Human Resource Management PDF

PART TWO Recruitment, Placement, and Talent Management 4 Job Analysis and the Talent Management Process Michael Latz/vario Images/AGE Fotostock LEARNING OBJECTIVES...

PART TWO Recruitment, Placement, and Talent Management 4 Job Analysis and the Talent Management Process Michael Latz/vario Images/AGE Fotostock LEARNING OBJECTIVES Company’s 4-1 Define talent management and explain why it is important. Strategic Goals 4-2 Discuss the process of job analysis, including why it is important. 4-3 Explain how to use at least three methods of collecting job analysis information, including interviews, questionnaires, and observation. Employee Competencies and Behaviors Required for Company to Achieve These Strategic Goals 4-4 Explain how you would write a job description. 4-5 Explain how to write a job specification. ruitment an Rec acemen d Pl t ent al Environm Leg Tra elopment 4-6 List some human traits and behaviors you would De inin v Strategic and want an employee to bring to a job if employee g and engagement is important to doing the job well. HR Policies and Practices Required to Produce Employee Competencies 4-7 Explain competency-based job analysis, includ- ing what it means and how it’s done in practice. and Behaviors Co s n m tio e e l a pe e R ploy nsa Em tion hen Daimler opened its Mercedes-Benz W assembly plant in Alabama, its managers had a dilemma. Their strategy was to create a high- WHERE ARE WE NOW … performance plant, one Daimler could then extend Because managers should know what a job to its other plants in America, South Africa, Brazil, entails before deciding who to recruit and hire for it, human resource management really and Germany. The dilemma was that plant managers starts with deciding what the job entails. The could not hire, train, or pay their employees unless main purpose of this chapter is to show you they knew what each employee was expected to how to analyze jobs and write job descriptions. We discuss several techniques for analyzing do. But in this plant, self-managing teams would jobs, and explain how to write job descrip- assemble the vehicles, so team-members’ jobs might tions and job specifications. The main topics change every day. How do you hire people when we address include the talent management process, the basics of job analysis, methods their job duties are always changing?1 We’ll see what for collecting job analysis information, writing they did. job descriptions, writing job specifications, employee engagement and job analysis, and using models and profiles in talent management. Then, in Chapter 5 (Personnel Planning and Recruiting), we’ll turn to the methods managers use to actually find the employees they need. 95 96 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt The Talent Management Process For many people, Chapters 4–13 represent the heart of the book, specifically recruit- LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4-1 ment, selection, training, appraisal, career planning, and compensation. Managers Define talent management and traditionally view these activities as a series of steps: explain why it is important. 1. Decide what positions to fill, through job analysis, personnel planning, and forecasting. 2. Build a pool of job applicants, by recruiting internal or external candidates. 3. Obtain application forms and perhaps have initial screening interviews. 4. Use selection tools like tests, interviews, background checks, and physical exams to identify viable candidates. 5. Decide to whom to make an offer. 6. Orient, train, and develop employees so they have the competencies to do their jobs. 7. Appraise employees to assess how they’re doing. 8. Compensate employees to maintain their motivation. This stepwise view makes sense. For example, the employer needs job candidates before selecting whom to hire. The problem with the stepwise view is twofold. First, the process usually isn’t re- ally stepwise. For example, managers do not just train employees (step 6 above) and then appraise how they’re doing (step 7). Instead (to use our example), the appraisal may well also loop back to shape the employee’s subsequent training. So, first, rather than view these eight HR activities as stepwise, it is best to view them holistically— because the steps interactively affect each other and work together. The second prob- lem is that focusing just on each step may cause the manager to miss, as it were, the forest for the trees. It’s not just each step but the results you obtain by applying them together that’s important. So, second, it’s important to remember that each and every step should be focused on achieving, in unison, some specific result (such as, say, improving customer service). Recognizing all this, the trend today is to view these eight activities not stepwise talent management but as part of a coordinated talent management effort.2 We will define talent man- The goal-oriented and integrated agement as the holistic, integrated and results and goal-oriented process of planning, process of planning, recruiting, recruiting, selecting, developing, managing, and compensating employees.3 What does developing, managing, and this mean in practice? As an example, the manager who takes a talent management compensating employees. approach tends to take actions such as the following: 1. He or she 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. He or she treats activities such as recruiting and training as interrelated. For example, the manager knows that having employees with the right skills depends as much on recruiting and training as on applicant testing. 3. Because talent management is holistic and integrated, he or she will probably use the same “profile” of required human skills, knowledge, and behaviors (“competencies”) for formulating a job’s recruitment plans as for making selection, training, appraisal, and compensation decisions for it. 4. He or she takes steps to actively coordinate/integrate talent management functions such as recruiting and training. For example, HR managers meet to make sure they are using the same skills profile to recruit as to select, train, and appraise for a particular job, or use talent management software like the following to do so. Improving Performance Through HRIS: Talent Management Software Because talent management is holistic and interdependent, many employers use talent management software systems to coordinate their talent-related activities. For example, Talent Management Solutions’ (www.talentmanagement101.com) Talent Management Suite includes recruiting, employee performance management,  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 97 a learning management system, and compensation management support. It “ensures that all levels of the organization are aligned—all working for the same goals.”4 SilkRoad Technology’s Talent Management Solution includes applicant tracking, onboarding, performance management, and compensation support. It helps you “… recruit, manage, and retain your best employees.”5 WLE The Basics of Job Analysis KNO DG E Talent management starts with understanding what jobs need to be filled, and the BASE human traits and competencies employees need to do those jobs effectively. What Is Job Analysis? LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4-2 Discuss the process of job Organizations consist of positions that have to be staffed. The organization chart analysis, including why it is (see Figure 4-1) shows the title of each supervisor’s position and, by means of con- important. necting lines, who is accountable to whom, who has authority for each area, and who is expected to communicate with whom. Job analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties of the company’s positions and the characteristics job analysis of the people to hire for them.6 Job analysis produces information for writing job The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job descriptions (a list of what the job entails) and job (or “person”) specifications (what and the kind of person who should kind of people to hire for the job). Virtually every personnel-related action—inter- be hired for it. viewing applicants, and training and