of Work Experience: Employees, usually dont want to

change their area of operations. Once they start performing a specific task, they dont
want to shift from their comfort zone. Through job rotation, managers prepare them in
advance to have a wider range of work experience and develop different skills and
competencies. It is necessary for an overall development of an individual. Along with
this, they understand the problems of various departments and try to adjust or adapt
accordingly.

Job rotation is a well planned management approach that is beneficial both for employees
.and management

enefits of Job Rotation

e-mailPrint

Job rotation is considered as an effective tool for successful implementation of HR strategy.

It is about settling employees at the right place where they can deliver the maximum results.
In todays highly competitive world, this can be proved as the best strategy to find the
immediate replacement of a high-worth employee from within the organization. Finding the
most suitable people and shifting them to take on the responsibilities of a higher level is a
tough task. Job rotation helps HR managers determine who can be replaced by whom and
.create a suitable and beneficial fit
A properly planned and carried job rotation process plays an essential role in strengthening
the position of an organization and helps it deal with uncertain and tentative outer
environment. Lets discuss the benefits of job rotation process at length in order to realize its
:importance and the potential

32

Benefits of Job Rotation

Helps Managers Explore the Hidden Talent: Job Rotation is designed to expose
employees to a wider range of operations in order to assist managers in exploring
their hidden talent. In the process, they are moved through a variety of assignments
so that they can gain awareness about the actual working style of the organization
and understand the problems that crop up at every stage. Through this process,
managers identify what a particular employee is good at and accordingly he or she is
assigned a specific task.

Helps Individuals Explore Their Interests: Sometimes, employees are not aware of
what would like to do until they have their hands on some specific job. If their job is
rotated or they are exposed to different operations, they can identify what they are
good at and what they enjoy doing. They get a chance to explore their interests and
hidden potential.

Identifies Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes: Job Rotation helps managers as well
as individuals identify their KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes). It can be used in
determining who needs to improve or upgrade his or skills in order to perform better.
This helps in analyzing training and development needs of employees so that they
can produce more output.

Motivates Employees to Deal with New Challenges: When employees are

exposed to different jobs or assigned new tasks, they try to give their best while
effectively dealing with the challenges coming their way. It encourages them to
perform better at every stage and prove that they are no less than others. This gives
rise to a healthy competition within the organization where everyone wants to perform
better than others.

Increases Satisfaction and Decreases Attrition Rate: Exposing employees to

different tasks and functions increase their satisfaction level. Job variation reduces
the boredom of doing same task everyday. Moreover, it decreases attrition rate of the
organization. Employees develop a sense of belongingness towards the organization
and stick to it till long.

Helps Align Competencies with Requirements: Alignment of competencies with

requirements means directing the resources when and where they are required. It
assesses the employees and places them at a place where their skills, competencies
and caliber are used to the highest possible extent.

33

Job rotation is an alternative to reduce the boredom caused due to repetitiveness of tasks and
revive their willingness to handle a job and challenges involved in it with same excitement and
.zeal

Planning and Implementing Successful

Job Rotation
e-mailPrint

Planning is crucial in job rotation. Do not implement job rotation just because other
organizations are doing the same. Find out whether job rotation would actually benefit your
employees or not. The nature of business also plays an important role in deciding whether
job rotation would be beneficial to the organization or not. For example, the concept of job
rotation would not be very effective in manufacturing organizations where every
.department needs skilled employees with detailed knowledge of every process
The first and the foremost thing to understand before implementing job rotation is whether
your employees would benefit out of the process or not? Sit with your team members and
discuss how comfortable are they with the idea of working on a different assignment with
new people for a certain period of time? Remember, employees consent is the most
important thing. Simply imposing the concept of job rotation on them would result in a
.nightmare

