Staffing Exam # 1 Study Guide- October 1

Ch. 1 Strategic Staffing

Why Is Staffing Important?

o Staffing outcomes determine who will work for and represent the firm, and what its

employees will be willing and able to do

o Staffing influences the success of future training, performance management, and

compensation programs, as well as the organization’s ability to execute its business

strategy

o Strategic Staffing- the process of staffing an organization in future-oriented and goal-

directed ways that support the organization’s business strategy and enhance

organizational effectiveness.

How Strategic Staffing Differs from Traditional Staffing

o Strategic staffing systems incorporate

Longer-term planning

Alignment with the firm’s business strategy

Alignment with the other areas of HR

Alignment with the labor market

Targeted recruiting

Sound candidate assessment on factors related to job success and long-term

potential

The evaluation of staffing outcomes against pre-identified goals

o Traditional Staffing

Less tied to strategy

More reactive and more likely to be done in response to an opening

Lacks continuous improvement effort

Seven Components of Strategic Staffing

o Workforce Planning: strategically evaluating the company’s current lines of business,

new businesses it will be getting into, businesses it will be leaving, and the gaps

between the current skills in the organization and the skills it will need to execute its

business strategy

Usually involves both the hiring manager and a staffing specialist

Can be short-term and focus on an immediate hiring need

Can be long-term and focus on the organization’s needs in the future.

Workforce planning is better strategically the more it addresses both the firm’s

short and long-term needs

o Sourcing Talent: locating qualified individuals and labor markets from which to recruit

Sourcing identifies people who would be good recruits

o Recruiting Talent: making decisions and engaging in practices that affect either the

number or types of individuals willing to apply for and accept job offers

Recruiting activities entice them to apply to the organization and accept job

offers, if extended

o Selecting Talent: assessing job candidates and deciding who to hire

Operates in a strong legal context

o Acquiring Talent: putting together job offers that appeal to chosen candidates, and

persuading job offer recipients to accept those job offers and join the organization

Negotiations usually result in employment contracts

o Deploying Talent: assigning people to appropriate jobs and roles in the organization to

best utilize their talents

Succession planning and career development enhance deployment options

Socializing the process of familiarizing newly hired and promoted employees

with their job, workgroup, and organization as a whole

o Retaining Talent: keeping successful employees engaged and committed to the firm

Succession management and career development are effective tools

Turnover of high performers can be expensive

Turnover of low performers can be beneficial

Retention saves money in recruiting and hiring replacements for those leaving

Staffing Goals

o Process goals- during the hiring process

Attracting sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified applicants

Complying with the law and organizational policies

Fulfilling any affirmative action obligations

Meeting hiring timeline goals

Staffing efficiently

o Outcome Goals- after hire

Hiring successful employees

Hiring individuals who will be eventually promoted

Reducing turnover rates among high performers

Hiring individuals for whom the other HR functions will have the desired impact

Meeting stakeholders needs

Maximizing the financial return on the firm’s staffing investment

Enhancing employee diversity

Enabling organization flexibility

Enhancing business strategy execution

o Goals should be aligned with improving the strategic performance of the staffing system

o The primary staffing goal is to match the competencies, styles, values, and traits of job

candidates with the requirements of the organization and its jobs

o Strategic staffing goes even further and enables the organization to better execute its

business strategy and attain its business goals

o Staffing goals should be consistent with the goals and needs of all stakeholders in the

staffing process, including applicants and hiring managers

Questions to Ask in Setting Staffing Goals

o Is it more important to fill the position quickly or fill it with someone who closely

matches a particular talent profile?

o What levels of which competencies, styles, values, and traits are really needed for job

success and to execute the business strategy?

o What is the business’s strategy and what types of people will it need 1, 5, and 10 years

from now?

o What talents must new hires possess rather than be trained to develop?

o What are the organization’s long-term talent needs? Is it important for the person hired

to have the potential to assume leadership roles in the future?