appraising employees, for instance—requires knowing what the job entails and what human traits one needs to do the job well.7 job descriptions The supervisor or human resources specialist normally collects one or more of A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, the following types of information via the job analysis: reporting relationships, working Work activities. Information about the job’s actual work activities, such as conditions, and supervisory cleaning, selling, teaching, or painting. This list may also include how, why, and responsibilities—one product of a job analysis. when the worker performs each activity. Human behaviors. Information about human behaviors the job requires, like sensing, communicating, lifting weights, or walking long distances. job specifications Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids. Information regarding tools used, A list of a job’s “human requirements,” materials processed, knowledge dealt with or applied (such as finance or law), that is, the requisite education, skills, and services rendered (such as counseling or repairing). personality, and so on—another Performance standards. Information about the job’s performance standards product of a job analysis. (in terms of quantity or quality levels for each job duty, for instance). President Vice President-sales Vice President-Production Vice President-Finance Sales Manager Sales Manager Plant Manager Manager Internal Audits Eastern Division Western Division Sales Team Supervisor Production Supervisor Accounting Supervisor Auto Parts Sales Team Supervisor Electricals FIGURE 4-1 Organization Chart 98 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt Job analysis Job description and job specification Recruiting and selection EEO compliance Performance appraisal Job evaluation—wage Training requirements decisions and salary decisions (compensation) FIGURE 4-2 Uses of Job analysis Information Job context. Information about such matters as physical working conditions, work schedule, incentives, and, for instance, the number of people with whom the employee would normally interact. Human requirements. Information such as knowledge or skills (educa- tion, training, work experience) and required personal attributes (aptitudes, personality, interests). Uses of Job Analysis Information As Figure 4-2 summarizes, job analysis is important because it supports just about all human resource management activities. RECRUItmEnt and SElECtIOn Information about what duties the job entails and what human characteristics are required to perform these duties helps managers decide what sort of people to recruit and hire. EEO COmplIanCE Job analysis is crucial for validating all major human resources practices. For example, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers should know each job’s essential job functions—which in turn requires a job analysis. pERFORmanCE appRaISal A performance appraisal compares each employee’s actual performance with his or her duties and performance standards. Managers use job analysis to learn what these duties and standards are. COmpEnSatIOn Compensation (such as salary and bonus) usually depends on the job’s required skill and education level, safety hazards, degree of responsibility, and so on—all factors you assess through job analysis. organization chart A chart that shows the organization- tRaInInG The job description lists the job’s specific duties and requisite skills—thus wide distribution of work, with titles pinpointing what training the job requires. of each position and interconnecting lines that show who reports to and communicates with whom. Conducting a Job Analysis There are six steps in doing a job analysis of a job, as follows. WLE Step 1: Decide How You Will Use the Information Some data collection techniques— KNO DG like interviewing the employee—are good for writing job descriptions. Other tech- E BASE niques, like the position analysis questionnaire we describe later, provide numerical ratings for each job; these can be used to compare jobs for compensation purposes. Step 2: Review Relevant Background Information About the Job, Such as Organiza- tion Charts and Process Charts8 It is important to understand the job’s context. For example, organization charts show the organizationwide division of work,  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 99 FIGURE 4-3 process Chart Information input Components input for analyzing a Job’s from plant manager from suppliers Workflow Source: Henderson, Richard I., Compensation Management in a Knowledge -Based World, 9th Ed., © 2003, p.137. Reprint- Job under study— ed and Electronically reproduced Quality Control Clerk by permission of Pearson Edu- cation, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Information output to plant manager Product quality output regarding component to plant manager quality process chart and where the job fits in the overall organization. A process chart provides a de- A workflow chart that shows the tailed picture of the workflow. Thus, in the process chart in Figure 4-3, the quality flow of inputs to and outputs control clerk should review components from suppliers, check components going from a particular job. to the plant managers, and give information regarding the components’ quality to these managers. Finally, an existing job description may provide a starting point for revising the job description. Workflow Analysis Reviewing the organization chart, process chart, and job descrip- tion helps the manager identify what a job’s duties and demands are now. However, it does not answer questions like “Does how this job relates to other jobs make sense?” or “Should this job even exist?” To answer such questions, the manager may conduct workflow analysis a workflow analysis. Workflow analysis is a detailed study of the flow of work from A detailed study of the flow of work job to job in one identifiable work process (such as processing a mortgage applica- from job to job in a work process. tion). In turn, this analysis may lead to changing or “reengineering” the job. The accompanying HR as a Profit Center feature illustrates workflow analysis. IMPROVING PEFORMANCE: HR as a Profit Center BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH WORK REDESIGN The Atlantic American insurance company in Atlanta conducted a workflow analysis to identify inefficiencies in how it processes its insurance claims. As the firm’s HR director said, “We followed the life of a claim to where it arrived in the mail and where it eventually ended up” in order to find ways to improve the process.9 The workflow analysis prompted several performance-boosting redesigns of the insurance claim jobs. The firm reduced from four to one the number of people opening mail, replacing three people with a machine that does it automatically. A new date stamping machine lets staff stamp 20 pages at a time rather than 1. A new software program adds bar codes to each claim automatically, rather than manually. The new system lowered costs. Source: Based on Ron Miller, “Streamlining Claims Processing,” eWeek 23, no. 25 (June 19, 2006), pp. 33, 35. If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to complete these discussion questions. talk about It 1: Based on your experience, what would the workflow look like for the process a dry-cleaning store uses to accept and chronicle a new order of clothes from a customer? How might this process be improved? business process reengineering In conducting a workflow analysis, the manager may use a flow process chart; this Redesigning business processes, lists in order each step of the process. The manager may convert this step-by-step usually by combining steps, so that flow process chart into a diagrammatic process chart. This shows, with arrows and small multifunction process teams circles, each step in the process. using information technology do the jobs formerly done by a sequence of Business Process Reengineering The workflow analysis at American Atlantic led to departments. a reengineering of its claims processing operation. Business process reengineering 100 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt means redesigning business