Job Analysis and Job Descriptions

SUMMARY

Most organizations pay employees based on job content, the job’s impact on the business, and the market value of their jobs. The greater a job’s impact on business outcomes (in an organization and in the marketplace), the higher the pay. The process for making these determinations is called job evaluation. However, to evaluate jobs, you must start with job analysis and a job description. This is the foundation of every compensation plan. Although job descriptions are not legally required, they do influence critical decisions on how compensation is delivered within an organization in a fair, equitable, and legal way. When a compensation plan works effectively, it enhances the entire organization’s capability and effectiveness.

History of Job Analysis and Job Descriptions

Job Analysis is the determination and reporting of all pertinent information about a job. It identifies why a job exists, but it also identifies the knowledge, skills, abilities, and work environment of a job.

Job analysis and job descriptions originated in the early 1900s and grew in importance when the Department of Labor (DOL) developed job analysis methods and compiled job descriptions into the Dictionary of Occupational Tiles (DOT). The DOL has since replaced the DOT with O*NET. This system describes job families, not specific jobs.

The Occupational Assessor (OA) is a job analysis tool that is based on the original construct of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. It is “powered” by the enhanced Dictionary of Occupational Titles (eDOT), an interactive tool that provides over 10,000 job descriptions for over 28,000 position titles.

Methods of Job Analysis and Job Documentation

A team of competent, trained job analysts can be invaluable to the quality of job analysis and job descriptions throughout an organization.

Today, there are several ways to perform job analysis to arrive at completed job descriptions. These range from descriptive to quantitative approaches. There are now also AI generated job descriptions.

Job Analysis can be accomplished through several different methods:

• Job questionnaire
• Job observation
• Job interview
• A combination of the above

Job Descriptions

The end result of the job analysis process is a completed job description.

Job descriptions should have the following parts:

The completed job description should, ideally, be broadly used throughout an organization. The key is to ensure that they are available throughout an organization and utilized for many purposes. Consider broader use of job descriptions such as:

The Legal Environment

Job descriptions are not legally required within the United States. While there is no U.S. federal or state law that requires job descriptions, up-to-date, well-written job descriptions are important to effectively manage a company. Job descriptions can be used in a court of law when challenging employment, compensation, promotion, discipline, or termination claims. Accurate essential function statements can also be valuable in determining a job’s exemption status and assessing reasonable accommodation under the ADA and FMLA. Well-written job descriptions are valuable for SOX and immigration compliance.

The right of employees to be free from discrimination in their compensation is protected under several federal laws, including the following enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA prohibit compensation discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. Unlike the EPA, there is no requirement that the claimant's job be substantially equal to that of a higher paid person outside the claimant's protected class, nor do these statutes require the claimant to work in the same establishment as a comparator.

Of particular importance:

• Equal Pay Act (EPA): The Equal Pay Act states that men and women in jobs that are equal in terms of their skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions in the same establishment are to be paid the same. This is accomplished through the examination of job descriptions.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA requires employers to consider for hire or continued employment any person who can perform the "essential elements" of the job. Further, the employer must provide "reasonable accommodation" to disabled persons. This requirement makes it necessary for the employer to understand the activities, physical, mental, and interactions, that make up the job in order to understand the "essential functions" of the job.

While job analysis is considered to be the foundation of an organization’s compensation plan, completed job descriptions will impact all aspects of human resources and your organization’s labor force. The accurate alignment of an organization relies on accurate job analysis and job documentation. When your compensation plan works effectively, it supports the entire organization’s capability and effectiveness.