Integration with other areas of HR

o Training

o Performance management

o Compensation

o Succession planning

o Career development

o Recruitment impacts selection activities and the likelihood of successfully identifying

good hires

Ch. 2 Business & Staffing Strategies

Resource-Based View of the Firm

o Focuses attention on the quality of the skills of a company’s workforce at various levels,

and on the quality of the motivational climate created by management

o HRM is valued not only for its role in implementing a given competitive scenario but also

for its role in generating strategic capability.

o Staffing has the potential to create organizations that are more intelligent and flexible

than their competitors, and that exhibit superior levels of cooperation and operation

Five Requirements of Competitive Advantage

o The resource must be valuable to the firm by exploiting opportunities and/or

neutralizing threats in an organization’s environment

o The resource must be rare among the company’s current and future competition

o The resource must not be easily imitated by other firms

o The resource must not be easily substituted or replaced with another resource

o The company must be organized to be able to exploit the resource

Competitive Advantage

o Anything that gives a firm an edge over rivals in attracting customers and defending

itself against competition

To have a competitive advantage a company must be able to give customers

superior value for their money (combination of quality, services, and acceptable

price)

o Sources of Competitive Advantage

Innovation- develop new products, services, and markets and improving current

ones

Cost- provide the best customer support before, during, or after the sale

Quality- provide the highest-quality product or service

Branding- develop the most positive imagine

Distribution- dominate distribution channels to block competition

Speed- excel at getting your product or service to consumers quickly

Convenience- be the easiest for customers to do business with

First to market- introduce products and services before competitors

Business Strategy

o Cost Leadership strategy

Strive to be the lowest cost producer for a particular level of product quality

Operational excellence

o Differentiation strategy

Developing a product or service that has unique characteristics valued by

customers

Product innovation

o Specialization strategy

Focus on a narrow market segment or niche and pursue either a differentiation

or cost leadership strategy within that market segment

Customer intimacy

o Growth strategy

Expand the organization organically or through mergers and acquisitions

Staffing Implications of Different Sources of Competitive Advantage

o Operational excellence (low cost)

Description:

Focus is on the efficient production and delivery of products and/or

services

Objective is to lead industry in both price and convenience

Staffing implications

Efficiency focus

Adaptable

Trainable

Willing to follow standardized procedures

o Product Leaderships (Innovation)

Description:

Provide a continuous stream of new cutting-edge products and services

Objective is the fast commercialization of new ideas

Staffing Implications

Top research talent

Entrepreneurial mind-set

Creativity

High tolerance for ambiguity

Interested in and motivated by learning and discovery

o Customer Intimacy (customization)

Description:

Tailor and shape products and services to fit each customer’s needs

Objective is long-term customer loyalty and long-term customer

profitability

Staffing Implications:

Adaptable

Learning oriented

Networking skills

Customer relations skills

Emotional resilience

o Growth

Description:

Expand the company to either increase the firm’s sales or allow the

company to achieve economies of scale

Staffing Implications:

Fit with company culture

Future oriented

Flexible (willing to assume multiple roles)

Willing to take controlled risks

Organizational Life Cycle and Strategy Choice

o Strategy during growth phase

New and growing firms often pursue innovation or differentiation strategies to

distinguish themselves from their competition

o Strategy during maturity phase

The focus shifts to maintaining or obtaining further market share through cost

leaderships, often by streamlining operations and focusing on efficiency

Because mature companies have a larger pool of internal talent from which to

draw, the talent focus becomes more internal

o Strategy during decline phase

Can pursue a cost-leadership strategy and allow the decline to continue until

the business is no longer profitable

Can try to make changes to revive the product or service

Talent Philosophy

o Talent philosophy- a system or beliefs about how employees should be treated

o HR Strategy- linkage of the entire HR function with the firm’s business strategy in order

to improve business strategy execution

o Staffing Strategy- constellation of priorities, policies, and behaviors used to manage the

flow of talent into, through, and out of an organization over time

Nine Elements of Staffing Strategy

o Do we want a core or flexible workforce?

o Do we prefer to hire internally or externally?

o Do we want to hire for or train and develop needed skills?

o Do we want to replace or retain our talent?

o What levels of which skills do we need where?

o Will we staff proactively or reactively?

o Which jobs should we focus on?

o Is staffing treated as an investment or a cost?

o Will staffing be centralized or decentralized?