processes, usually by combining steps, so that small mul- tifunction teams, often using information technology, do the jobs formerly done by a sequence of departments. The basic reengineering approach is to 1. Identify a business process to be redesigned (such as processing an insurance claim) 2. Measure the performance of the existing processes 3. Identify opportunities to improve these processes 4. Redesign and implement a new way of doing the work 5. Assign ownership of sets of formerly separate tasks to an individual or a team who use new computerized systems to support the new arrangement As at Atlantic American, reengineering usually requires redesigning individual jobs. For example, workers doing date stamping must now know how to use the new date-stamping machine. Job Redesign Early economists enthusiastically described why specialized jobs were more efficient (as in, “practice makes perfect”). Today, most agree that specialized jobs can backfire, for instance by sapping morale. Experts typically suggest three ways job enlargement to redesign specialized jobs to make them more challenging. Job enlargement means Assigning workers additional same- assigning workers additional same-level activities. Thus, the worker who previously level activities. only bolted the seat to the legs might attach the back too. Job rotation means sys- tematically moving workers from one job to another. job rotation Psychologist Frederick Herzberg argued that the best way to motivate workers is Systematically moving workers from through what he called job enrichment. Job enrichment means redesigning jobs in a one job to another. way that increases the opportunities for the worker to experience feelings of responsibil- job enrichment ity, achievement, growth, and recognition—and therefore more motivation. It does this Redesigning jobs in a way that by empowering the worker—for instance, by giving the worker the skills and authority increases the opportunities for the to inspect the work, instead of having supervisors do that. Herzberg said empowered worker to experience feelings of employees would do their jobs well because they wanted to, and quality and productiv- responsibility, achievement, growth, ity would rise. That philosophy, in one form or another, is the theoretical basis for the and recognition. team-based self-managing jobs in many companies around the world today. Step 3: Select Representative Positions With a job to analyze, the manager then generally selects a sample of positions to focus on. For example, to analyze an as- sembler’s job, it is usually unnecessary to analyze the jobs of all the firm’s 200 as- sembly workers; instead a sample of 10 jobs will do. Step 4: Actually Analyze the Job In brief, the actual job analysis involves greeting each job holder; briefly explaining the job analysis process and the participants’ roles in this process; spending about 15 minutes interviewing the employee to get agreement on a basic summary of the job; identifying the job’s broad areas of responsibility, such as “calling on potential clients”; and then interactively identifying specific duties/tasks within each area using one of the methods we describe just below.10 Step 5: Verify the Job Analysis Information with the Worker Performing the Job and with His or Her Immediate Supervisor This will help confirm that the information (for instance, on the job’s duties) is factually correct and complete and help to gain their acceptance. Step 6: Develop a Job Description and Job Specification The job description lists the duties, activities, and responsibilities of the job, as well as its important fea- tures, such as working conditions. The job specification summarizes the personal qualities, traits, skills, and background required for getting the job done. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4-3 Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information Explain how to use at least There are many ways (interviews, or questionnaires, for instance) to collect job three methods of collecting job information. The basic rule is to use those that best fit your purpose. Thus an inter- analysis information, including view might be best for creating a list of job duties. The more quantitative “position interviews, questionnaires, and observation. analysis questionnaire” method may be best for quantifying each job’s worth for pay purposes. Before actually analyzing the job, keep several things in mind.  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 101 It is helpful to spend several minutes prior to collecting job analysis information explaining the process that you will be following. Walter Hodges/Flame/Corbis Make the job analysis a joint effort by a human resources manager, the worker, and the worker’s supervisor. The human resource manager might observe the worker doing the job, and have both the supervisor and worker fill out job question- naires. Then he or she lists the job’s duties and required human traits. The super- visor and worker then verify the HR manager’s list of job duties. Make sure the questions and the process are both clear to the employees. (For example, some might not know what you mean when you ask about the job’s “mental demands.”) Use several job analysis methods. For example, a questionnaire might miss a task the worker performs just occasionally. Therefore it’s prudent to follow up the questionnaire with a short interview. WLE The Interview KNO DG Job analysis interviews range from unstructured (“Tell me about your job”) to highly E BASE structured ones containing hundreds of specific items to check off. Managers may conduct individual interviews with each employee, group interviews with groups of employees who have the same job, and/or supervisor interviews with one or more supervisors who know the job. Use group interviews when a large number of employees are performing similar or identical work, since this can be a quick and inex- pensive way to gather information. As a rule, the workers’ immediate supervisor attends the group session; if not, you can interview the supervisor separately. The interviewee should understand the reason for the interview. There’s a ten- dency for workers to view such interviews, rightly or wrongly, as “efficiency evalua- tions.” If so, interviewees may hesitate to describe their jobs accurately. typICal QUEStIOnS Typical interview questions include the following: What is the job being performed? What exactly are the major duties of your position? What physical locations do you work in? What are the education, experience, skill, and [where applicable] certification and licensing requirements? In what activities do you participate? What are the job’s responsibilities and duties? 102 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt What are the basic accountabilities or performance standards that typify your work? What are your responsibilities? What are the environmental and working condi- tions involved? What are the job’s physical demands? The emotional and mental demands? What are the health and safety conditions? Are you exposed to any hazards or unusual working conditions? StRUCtUREd IntERvIEWS Many managers use questionnaires to guide the interview. Figure 4-4 presents one example. It includes questions regarding matters like the general purpose of the job; supervisory responsibilities; job duties; and education, experience, and skills required. Such structured lists are not just for interviews. Job analysts who collect infor- mation by personally observing the work or by using questionnaires—two methods explained later—can also use structured lists.11 pROS and COnS The interview’s wide use reflects its advantages. It’s a simple and quick way to collect information. Skilled interviewers can also unearth important activities that occur only occasionally, or informal contacts that aren’t on the organization chart. The employee can also vent frustrations that might otherwise go unnoticed. Distortion of information is the main problem.12 Job analysis often precedes chang- ing a job’s pay rate. Employees therefore may legitimately view it as pay-related, and exaggerate some responsibilities while minimizing others. In one study, researchers