Do not take decisions on your own. Employees need to be involved in the process and let
them also decide and understand as to how job rotation will help them upgrade their skills and
also increase their productivity. You really do not need to push too hard if employees on their
.own understand the benefits and importance of job rotation
Once individuals are okay with the process of job rotation, the next most important thing is to
decide which all employees would be eligible for the same. Work would suffer if all the
employees are sent for job rotation. As a superior, one needs to know his team members well
and who all actually deserve to be a part of this process and would be able to do justice in a
new role and also learn from the same. Introverts who are just bothered with their own work
and nothing else would be a wrong choice for job rotation. Hand-pick personally and very
carefully individuals who deserve to be groomed further .Remember, the effectiveness of a
process is at question if it does not earn revenues for the organization or increase the
.productivity of employees and the same applies to job rotation as well
Do not simply send the employees to any department you feel like. Find out whether the
individual concerned is actually interested to work in a particular department or not?
Discuss with the employee at every step. Make sure the other person does not face any
problem working in a new team. Analyze as to how this new initiative would not only benefit
individuals in their respective careers but also the organization. As a superior, if you are
sending one of your team members to try his skills in a new domain, it is your responsibility to
.formally introduce the employee to the members of the new department

34

In job rotation, employees are expected to learn and upgrade their skills and not create
miracles. Do not expect people to yield results overnight. Trust me, there is no magical wand.
You also need to guide them at every step. Find out if they are enjoying the same and actually
learning anything or not? Do not be after their life if they are not be able to perform in a new
process. After all that is not their expertise.Counseling is essential at every step. Make sure
you share honest and correct feedbacks with the employee concerned. If at all the other
.person is not enjoying, try to convince once, else call him/her back
Employees ought not to be asked to work beyond their regular work for a very long time. In
such a case, they lose interest in organization. The duration can be anything between three to
maximum six months and not beyond that. Do not forget to take the feedback of employees
once they are done with the process of job rotation. Ask them to share their experiences with
.their fellow workers. Do not forget to appreciate them for their initiative

Disadvantages of Job Rotation

e-mailPrint

Job rotation is a process which enables individuals to know and work beyond their domain
and also gain from other team members expertise and knowledge. A multiskilled employee
delivers more as compared to someone who works only for salary and hates to accept
challenges in life. Like every other process, job rotation has also got some disadvantages as
.well
:Let us go through the disadvantages of job rotation
Lot of time as well as effort go in motivating and persuading employees for job
rotation. You just cant expect your team members to willingly work with people of other
departments whom they dont even know at the first attempt only. Superiors have to sit with
each and every individual in person and explain the benefits of job rotation first and then
motivate him/her to contribute in other domains as well. Convincing employees for job
rotation can sometimes be a time consuming process. As a Boss; you just cant concentrate
on any other work but keep on encouraging your immediate juniors to say a yes to job
.rotation

Another disadvantage of job rotation is that individuals take some time to acquaint to a
new process, set up, be friendly with other employees and so on. Expecting miracles out
of a marketing professional who has been asked to contribute in the accounts department as
a result of job rotation is foolish. Individuals working beyond their expertise would definitely be
able to contribute but their output would certainly not be at par with the experts. Efficiency
may be lost as individuals do not become proficient in a particular task all of a sudden.
Upgrading skills is no rocket science and takes time. How can a sales professional know each
and every thing about the accounts team or all the softwares used by the IT team in just one
day? In the same way, an individual from the MIS team would also take time to know about
the specifications /features of each and every product and would never be able to convince
clients to invest in the organizations products or services, the way a hard core sales
professional would do. Work suffers at the end of the day and eventually the organization is at
.loss

35

Job rotation also leads to stress and anxiety among employees. Employees are reluctant
to come out of their comfort zone and hardly contribute in other department. For them, job
rotation is another formality or process imposed on them. They simply have to follow the
same as their Boss has asked them to do so. Individuals take time to open up in front of new
people, express their ideas in a new team and often turn negative. They are very comfortable
working with the people they have known for sometime but when it comes to new colleagues,
.they find it extremely difficult to adjust and thus create all sorts of problems
Another problem of job rotation is that it does not take into account the time wasted in training
someone who is not worth it and does not deserve to be in the system also. One sometimes
tends to pick the wrong employee for job rotation who not only creates problems for everyone
else but also misuses other departments information and data. If someone has willingly
volunteered for job rotation, the company has to give him/her an opportunity , irrespective of
the fact whether he/she is actually capable of the same or not?. Anyone who is denied of the
same would all of a sudden speak ill about the entire organization and lose interest in work. It
.is extremely difficult to find the right and deserving candidate for job rotation
Another disadvantage of job rotation is that sometimes, employees even after working for few
months, in another department hardly learn anything. All your efforts go waste when the end
.result is a zero

