Job analysis and consistency in hiring practices at Johnson Enterprise

¶ … Role of Job Analysis in Hiring

The HR function of an organization is not only credited with the success of pooling right candidates and hiring the best possible individuals and keeping them, but the same department is also liable for problems faced in hiring and keeping the right talent. It is not a coincidence that helps retain good people. When a talented human resource joins an organization, he or she has associated expectations with job and responsibilities. When the person finds that she is not asked to do what actually her role demands, the person is likely to quit the organization, leaving behind a vacant spot once again. This indicates that the job responsibilities must match the person's skills as well as the job title. The job description should not be ambiguous rather clear. When an organization like Johnson Enterprise works in too many states and cities, the job candidates are likely to expect that the organizational practices are same in different cities. However a contradictory experience will leave the workforce in turmoil. It is thus required that and organization creates principles and procedures for hiring that are universal across the organization.

Unity and Integrity in Hiring Process

It is hard to maintain different procedures for same activity in an organization. Recruitment procedure can be carried out internally or externally but the procedure should be uniform. Hiring individuals via tests, interviews or assessment procedures create an image of an organization that communicates its objectives too. When an organization is not consistent in using ways of hiring, the pool of candidate may be confused and even many potential candidates would not apply in the organization simply because of lack of integrity in hiring process. It is the responsibility of Johnson Enterprise that they understand the need for unified hiring process and lay down rules and regulations that will be consistently followed throughout the organization.

Legal implications of Job Analysis

The job analysis should not be considered as a better option rather it is the only option and the ultimate choice against legal protection. Lack of clearly defined jobs often provokes the employees to sue against or at least complain about the organizational practices. This has already happened in case of Albemarle Paper Co. Vs. Moody when the court criticized that organizations were not rightly evaluation and analyzing jobs before starting the recruitment process. The recruitment and selection process depends greatly on the job analysis and an incomplete or incorrect job analysis leads to a job description that is misleading which can initiate legal actions against the company.

A complete and thorough job analysis for all the existing posts in Johnson Enterprise will help if new responsibilities should be assigned to existing posts or new employees should be hired for unassigned critical tasks. Also the organizational is legally protected and can ask the employee to perform more productively in the light of job analysis and job description.

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978)

In an industry, the jobs are normally same at similar positions. For example, the receptionists are required to perform similar tasks of attending telephones, welcoming and guiding visitors, providing information to individuals and making reservations. However, a receptionist may be additionally tasked to schedule meetings but this requires explicit mentioning in job description. Likewise, some tasks cannot be expected from particular posts like the gardener cannot be asked to make tea for the management. Thus there are guidelines that Johnson can follow in order to be safe from any legal charges. The Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission came up with Uniform Guidelines in 1978 to guide the employers about laws that implement fairness in hiring system and eliminate discrimination. The guidelines ensure that the job is validated and the organization is following legally correct selection procedures. The guidelines require organizations and employers to first assess the job and find out what knowledge, skills, capabilities and attitudes are necessary to perform the task. Only then an organization can look for the employees and initiate recruitment. In the light of these guidelines, the people with disability are protected. Thus a person whose job does not require travelling does not necessarily need to be a completely healthy person. A lame person is equally fit to perform computer tasks as is a normal person. Thus the disability act is supported in the guidelines (Summary of the uniform guidelines on employee selection procedures, 2003). The guidelines make it mandatory to offer written job analysis and job description so that the employee is able to clearly know what he is expected at work and what activities he will be required to fulfill the needs of job. Johnson Enterprise may feel that it initially takes long to conduct job analysis and bring job descriptions for all the posts but this will serve many periods in the future of organization.

Implications on acceptable selection procedures

The selection procedure becomes acceptable when the pool of candidates as well as the legal experts agree that the job analysis is fair and individuals offer their willingness to do the job. A clear job analysis leaves no doubts in the minds of people and when they offer their skills they exactly know what they will be asked to do in the job.

Establishment of performance standards

Performance management is next critical task of the HR function once the employees are hired. There are some set of tasks that the employees will be performing and these tasks are based on the job analysis. The management should know and should communicate what level of performance is required and expected from the employees if they want to be successfully promoted. On the other hand, the employees lagging behind will also know via job analysis what level of performance is not acceptable. The performance standards can only be set when the management knows what is expected from the employee. For example, a sales manager will be asked to sell a particular amount of goods each week. Selling any number of goods below that number will be underperformance and the employee will be appraised accordingly. Thus the performance management becomes easier when the job analysis clearly defines what the employee should do to get the work done.

Conclusion

The job analysis sets many things straight in an organization. It clearly defines performance standards as well as skills, capabilities and level of knowledge required to perform a task. The job analysis serves as legal shield in many cases since the employees exactly know at the time of recruitment what they will be required to do if offered the job. The job analysis is center of many, in fact, almost all the activities of HR department. Thus the Johnson Enterprise should not overlook it. The company should conduct job analysis of all the jobs and should make sure that the analysis offers unified standards of practice in all the cities where it operates.