listed possible job duties either as simple task statements (“record phone messages and other routine information”) or as ability statements (“ability to record phone messages and other routine information”). Respondents were more likely to report the ability-based versions of the statements. There may be a tendency for people to inflate their job’s im- portance when abilities are involved, to impress the perceptions of others.13 Employees will even puff up their job titles to make their jobs seem more important.14 IntERvIEWInG GUIdElInES To get the best information possible: Establish rapport with the interviewee. Know the person’s name, speak under- standably, briefly review the interview’s purpose, and explain how the person was chosen for the interview. Use a structured guide that lists questions and provides space for answers. This ensures you’ll identify crucial questions ahead of time and that all interviewers (if more than one) cover all the required questions. (However, also ask, “Was there anything we didn’t cover with our questions?”) Make sure you don’t overlook crucial but infrequently performed activities—like a nurse’s occasional emergency room duties. Ask the worker to list his or her duties in order of importance and frequency of occurrence. After completing the interview, review the information with the worker’s immediate supervisor and with the interviewee. Questionnaires Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job duties and responsibili- ties is another good way to obtain job analysis information. Some questionnaires are structured checklists. Here each employee gets an inventory of perhaps hundreds of specific duties or tasks (such as “change and splice wire”). He or she must indicate if he or she performs each task and, if so, how much time is normally spent on each. At the other extreme, the questionnaire may simply ask, “describe the major duties of your job.” In practice, the best questionnaire often falls between these two extremes. As illustrated in Figure 4-4, a typical job analysis questionnaire might include several open- ended questions (such as “Give a brief description of the main function/purpose of your job?”) as well as structured questions (concerning, for instance, education required). All questionnaires have pros and cons. A questionnaire is a quick and efficient way to obtain information from a large number of employees; it’s less costly than  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 103 FIGURE 4-4 Job analysis Questionnaire JOB ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE* for developing Job descriptions PURPOSE AND INSTRUCTIONS Source: Adapted from www.tsu. edu/PDFFiles/Human%20 Because no one knows the job as well as the person doing it, we are asking you to complete this Resources/HR%20Forms/ form. The purpose is to obtain current information on your job based on a review of job duties and JAQ%20FORM_rev%20 responsibilities. We are not asking you about your job performance; only what your job requires 100809%20a.pdf; www.delaware you to do. personnel.com/class/forms/jaq/ jaq.shtml; www.uh.edu/human- EMPLOYEE DATA (PLEASE PRINT): resources/forms/JAQ.doc; www. tnstate.edu/hr/documents/…/ Job%20Analysis%20 Your Name: Today’s date Questionnaire.doc (all accessed July 24, 2013). Employee ID: *Copyright Gary Dessler, PhD Location/Department: Your Job Title: Job Code: How long have you been in your current position: Work Telephone Number: Supervisor’s Name: Supervisor’s Title: SUMMARY OF DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES Give a brief description of the main function/purpose of your job. This statement should be a brief summary of the responsibilities listed in the next section. Listing of Job Duties What do you do on your job? Please list your job’s specific duties/responsibilities in the space below. In doing so: Please list the most important duties/responsibilities first. Write a separate statement for each duty/responsibility. At the end of each statement please indicate the approximate percent of your workday (25%, 7%, etc.) you spend on that duty. Please place an asterisk (*) next to the duties that you consider to be absolutely essential to this job. (Add additional duties as necessary) Are there duties you are now performing that are not now in your job description? If so please list them on back of this page. (Continued) 104 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt FIGURE 4-4 Continued Minimum Level of Education (or Equivalent Experience) This Job Requires What is the minimum level of education necessary to perform your job? Select only one please: 1. Elementary education. 2. Some high school. 3. A high school diploma or equivalent (G.E.D.). 4. A formal vocational training program (approximately one year), an apprenticeship, or some formal college education. 5. An Associate’s degree (AA, AS). 6. A bachelor’s degree (BA, BS). 7. A Master’s degree (MA, MS, MBA, MPA). 8. A doctorate degree (Ph.D., MD, JD, EED). 9. Are you required to be licensed or certified to perform your work? [ ] Yes [ ] No List type Required Training on Job What is the level of on-the-job or classroom training someone requires to do your job? Please select one choice below: 1. No additional training required. 2. A day or two. 3. A week. 4. A month. 5. Several months. 6. One year. 7. Two years or more. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES Do you supervise others as part of your job? If so please briefly describe the nature of your supervisory responsibilities. PHYSICAL JOB DEMANDS Please briefly describe this job’s main physical demands. For example, does it involve Sitting? Walking? Standing? Lifting? Detailed repetitive motions? Climbing? Etc. Working Conditions: Environmental and Safety Job Demands Please list this job’s working conditions, such as: air-conditioned office work; outdoor or indoor extreme heat or cold; wet; noise; job hazards; working in elevated conditions; etc. EMPLOYEE COMMENTS Is there any other information that would be important in understanding your job? If so, please give us your comments below. SUPERVISOR’S REVIEW Based on your understanding of the job as it currently exists, please review the employee’s response and provide your own comments in the space below. Please do not change the employee’s responses. *Copyright Gary Dessler PhD  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 105 interviewing hundreds of workers, for instance. However, developing the question- naire and testing it (perhaps by making sure the workers understand the questions) can be time-consuming. And as with interviews, employees may distort their answers. Observation Direct observation is especially useful when jobs consist mainly of observable physi- cal activities—assembly-line worker and accounting clerk are examples. However, observation is usually not appropriate when the job entails a lot of mental activity (lawyer, design engineer). Nor is it useful if the employee only occasionally engages in important activities, such as a nurse who handles emergencies. Reactivity—the worker’s changing what he or she normally does because you are watching—is another problem. Managers often use direct observation and interviewing together. One approach is to observe the worker on the job during a complete work cycle. (The cycle is the time it takes to complete the job; it could be a minute for an assembly-line worker or an hour, a day, or longer for complex jobs.) Here you take notes of all the job activi- ties. Then, ask the person to clarify open points and to explain what other activities he or she performs that you didn’t observe. Participant Diary/Logs diary/log Another method is to ask workers to keep a diary/log; here for every activity engaged Daily listings made by workers of in, the employee records the activity (along with the time) in a log. every activity in which they engage Some firms give employees pocket dictating machines and pagers. Then at ran- along with the time each activity dom times during the day, they page the workers, who dictate what they are doing at takes. that time. Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques Qualitative methods like interviews and questionnaires are not always suitable. For example, if your aim is to compare jobs for pay purposes, a mere listing of duties may not suffice. You may need to say that, in effect, “Job A is twice as challenging as Job B, and so is worth twice the pay.” To do this, it helps to have quantitative ratings for each job. The position analysis questionnaire and the Department of Labor ap- proach are quantitative methods for doing this. position analysis pOSItIOn analySIS QUEStIOnnaIRE The position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) is a questionnaire (paQ) very popular quantitative job analysis tool, consisting of a questionnaire containing A questionnaire used to collect 194 items.15 The 194 items (such as “written materials”) each represent a basic element quantifiable data concerning that may play a role in the job. The items each belong to one of five PAQ basic activities: the duties and responsibilities of (1) Having Decision-Making/Communication/Social Responsibilities, (2) Performing various jobs. Skilled Activities, (3) Being Physically Active, (4) Operating Vehicles/Equipment, and (5) Processing Information. The final PAQ “score” reflects the job’s rating on each of these five activities. To get those scores, the job analyst decides if each of the 194 items (such as one on using “written materials”) applies to the job and, if so, to what extent. For example, within the “Processing Information” activity section an item on the extent to which the job requires using “written materials” such as books and reports might get a rating of 4. Since the PAQ scale ranges from 1 to 5, a 4 suggests that written materials do play a significant role in this job. The analyst can use an online version of the PAQ (see www.paq.com) for each job he or she is analyzing. One of the PAQ’s strengths is in assigning jobs to job classes for pay purposes. With ratings for each job’s decision-making, skilled activity, physical activity, vehicle/ equipment operation, and information-processing characteristics, you can quantita- tively compare jobs relative to one another,16 and then classify jobs for pay purposes.17 dEpaRtmEnt OF labOR (dOl) pROCEdURE Experts at the U.S. Department of Labor did much of the early work developing job analysis.18 They used their results to compile what was for many years the bible of job descriptions, the Dictionary of Occupational 106 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt Titles. This mammoth book contained detailed information on virtually every job in America. Internet-based tools have largely replaced the Dictionary. However, the U.S. Department of Labor job analysis procedure remains a good example of how to quantitatively rate, classify, and compare jobs. As Table 4-1 shows, the DOL method uses a set of standard activities called worker functions to describe what a worker must do with respect to data, people, and things. With respect to data, for instance, the functions include synthesizing and copying. For people, they include mentoring and supervising. For things, basic functions include manipulating and handling. Each worker function has an importance rating. Thus, “coordinating” is 1, whereas “copying” is 5. If you were analyzing the job of a receptionist/clerk, for example, you might label the job 5, 6, 7 to represent copying data, speaking/signaling people, and handling things. You might code a psychiatric aide in a hospital 1, 7, 5 in relation to data, people, and things. In practice, you would score each task that the worker performed as part of his or her job in terms of data, people, and things. Then you would use the highest combination (say 4, 6, 5) to rate the overall job, since this is the highest level that you would expect a successful job incumbent to attain. If you were selecting a worker for that 4, 6, 5 job, you’d expect him or her to be able to at least compute (4), speak/signal (6), and tend (5). If you were comparing jobs for pay purposes, a 4, 6, 5 job should rank higher (see Table 4-1) than a 6, 8, 6 job. The man- ager can then present a summary of the job along with its 3-digit rating on a form such as in Figure 4-5.19 Electronic Job Analysis Methods20 Employers increasingly rely on electronic or Web-based job analysis methods. For example, the manager or job analyst may use the Web to review existing informa- tion about a job. Then, rather than collecting information about a job through direct interviews or questionnaires, the analyst uses online systems to send job question- naires to job experts (often job incumbents) in remote locations. The Web also facili- tates sharing and discussing responses, for instance, via Skype. The job analyst may thereby convene job experts to discuss and finalize the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required for doing the job and its tasks.21 Conducting the job analysis via the Internet is often an obvious choice.22 Most simply, the human resource department can distribute standardized job analysis questionnaires to geographically disbursed employees via their company intranets, with instructions to complete the forms and return them by a particular date. Of course, the instructions should be clear, and test the process first. Without a job analyst actually sitting there with the employee or supervisor, there’s a chance that the employees won’t cover important points or that misunderstandings will cloud the results. TABLE 4-1 basic department of labor Worker Functions data People Things Basic Activities 0 Synthesizing 0 Mentoring 0 Setting up 1 Coordinating 1 Negotiating 1 Precision working 2 Analyzing 2 Instructing 2 Operating/controlling 3 Compiling 3 Supervising 3 Driving/operating 4 Computing 4 Diverting 4 Manipulating 5 Copying 5 Persuading 5 Tending 6 Comparing 6 Speaking/signaling 6 Feeding/offbearing 7 Serving 7 Handling 8 Taking instructions/helping Note: Determine employee’s job “score” on data, people, and things by observing his or her job and determining, for each of the three categories, which of the basic functions illustrates the person’s job. “0” is high; “6,” “8,” and “7” are lows in each column.  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 107 FIGURE 4-5 Sample Report based on department of labor Job analysis Job Analysis Schedule technique DOUGH MIXER 'UVCDNKUJGF,QD6KVNG (bake prod.) +PF#UUKIP 5+%%QFG U CPF6KVNG U 2051 Bread and other bakery products ,1$57//#4; 1RGTCVGUOKZKPIOCEJKPGVQOKZKPITGFKGPVUHQT UVTCKIJVCPFURQPIG [GCUV FQWIJUCEEQTFKPIVQ GUVCDNKUJGFHQTOWNCUFKTGEVUQVJGTYQTMGTUKP HGTOGPVCVKQPQHFQWIJCPFEWTNUFQWIJKPVQ RKGEGUYKVJJCPFEWVVGT 914-2'4(14/'&4#6+0)5 & 2 6 9QTMGT(WPEVKQPU &CVC 2GQRNG 6JKPIU 5 6 2 Cooking, Food Preparing 9QTM(KGNF 914-'464#+654#6+0) VQDGƁNNGFKPD[CPCN[UV  6TCKPKPIVKOGTGSWKTGF #RVKVWFGU 6GORGTCOGPVU +PVGTGUVU 2J[UKECNFGOCPFU 'PXKTQPOGPVEQPFKVKQPU The U.S. Navy used Internet-based job analysis.23 To keep ambiguities to a mini- mum, it had the employees complete structured online job analysis forms step by step and duty by duty, as follows: First, the online form lists a set of work activities (such as “Getting Information” and “Monitor the Process”) from the Department of Labor online O*NET work activities list (see Figure 4-6).24 Next, the form directs employees to select those work activities that are impor- tant to their job. Then, the form asks them to list actual duties of their jobs that fit each of those selected work activities. For example, suppose an employee chose “Getting Information” as an important work activity. Now he or she would list next to “Getting Information” specific job duties, such as “watch for new orders from our vendors and bring them to the boss’s attention.” Again, the main issue with online job analysis is to strip the process of ambiguities. The Navy’s online method proved effective.25 Watch It! If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to see how an actual company uses job analysis, and to complete the video exercise titled Weather Channel: Talent Management. 