Which method for collecting job analysis information is considered best for quantifying?

Job analysis is based on job data. Hence the question: how to collect job related data? A variety of methods are available for collecting job data.The method that was historically linked to the concept of job analysis was observation supplemented by the interview.

In recent years, questionnaires, check lists, critical incidents, diaries, personnel records and technical conference method have also been experimented for collecting job-related data. A brief description of each method is in order.

Observation:

Under this method, data is collected through observing an employee while at work. The job analyst on the basis of observation carefully records what the worker does, how he/she does, and how much time is needed for completion of a given task. This is the most reliable method of seeking first hand information relating to a job.

This method is suitable for jobs that consist primarily of observable physical ability, short job cycle activities. The jobs of draftsman, mechanic, spinner or weaver are the examples of such jobs. However, the flip side of this method is that this method is not suitable for jobs that involve unobservable mental activities reveal overlaps and grey areas and have not complete job cycle.

That it is time consuming is it’s yet another handicap. Given these, the job analyst needs to be quite skillful in collecting data about jobs with a high degree of discretion or decision content. Training can make the job analyst skillful.

Interview:

In this method, the job analyst directly interviews the job holder through a structured interview form to elicit information about the job. This method is found suitable particularly for jobs wherein direct observation is not feasible. By way of directly talking to the job holder, the interviewer job analyst may extract meaningful information from the job holder about his/her job.

However the interview method is both time consuming and costly. Particularly, the professional and managerial jobs due to their complicated nature of job, require a longer interview’ This may also be a possibility that bias on the part of the analyst and the job holder i.e., the respondent may cloud the accuracy and objectivity of the information gathered through interview. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of the interview method will depend on the ability of both interviewer and respondent in asking questions and responding them respectively.

The following guidelines, as outlined by Carrol L. Shartle, Otis and Lenhert, may help the inter­viewer make his/her interview more effective:

a. Introduce yourself to make the worker know who you are and why you are there.

b. Allay the worker’s fear whatsoever by showing keen interest in both him/her and his/her job.

c. Do not advise the worker how to do the job.

d. Try to talk to the worker in his/her language, to the extent possible.

e. Do not create confusion between the work and the worker.

f. Make a full — fledged job study within the objectives of the programmes; and

g. Verify the job information whatsoever obtained.

Questionnaire:

Questionnaire method of job data collection is desirable especially in the following two situa­tions:

First, where the number of people doing the same job is large and to personally interview them is difficult and impracticable.

Second, where giving enough time to employees is desirable to enable them to divulge and explore the special aspects of the jobs.

In this method, the employee is given structured questionnaire to fill in, which are then returned to the supervisors. The supervisor, after making the required and necessary corrections in the infor­mation contained in the questionnaire, submits the corrected information to the job analyst. Question­naire provides comprehensive information about the job.

Information so obtained can be quantified and processed in the computer. The greatest advantage of the questionnaire method is that it enables the analyst to cover a large number of job holders in the shortest possible time. However, the method suffers from certain short­comings as well.

In the absence of direct rapport between the job analyst and the employee, both cooperation and motivation on the part of the employee tends to be at low level. Often employee due to lack of training and skill, do not express the job related information in a meaningful and clear fashion. As such, job related data tends to be inaccurate. Moreover, the method is time-consuming and costly.

Checklists:

The checklist method of job data collection differs from the questionnaire method in the sense that it contains a few subjective questions in the form of yes or no. The job holder is asked to tick the questions that are related to his/her job. Checklist can be prepared on the basis of job informa­tion obtained from various sources such as supervisors, industrial engineers, and other people who are familiar with the particular job.

Once the checklist is prepared, it is then sent, to the job holder to check all the tasks listed in the list he/she performs. He/she is also asked to mention the amount of time spent on each task by him/her and the type of training and experience required to do each task. Information contained in checklist is, then, tabulated to obtain the job-related data.

Like questionnaire method, the checklist method is suitable in the large organisations wherein a large number of workers are assigned one particular job. Since the method is costly and, therefore, is not suitable for small organisations.

Critical Incidents:

This method is based on the job holder’s past experiences on the job. They are asked to recapitu­late and describe the past incidents related to their jobs. The incidents so reported by the job holders are, then, classified into various categories and analysed in detail. Yes, the job analyst requires a high degree of skill to analyse the incidents appropriately described by the job holders. However, this method is also time-consuming one.

Diaries or Log Records:

In this method, the job holder is asked to maintain a diary recording in detail the job-related activities each day. If done judiciously, this method provides accurate and comprehensive information about the job. This overcomes memory lapses on the part of the job holder. As recording of activities may spread over several days, the method, thus, becomes time-consuming one.

The disadvantage associated with this method is that it remains incomplete because it does not give desirable data on supervisor relationship, the equipment used and working conditions prevalent at the work place.

Technical Conference Method:

In this method, a conference is organised for the supervisors who possess extensive knowledge about job. They deliberate on various aspects of the job. The job analyst obtains job information from the discussion held among these experts/supervisors. The method consumes less amount of time. However, the main drawback of this method is that it lacks accuracy and authenticity as the actual job holders are not involved in collecting job information.

It is seen from the preceding description that no single method is complete and superior. In fact, none of the method is to be considered as mutually exclusive. The best data related to a job can be obtained by a combination of all methods described above.

Before we skip to the next content, a brief mention about the problems faced with job analysis is in order.

The problems that may crop up while conducting job analysis are:

1. Lack of support from the top management.

2. Relying on one source and method of data collection.

3. Non-trained and non-motivated job holders who are the actual source of job data.

4. Distorted information/data provided by the respondents i.e., the job holders because of non- preparedness on their part.