Job Analysis and Competency Modeling Job analysis is a collection of information that identifies similarities and differences in the workplace (Sanchez, XXXXXXXXXXThe job analysis process allows...

Job Analysis and Competency Modeling

Job analysis is a collection of information that identifies similarities and differences in the workplace (Sanchez, 2009). The job analysis process allows employers to determine which company positions are currently operating effectively and analyze which need revising. When an organization performs a job analysis, they are investigating the job position rather than the quality of the employee (Schreiner, 2016).

Job Analysis Critical Areas:

• Recruitment


• Selection


• Training


• Development


• Performance


• Discipline


• Compensation


• Safety & Health


• Compliance


• Strategy & Design

The Five-Step Cyclical Process for Job Analysis:

1. Plan


2. Prepare


3. Conduct


4. Document


5. Update (Sanchez, 2009).

Competency:
a measurable skill in the job analysis process that is a specific, measurable quality essential to individual presentation when considering work performance. The first step in the job analysis process is to identify the competencies connected to each occupation (Schreiner, 2016).

Competency Types:
verbal communication skills, a competency that is essential to a public speaker. Verbal communication is critical to a position involving customer service or any position involving direct communication or face-to-face with customers (Schreiner, 2016). The Boeing Company recommended choosing only those competencies that would contribute to job and organizational performance, distinguished high performers, and would be directly used in the management of employees (i.e., selection, promotion, retention, and development)

Job Analysis Process:
competencies are ranked from most to least important.

Job Analysis Purpose:
determine if assigned duties are appropriate for the employee or should that individual be assigned to a different position (Schreiner, 2016).

Competency Modeling:
judgment, initiative, dependability, and decisiveness. The focus is on the individual characteristics required to succeed at the job assigned. Competencies are unique characteristics of individual performance: Knowledge, skills, abilities, traits, interests, values, motivations, education and training, and experience. The modeling equation's work side considers the organization's direction, strategies, business initiatives, work context, and activities required from the competencies (Schreiner, 2016).

The ten dimensions in the Level of Rigor scale represent a way to measure the extent to which potential sources of confusion have been managed and controlled (Scott, 2010). Job Analysis is better suited for assessments & structured interviews because of the rigor behind developing the connection between Knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) and job performance (Shippmann, 2000).

1.
Method of Investigation & Data collection:

Job Analysis provides structure to the methods of collecting job-related information.

2.
Type of descriptor content collected:

Job analysis determines the reason behind collecting specific job-related information.

1. 
   
   
   
   3. 
      Procedures for developing descriptive content:
      
   
   
   
   

The descriptor content follows specific procedural steps for job analysis.

1. 
   
   
   
   4. 
      Level of detail of descriptive content:
      
   
   
   
   

Job Analysis is as precise as possible about each aspect of a job.

1. 
   
   
   
   5. 
      Linking research results to business goals:
      
      
   
   
   
   

Competency modeling is focused on the goals of the organization.

1. 
   
   
   
   6. 
      The extent of descriptor content review:
      
   
   
   
   

Job Analysis relies on organizational experts to review and verify the accuracy of job-related information.

1. 
   
   
   
   7. 
      Ranking of prioritizing of descriptor content:
      
   
   
   
   

Job Analysis provides formally ranks job-related information on importance, frequency, and consequence of error.

1. 
   
   
   
   8. 
      Assessment of reliability of results:
      
   
   
   
   

Job analysis assesses the model through consistency.

1. 
   
   
   
   9. 
      Retention criteria for items and categories:
      
   
   
   
   

Job Analysis utilizes the ranking and judgments of job content experts to decide if any job descriptors need to be edited or removed from the model.

1. 
   
   
   
   10. 
       Documentation of the research process:
       
       
   
   
   
   

Job Analysis provides multiple opportunities to use model development steps to record and retain the key decisions and the model's content (Shippmann, 2000).

Job Analysis versus Competency Modeling

Competency Model:

Focus on core competencies

Organizational Fit vs. Job Match

Focus on Values and Personality Orientation

Face validity of the content

Training and development applications (Shippmann, 2000).

Job Analysis:

Focus on Technical Skills

Selection & Decisions Application

Collects specific job-related information

Precise about each aspect of a job

Reviews and verifies the accuracy of job-related information (Shippmann, 2000).

Concluding Remarks

Job Analysis has a more rigorous approach to evaluating jobs, while Competency Modeling is more rigorous in its approach to fulfilling non-evaluative criteria. Competency modeling is best for identifying skills or abilities that apply to the job and organizational values. Job Analysis and Competency Modeling build upon each other and are strengthened by the rigor behind the base of Knowledge for future decision making (Shippmann, 2000). Job analysis and competency modeling is most effective as strategic tools when hiring, training, and evaluating new employees. Rigorous Job Analysis Methods are used to develop competencies. Employee surveys are a preferred tool for job analysis and are commonly used to help develop competency models (Bartram, 2005).

References

Bartram D. (2005). The great eight competencies: A criterion-centric approach to validation.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1185–1203.

Sanchez, J.I. & Levine, E.L. (2009). What is (or should be) the difference between competency modeling and traditional job analysis?Human Resource Management Review, 19, 53-62.

Schreiner, E. (2016).
Competencies & Their Relation to Job Analysis. Small Business - Chron.com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/competencies-relation-job-analysis-17462.html.

Scott, J. C. & Reynolds, D. H. (Eds.). (2010).
Handbook of workplace assessment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Shippmann, J., Ash, R., Battista, M., Carr, L., Eyde, L., Hesketh, B., et al. (2000). The practice of competency modeling.
Personnel Psychology, 53, 703−740.

Jessica Bowers

Job analysis and competency modeling are systems designed to evaluate the individual knowledge, skills, abilities, and other elements (KSAO) that are necessary for success in a particular job or organization. Both methodologies are useful for the evaluation of employees and job roles across entry-level and management strata, but an understanding of the difference between each methodology is necessary to apply the appropriate methodology at the appropriate time.

Research and experts differ on their application of job analysis and competency modeling, but for the purposes of this discussion job analysis is considered to describe and measure the requirements of a particular role, and is inherently task-focused and discrete, whereas competency modeling describes the broad behaviors of the individual that have an impact on the holistic organizational outcomes, and is inherently person-focused and global. Said another way, Job Analysis is descriptive in nature and describes typical performance in a particular role and Competency Modeling is prescriptive in nature and describes maximum performance in a global application (Sanchez & Levine, 2009).

With this definition in mind, the practitioner will need to determine if a top-down (i.e. organization centered) or bottom-up (i.e. single job-focused) will be most useful in solving the business need and apply a Job Analysis for a bottom-up approach and Competency Modeling for a top-down approach (Mason & Lin, 2008). Most likely, this indicates that Job Analysis is more useful for entry-level and admin positions and Competency Modeling is more useful for executive positions, with a need for a hybrid in the M class positions. The choice of application could also be determined by the level of specificity needed for the use. For example, if the organization requires specificity for an individual job, a Job Analysis is most useful, but if application across the organization and between job roles is needed, a Competency Model will be most useful (Voskuijl & Evers, 2009).

Reference:

Mason, C., & Lin, L. (2008). The application of a streamlined job analysis to human resource systems: Important considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. Paper presented at the 22nd annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA.

Sanchez, J. I., & Levine, E. L. (2009). What is (or should be) the difference between competency modeling and traditional job analysis?
Human Resource Management Review,
19(2), 53-63.

Voskuijl, O. F., & Evers, A. (2009). Job Analysis and Competency Modeling.
Oxford Handbooks Online.