108 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt Figure 4-6 O*nEt Generalized Work activities Categories Note: The U.S. Navy employees were asked to indicate if their jobs required them to engage in work activities such as: Getting Information; Monitoring Processes; Identifying Objects; Inspecting Equipment; and Estimating Quantifiable Characteristics. Source: From O*NET website, www.onetonline.org. WLE Writing Job Descriptions KNO DG E BASE 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. You use this information to write a job specification; LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4-4 this lists the knowledge, abilities, and skills required to perform the job satisfactorily.26 Explain how you would write a job description. HR in Practice at the Hotel Paris In reviewing the Hotel Paris’s employment systems, the HR man- ager was concerned that virtually all the company’s job descriptions were out of date, and that many jobs had no descriptions at all. She knew that without accurate job descriptions, all her improvement efforts would be in vain. To see how this was handled, see the case on pages 122–123 of this chapter. Diversity Counts Most people assume that job descriptions are only of use in business settings, but that’s not the case. In fact, for parents who want the best care for their kids, writ- ing up a job description before hiring a child-care worker could be quite useful. For example, because what children learn when they’re very young predicts their future academic and career success, facilitating early-childhood learning is a crucial task for many caregivers.27 And yet few parents write a job description before recruiting their child-care workers. Many, therefore, hire this important person not clearly under- standing what they want this person to do. A well-thought-out job description might benefit everyone involved. The parent—knowing that supporting early-childhood learning is so important—might put more effort into finding and training the child’s caregiver (95% of whom are women). The child might benefit from a more nurturing learning environment. And the caregiver would gain if, after recognizing how many challenging tasks she is responsible for, the parent would raise her salary from the current national average of about $19,000 per year—just about the poverty level for a family of three. There is no standard format for writing a job description. However, most descriptions contain sections that cover: 1. Job identification 2. Job summary  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 109 3. Responsibilities and duties 4. Authority of incumbent 5. Standards of performance 6. Working conditions 7. Job specification Figures 4-7 and 4-8 present two sample forms of job descriptions. Job Identification As in Figure 4-7, the job identification section (on top) contains several types of informa- tion.28 The job title specifies the name of the job, such as supervisor of data processing operations, or inventory control clerk. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) status section identifies the job as exempt or nonexempt. (Under the FLSA, certain positions, primarily administrative and professional, are exempt from the act’s overtime and mini- mum wage provisions.) Date is the date the job description was actually approved. There may also be a space to indicate who approved the description and perhaps a space showing the location of the job in terms of its facility/division and depart- ment. This section might also include the immediate supervisor’s title and information regarding salary and/or pay scale. There might also be space for the grade/level of the job, if there is such a category. For example, a firm may classify programmers as pro- grammer II, programmer III, and so on. Job Summary The job summary should summarize the essence of the job, and include only its major functions or activities. Thus (in Figure 4-7), the telesales rep “… is responsible for selling college textbooks….” For the job of mailroom supervisor, “the mailroom supervisor receives, sorts, and delivers all incoming mail properly, and he or she handles all outgoing mail including the accurate and timely posting of such mail.”29 Some experts state unequivocally that “one item frequently found that should never be included in a job description is a ‘cop-out clause’ like ‘other duties, as assigned,’ ”30 since this leaves open the nature of the job. Finally, state in the summary that the employee is expected to carry out his or her duties efficiently, attentively, and conscientiously. Relationships There may be a “relationships” statement (not in Figure 4-7) that shows the job- holder’s relationships with others inside and outside the organization. For a human resource manager, such a statement might say:31 Reports to: Vice president of employee relations. Supervises: Human resource clerk, test administrator, labor relations director, and one secretary. Works with: All department managers and executive management. Outside the company: Employment agencies, executive recruiting firms, union representatives, state and federal employment offices, and various vendors.32 Responsibilities and Duties This is the heart of the job description. It should present a list of the job’s significant re- sponsibilities and duties. As in Figure 4-7, list each of the job’s major duties separately, and describe it in a few sentences. In the figure, for instance, the job’s duties include “achieve quantitative sales goal …” and “determine sales priorities….” Typical duties for other jobs might include making accurate postings to accounts payable, maintaining favorable pur- chase price variances, and repairing production-line tools and equipment. This section may also define the jobholder’s authority limits. For example, the jobholder might have author- ity to approve purchase requests up to $5,000, grant time off or leaves of absence, discipline department personnel, recommend salary increases, and interview and hire new employees. Usually, the manager’s basic question here is, “How do I determine what the job’s duties are and should be?” The answer first is, from the job analysis; this should re- veal what the employees on each job are doing now. 110 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt Second, you can review various sources of standardized job description informa- Standard Occupational tion. For example, the U.S. government’s Standard Occupational Classification Classification (SOC) (SOC) (www.bls.gov/soc/socguide.htm) classifies all workers into one of 23 major Classifies all workers into one of groups of jobs, such as “Management Occupations” and “Healthcare Occupations.” 23 major groups of jobs that are These in turn contain 96 minor groups of jobs, which in turn include 821 detailed subdivided into minor groups of jobs occupations, such as the marketing manager description in Figure 4-8. The employer and detailed occupations. JOB TITLE: Telesales Respresentative JOB CODE: 100001 RECOMMENDED SALARY GRADE: EXEMPT/NONEXEMPT STATUS: Nonexempt JOB FAMILY: Sales EEOC: Sales Workers DIVISION: Higher Education REPORTS TO: District Sales Manager DEPARTMENT: In-House Sales LOCATION: Boston DATE: April 2013 SUMMARY (Write a brief summary of job.) The person in this position is responsible for selling college textbooks, software, and multimedia products to professors, via incoming and outgoing telephone calls, and to carry out selling strategies to meet sales goals in assigned territories of smaller colleges and universities. In addition, the individual in this position will be responsible for generating a designated amount of editorial leads and communicating to the publishing groups product feedback and market trends observed in the assigned territory. SCOPE AND IMPACT OF JOB Dollar responsibilities (budget and/or revenue) The person in this position is responsible for generating approximately $2 million in revenue, for meeting operating expense budget of approximately $4000, and a sampling budget of approximately 10,000 units. Supervisory responsibilities (direct and indirect) None Other REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE (Knowledge and experience necessary to do job) Related work experience Prior sales or publishing experience preferred. One year of company experience in a customer service or marketing function with broad knowledge of company products and services is