ob Enrichment - Meaning and its Benefits

inShare1
e-mailPrint

Organizations are increasingly facing the heat of attrition, which is not good to health of the
same. Lots of time, money and resources are spent into training an individual for a particular
job and when he / she leaves the return on that investment equals null. Often it is not for the
money that people leave; that may be the reason with the frontline staff but as we move
towards the upper levels of organisational hierarchy, other reasons gain prominence. Many
!of those who quit their jobs complain of their jobs as uninteresting
All this has compelled organisations to think of ways to make the job they offer interesting.
Lots of efforts are made to keep monotony at bay; job enrichment is one of them. It is the
process of making a job more interesting, challenging and satisfying for the employees. It
can either be in the form of up gradation of responsibilities, increase in the range of influence
.and the challenges

How does an Organisation Enrich a Job

Typically job enrichment involves combining various existing and new tasks into one
large module of work. The work is then handed over to an employee, which means there is
an increase in responsibilities and scope. This increase in responsibility is often vertical. The
.idea is to group various tasks together such that natural work units are created
In addition expanding jobs vertically also gives employee direct control over works units and
employees that were formerly under the jurisdiction of top management only. While on one

36

hand this increases the ownership of the employees in their work, it also relieves the
.unnecessary burden from the top management
Job enrichment also opens up a feedback channel for the employees. Employees are
frequently apprised of their performance. This keeps them on track and helps them know their
weak and strong points. Performance standards are set for the employees themselves and
future performances are matched against the benchmarks. All this without any serious
!intervention or involvement of the top management
In a certain bank that dealt with commercial credit letters for import and export trade, the
employees processed the documents in a sequence with each employee being specialised
for certain aspect of verification. Often it so happened that a mistake at preceding level lead
to a series of mistakes at succeeding level. Errors accumulated at each level and this result in
.huge loss of productivity
The organisation decided to go for job enrichment where each employee or clerk was
specialised in all aspects of processing. Each employee was now able to handle a client on
his own. After some time it was found out that the transaction volume increased by 100
!percent

Benefits of Job Enrichment

Research studies on job enrichment found out decreased levels of absenteeism among the
employees, reduced employee turnover and a manifold increase in job satisfaction. There are
certain cases however where job enrichment can lead to a decrease in productivity, especially
when the employees have not been trained properly. Even after the training the process may
.not show results immediately, it takes time to reflect in the profit line

Job Enlargement - Meaning and its

Benefits to the Organization
e-mailPrint

Job enlargement is a job design technique wherein there is an increase in the number of
tasks associated with a certain job. In other words, it means increasing the scope of ones
duties and responsibilities. The increase in scope is quantitative in nature and not qualitative
.and at the same level
Job enlargement is a horizontal restructuring method that aims at increase in the workforce
flexibility and at the same time reducing monotony that may creep up over a period of time. It
is also known as horizontal loading in that the responsibilities increase at the same level and
.not vertically
Many believe that since the enlargement is horizontal in nature there is not a great need for
training! Contrary to this, job enlargement requires appropriate training especially on time
and people management. Task related training is not required much since the person is
.already aware of the same or doing it for some time

37

Benefits of Job Enlargement

The following are the major benefits of Job enlargement
1. Reduced Monotony: Howsoever interesting the job may appear in the beginning,
sooner or later people complain of boredom and monotony. Job enlargement if
planned carefully can help reduce boredom and make it more satisfying and fulfilling
for the employees.
2. Increased Work Flexibility: There is an addition to the number of tasks an individual
performs. There is thus an increased scope of carrying out tasks that are versatile
and yet very similar in certain aspects.
3. No Skills Training Required: Since the individual has already been performing the
task in the past, there is no great requirement for imparting of new skills. However
people and time management interventions may be required. The job thus gets more
motivational for the one performing it.

Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement

1. The difference between job enrichment and job enlargement is essentially of quantity
and quality. Whereas job enlargement means increasing the scope of job
quantitatively by adding up more tasks, job enrichment means improvement in the
quality of job such that employees are more satisfied and fulfilled.
2. Through job enrichment an employee finds satisfaction and contentment in his job
and through job enlargement employee feels more responsible and worthwhile in the
organization.
3. Job enrichment entails the functions of planning and organizing and enlargement
involves execution of the same. Both complement each other, in that job enrichment
empowers and enlargement executes.
4. Job enrichment depends upon job enlargement for success and the reverse in not
true.
5. Job enrichment means a vertical expansion in duties and responsibilities and span of
control whereas in job enlargement the expansion is horizontal in nature.
Job enrichment has been found to have greater impact in terms of motivation when compared
to job enlargement. Since enrichment gives employee greater insights in managerial
functioning and a better work profile, it is looked upon as an indicator of growth and
development. The same is not true in case of job enlargement which is seen as an employer
.tactic to increase the workload

Importance of Job Rotation, Enrichment

and Enlargement in Career Growth
inShare

38

e-mailPrint

Every individual aspires to grow professionally and reach the pinnacle of success within the
shortest possible time frame. No one wants to work at a junior or mid level position
throughout his/her life. Now a days, when the competition is so fierce, people who are
multiskilled have better chances of not only getting selected in their dream companies but
also earn quick promotions as compared to those who have limited skills. You will always
have an upper edge over individuals who are reluctant to think out of the box and fail to
contribute beyond their expertise. Why would your organization give you a promotion or a
salary hike if you do not know anything beyond data entry? Job rotation, enrichment and job
enlargement play a crucial role in ones career growth as they not only prepare employees
for unpredictable circumstances but also help them acquire additional skills and gain new
.knowledge

Believe me, there is nothing great in doing something which you already know.
Challenge lies in working on something which is not your key area. There is nothing
commendable if a marketing executive sells organizations products or services and shares a
good rapport with his/her clients. After all, he/she is implementing what all has been taught to
him/her in his school or college. On the other hand, if he helps the hiring team in not only
recruiting suitable candidates but also ensuring a healthy culture at the workplace, then
definitely his efforts need to be acknowledged and appreciated. Such an individual deserves
to get a promotion for his initiative of contributing in some other department apart from his
routine work. We all, at some point of time would really love to manage teams or probably
open our own firm. Remember, one should always dream big. Trust me, handling a team
would become a nightmare if you lack managerial skills and are not aware of what is
happening in your industry on the whole. After handling diverse tasks and multiple
responsibilities, one really gets the confidence required to face challenges with a smile and
.also come out as a winner
Job enlargement makes you tough and you kind of get used to working more than your
capacity. Such a quality helps you survive in high pressure jobs or tough situations where
you are expected to not only meet but also exceed your targets in a very short period of time.
What is the difference between a junior executive and top level manager? A junior executive
is only expected to follow his superiors instructions where as a top level manager is expected
not only to make his team work but also handle pressure. Remember, you are not a good
boss if you are unable to handle pressure and further pass it on to your team members. An
organization would only give you promotion if it feels you will be able to deliver without putting
.unnecessary pressure on your team members
Job rotation, job enrichment or for that matter job enlargement teach you to be self
dependent. You learn not to crib or complain even in the worst situations and most
importantly how to manage time. Trust me, if you master time management skills, you will
never ever fail in life. One also learns how to manage relationships as a result of job rotation
or job enrichment. Since you get to work with so many people with varied expertise, you not
only gain from their knowledge but also learn how to deal with them. Job rotation, enrichment
.and enlargement teach you to do things differently

39

40