Why is Job Analysis carried out?

Why is Job Analysis carried out?

Job analysis helps in the understanding of a unit of work and its linkage with other units of work. More specifically, the uses of job analysis may be summarized as follow:

Manpower planning: Job analysis helps in forecasting human resource requirements in terms of knowledge and skills. By showing lateral and vertical relationships between jobs, it facilitates the formulation of a systematic promotion and transfer policy. It also helps in determining quality of human resources needed in an organization.

Recruitment: Job analysis is used to find out how and when to hire people for future job openings. An understanding of the skills needed and the positions that are vacant in future helps managers to plan and hire people in a systematic way.

Selection: Without a proper understanding of what is to be done on a job, it is not possible to select a right person

Placement and orientation: After selecting people, we have to place them on jobs best suited to their interests, activities and aptitude. Similarly, effective job orientation program will help the employee in learning the activities and understanding duties that are required to perform a given job more effectively.

Training: If there is any confusion about what the job is and what is supposed to be done, proper training efforts cannot be initiated. Whether or not a current or potential job holder requires additional training can be determined only after the specific needs of the jobs have been identified through a job analysis

Counseling: Managers can properly counsel employees about their careers when they understand the different jobs in the organization. Likewise, employees can better appreciate their career options when they understand the specific needs of various other jobs. Job analysis can point out areas that an employee might need to develop to further a career.

Employee safety: Job analysis reveals unsafe conditions associated with a job.

Performance appraisal: By comparing what an employee is supposed to be doing (based on job analysis) to what the individual has actually done, the worth of that person can be assessed. Ultimately, every organization has to pay a fair remuneration to people based on their performance. To achieve this, it is necessary to compare what individuals should do (as per performance standards) with what they have actually done (as per job analysis).

Job design: Once the jobs are understood properly, it is easy to locate weak spots and undertake remedial steps. We can eliminate unnecessary movements, simplify certain steps and improve the existing ones through continuous monitoring. In short, we can redesign jobs to match the mental make-up of employees.

Job evaluation: Job analysis helps in finding the relative worth of a job, based on criteria such as degree of difficulty, type of work done, skills and knowledge needed, etc. This, in turn, assists in designing proper wage policies, with internal pay equity between jobs.