desirable. Formal education or equivalent Bachelor’s degree with strong academic performance or work equivalent experience. Skills Must have strong organizational and persuasive skills. Must have excellent verbal and written communications skills and must be PC proficient. Other Limited travel required (approx 5%) (Continued) FIGURE 4-7 Sample Job description, pearson Education Source: Reprinted and electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 111 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES (List in order of importance and list amount of time spent on task.) Driving Sales (60%) Achieve quantitative sales goal for assigned territory of smaller colleges and universities. Determine sales priorities and strategies for territory and develop a plan for implementing those strategies. Conduct 15–20 professor interviews per day during the academic sales year that accomplishes those priorities. Conduct product presentations (including texts, software, and Web site); effectively articulate author’s central vision of key titles; conduct sales interviews using the PSS model; conduct walk-through of books and technology. Employ telephone selling techniques and strategies. Sample products to appropriate faculty, making strategic use of assigned sampling budgets. Close class test adoptions for first edition products. Negotiate custom publishing and special packaging agreements within company guidelines. Initiate and conduct in-person faculty presentations and selling trips as appropriate to maximize sales with the strategic use of travel budget. Also use internal resources to support the territory sales goals. Plan and execute in-territory special selling events and book-fairs. Develop and implement in-territory promotional campaigns and targeted email campaigns. Publishing (editorial/marketing) 25% Report, track, and sign editorial projects. Gather and communicate significant market feedback and information to publishing groups. Territory Management 15% Track and report all pending and closed business in assigned database. Maintain records of customer sales interviews and adoption situations in assigned database. Manage operating budget strategically. Submit territory itineraries, sales plans, and sales forecasts as assigned. Provide superior customer service and maintain professional bookstore relations in assigned territory. Decision-Making Responsibilities for This Position: Determine the strategic use of assigned sampling budget to most effectively generate sales revenue to exceed sales goals. Determine the priority of customer and account contacts to achieve maximum sales potential. Determine where in-person presentations and special selling events would be most effective to generate the most sales. Submitted By: Jim Smith, District Sales Manager Date: April 10, 2013 Approval: Date: Human Resources: Date: Corporate Compensation: Date: FIGURE 4-7 Continued can use standard descriptions like these to identify a job’s duties and responsibilities, such as “Determine the demand for products.” The employer may also use other popular sources of job description information, such as www.jobdescription.com. Another simple solution is just to Google the job description you want, by seeing online what others are doing. Thus, someone writ- ing job descriptions for jobs such as marketing manager would readily find relevant online descriptions as follows: Go to http://hiring.monster.com. Then click Resource Center, then Recruiting and Hiring Advice, then Job descriptions, then Sample job descriptions. Then scroll down to Marketing and Sales Manager Sample Job Description.33 112 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt FIGURE 4-8 marketing manager description from Standard Occupational Classification Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Go to www.careerplanner.com. Then click Job Descriptions, then scroll down to Marketing Manager Job Description.34 O*NET online, as noted, is another option for finding job duties. We present an example in the hr Tools for Line Managers and Small Businesses feature at the end of this section. TrEnds shAping hr: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is helping to democratize HR, by enabling line managers to do things for which they formerly required HR managers, thus bypassing HR. For example, the hiring manager can easily unearth job titles and duties using social media like LinkedIn. Thus (to paraphrase what someone posted on LinkedIn): I hope some of you IT recruiters out there can help me to better understand what I need to put into the job descriptions that I’m writing for the O*NET developers and development managers I’m recruiting for. The first of many replies listed 12 tasks including: (1) Do techni- cal skills match the desired job? (2) What technical problems were solved by the job seeker? and (3) Did job seeker know about Cloud Deployment?35 But some of the job titles you’ll find on social media may be more creative than usable. For example, Pinterest calls its designers Pixel Pushers!36 Writing clear job duties is an art. For a teacher, for example, one duty might be:37 Incorrect: Ensures that students learn 5th grade English with the aim of passing the required common exam. Comment: What the teacher does is ambiguous, and the expected process and results of the teacher’s actions aren’t clear. Correct: Studies past common English exams to understand what they typically involve, prepares yearly, weekly, and daily lesson plans, presents each day’s lesson clearly with follow up questions to ensure learning, administers weekly tests to confirm learning, and counsel students with one on one in class lessons as necessary. KnOW yOUR EmplOymEnt laW Writing Job Descriptions That Comply with the ADA WLE KNO DG The list of job duties is crucial to employers’ efforts to comply with the Americans with E Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, the individual must have the requisite skills, BASE educational background, and experience to perform the job’s essential functions. The  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 113 EEOC says, “Essential functions are the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation.”38 Factors to consider include: Whether the position exists to perform that function, The number of other employees available to perform the function, The degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function. Whether employees in the position are actually required to perform the function.39 What the degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function is.40 As an example, answering calls and directing visitors to the proper offices might be essential functions for a receptionist’s job. The EEOC says it will consider both the employer’s judgment about which functions are essential, and a written job descrip- tion prepared before advertising or interviewing for a job as evidence of essential functions. Other evidence includes the actual work experience of present or past em- ployees in the job, the time spent performing a function, and the consequences of not requiring that an employee perform a function. If the disabled individual can’t perform the job as currently structured, the employer is required to make a “reasonable accommodation,” unless doing so would present an “undue hardship.” The EEOC says reasonable accommodation may include: acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, job redesign/restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, providing readers and interpreters, and making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Standards of Performance and Working Conditions A “standards of performance” section lists the standards the company expects the employee to achieve for each of the job description’s main duties and responsibilities. One way to set standards is to finish the statement, “I will be completely satisfied with your work when….” This sentence, if completed for each listed duty, should result in a usable set of performance standards. For example: Duty: Accurately Posting Accounts Payable 1. Post all invoices received within the same working day. 2. Route all invoices to the proper department managers for approval no later than the day following receipt. 3. Commit an average of no more than three posting errors per month. The job description may also list the job’s working conditions, such as noise level, hazardous conditions, or heat. IMPROVING PERFORMANCE: HR Tools for Line Managers and Small Businesses Using O*NET Without their own job analysts or even HR managers, many small business owners face two hurdles when doing job analyses. First, most need a more streamlined approach than those provided by questionnaires like that in Figure 4-4. Second is the concern that, in writing their job descriptions, they’ll overlook duties that subordinates should be assigned. What they need is an encyclopedia listing all the possible positions they might encounter, including a list of the duties normally assigned to these positions. The small business owner has at least three options. The Standard Occupational Classification, men- tioned earlier, provides detailed descriptions of thousands of jobs and their human requirements. Web sites like www.jobdescription.com provide customizable descriptions by title and industry. And the Department of Labor’s O*NET is a third alternative. We’ll focus here on how to write a job description using O*NET (http://online.onetcenter.org).41 It is free to use. 114 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt O*NET The U.S. Department of Labor’s online occupational information network, called O*NET, enables anyone to see the most important characteristics of various occupations, as well as the experience, education, and knowledge required to do each job well. Both the Standard Occupational Classification and O*NET list the specific duties associated with numerous occupa- tions. O*NET also lists skills, including basic skills such as reading and writing, process skills such as critical thinking, and transferable skills such as persuasion and negotiation.42 An O*NET job listing also includes information on worker requirements (required knowledge, for instance), occupation requirements (such as compiling, coding, and categorizing data, for instance), and experience requirements (including education and job training). Employers and career planers also use O*NET to check the job’s labor market characteristics, such as employment projections and earnings data.43 The steps in using O*NET to facilitate writing a job description follow. Step 1. Review your Plan. Ideally, the jobs you need should flow from your departmental or company plans. Do you plan to enter or exit businesses? What do you expect your sales to be in the next few years? What departments will have to be expanded or reduced? What kinds of new positions will you need? Step 2. Develop an Organization Chart. Start with the organization as it is now. Then produce a chart showing how you want it to look in a year or two. Microsoft Word includes an organization charting function.44 Step 3. Use a Job Analysis Questionnaire. Next, gather information about each job’s duties. (You can use job analysis questionnaires, such as those shown in Figures 4-4 and 4-9). FIGURE 4-9 Simple Job description Questionnaire Background Data Source: Copyright Gary Dessler, PhD. for Job Description Job Title Department Job Number Written by Today’s Date Applicable DOT Codes I. Applicable DOT Definition(s): II. Job Summary: (List the more important or regularly performed tasks) III. Reports To: IV. Supervises: V. Job Duties: (Briefly describe, for each duty, what employee does and, if possible, how employee does it. Show in parentheses at end of each duty the approximate percentage of time devoted to duty.) A. Daily Duties: B. Periodic Duties: (Indicate whether weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) C. Duties Performed at Irregular Intervals:  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 115 Source: Reprinted by permission of O*NET OnLine. a b C Step 4. Obtain Job Duties from O*NET. The list of job duties you uncovered through the job analysis in step 3 may or may not be complete. We’ll therefore use O*NET to compile a more complete list. (Refer to the A, B, and C examples pictured just above.) Start by going to http://online.onetcenter.org (A). Here, click on Find Occupations. Assume you want to create job descriptions for a retail salesperson. Key Retail Sales in the Keyword drop-down box. This brings you to the Occupations matching “retail sales” page (B). Clicking on the Retail Salespersons summary produces the job summary and specific occupational duties for retail salespersons (C). For a small store, you might want to combine the duties of the “retail salesperson” with those of “first-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers.” 116 Part 2 rECruitMEnt, PlaCEMEnt, and talEnt ManagEMEnt Step 5. List the Job’s Human Requirements from O*NET. Next, return to the summary for Retail Salesper- son (C). Here, click, for example, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Use this information to help develop a job specification for your job. Use this information for recruiting, selecting, and training your employees. Step 6. Finalize the Job Description. Finally, perhaps using Figure 4-9 as a guide, write an appropri- ate job summary for the job. Then use the information obtained previously in steps 4 and 5 to create a complete listing of the tasks, duties, and human requirements of each of the jobs you will need to fill. If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to complete these discussion questions. talk about It 2: Pick a job that someone with whom you are familiar is doing, such as a bus driver, mechanic, and so on. Review the O*NET information for that job. To what extent does the person seem to have what it takes to do that job, based on the O*NET information? How does that correspond to how he or she is actually doing? WLE Writing Job Specifications KNO DG The job specification takes the job description and answers the question, “What hu- E BASE man traits and experience are required to do this job effectively?” It shows what kind of person to recruit and for what qualities you should test that person. It may be a section of the job description, or a separate document. Often—as in Figure 4-7 on LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4-5 pages 110–111—it is part of the job description.45 Explain how to write a job specification. Specifications for Trained versus Untrained Personnel Writing job specifications for trained and experienced employees is relatively straight- forward. Here job specifications tend to focus on factors such as length of previous service, quality of relevant training, and previous job performance. The problems are more complex when you’re filling jobs with untrained people (with the intention of training them on the job). Here you must specify qualities such as physical traits, personality, interests, or sensory skills that imply some potential for per- forming the job or for trainability. Thus, for a job that requires detailed manipulation in a circuit board assembly line, you might want someone who scores high on a test of Filling jobs with untrained employees requires identifying the personal traits that predict performance. Hill Street Studios/Blend Images/Corbis  ChaPtEr 4 JoB analysis and thE talEnt ManagEMEnt ProCEss 117 finger dexterity. Employers identify the job’s human requirements either through a sub- jective, judgmental approach or through statistical analysis (or both). Specifications Based on Judgment Most job specifications simply reflect the educated guesses of people like supervi- sors and human resource managers. The basic procedure here is to ask, “What does it take in terms of education, intelligence, training, and the like to do this job well?” How does one make such “educated guesses”? You could simply review the job’s duties, and deduce from those what human traits and skills the job requires. You can also choose human traits and skills from those listed in Web-based job descriptions like those at www.jobdescription.com. (For example, a typical job description there lists “Generates creative solutions” and “Manages difficult or emotional customer situations.”) O*NET online is another option. Job listings there include lists of