Competitive Talent Advantage

o Human capital advantage: acquiring a stock of quality talent that creates a competitive

advantage

Hiring and retaining outstanding people produces a stock of exceptional talent

o Human process advantage: superior work processes that create a competitive

advantage

Ch. 3: The Legal Context

Complying with Employment Laws

o Enhances hiring quality

o Enhances the firm’s reputation and image as an employer

o Promotes fairness perceptions among job candidates

o Reduces spillover effects

Ex. Rejected applicants not becoming customers or discouraging others from

applying for jobs

o Reinforces an ethical culture

o Enhances organizational performance by ensuring that people are hired or not hired

based on their qualifications, not biases

o Promotes diversity, which can enhance an organization’s ability to appeal to a broader

customer base

Types of Employment Relationships

o Employee:

someone hired by another person or business for a wage or fixed payment in

exchange for personal services, and who does not provide the services as part of

an independent business

o Independent Contractor:

Performs services wherein the employer controls or directs only the result of

the work

o Contingent workers:

Any job in which an individual does not have a contract for long-term

employment

Temporary workers

Leased workers

Part-time and seasonal workers

Unionized workers

Leased workers

Outsourced work

Employment at Will

o Either party can terminate the employment relationship at any time, for just cause, no

cause, or any cause that is not illegal, with no liability as long as there is no contract for

a definite term of employment

o Exceptions to employment at will

Retaliatory discharge

prohibited by EEO laws

Implied employment contract

When an employer’s personnel policies or handbooks indicate that an

employee will not be fired except for good cause or specify a procedural

process for firing

Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing

Firing an employee to prevent their vesting in the pension plan next

month

Federal or state discrimination protection

Labor Unions

o Labor unions: legally represent workers, organize employees and negotiate the terms

and conditions of union members’ employment

o The conditions of employment are contained in a contract called a collective bargaining

agreement or a collective employment agreement

o 4 Union Models:

Closed shop: exclusively employs people who are already union members.

Union shop: employs both union and non-union workers, but new employees

must join the union within a specified time limite

Agency shop: requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its

services in negotiating their contract

Open shop: does not discriminate based on union membership in employing or

keeping workers. Some workers benefit from a union or the collective

bargaining process despite not contributing to the union

Improper Interview Questions: What NOT to ask!

o How many children do you have?

o What is your native language

o What clubs/organization do you belong to?

o Height/weight?

EEO, AA, and Quotas

o Equal Employment Opportunity: employment practices are designed and used in a

“facially neutral” manner

o Affirmative Action: the proactive effort to eliminate discrimination and its effects, and

to ensure nondiscriminatory results in employment practices in the future

An affirmative action plan describes in detail the actions to be taken,

procedures to be followed, and standards to be adhered to, when it comes to

establishing an affirmative action program.

o Staffing Quotas: establish specific requirements that certain percentages of

disadvantaged groups be hired to equalize their proportional representation of

underrepresented groups in the company’s workforce with their proportions in the

organization’s relevant labor market

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

o Enforces the following federal statutes:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

Title I and V of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

Sections 501 and 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Sections 102 and 103 of The Civil Rights Act of 1991

The Equal Pay Act of 1963

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

o The EEOC encourages and facilitates voluntary compliance through tailored programs to

meet the needs of employers and through programs to educate the public on EEO laws

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

o Responsible for administering and enforcing three equal employment opportunity

programs that apply to federal contractors and subcontractors:

Executive Order 11246

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The affirmative action provisions of the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment

Assistance Act of 1974

o Ensures that federal contractors with at least 50 employees and who receive $50,000 or

more in grants, goods, and services take affirmative action to promote equal

employment opportunity and annually file appropriate affirmative action plans

Who is an Applicant?

o Only applicants may establish a prima facie case of unlawful discrimination regarding

hiring decisions under state and federal discrimination statutes

o Employers must determine who qualifies as an “applicant” in order to identify the

gender and race of all applicants to evaluate whether its hiring practices have an

adverse impact on men, women, or minorities

o The question of who is an applicant is critical to establishing the proportions of the

applicant pool belonging to different legally protected groups

o Understanding the definition of an applicant can help employers minimize risk and

protect themselves from costly audit defense.

How the OFCCP defines applicant

o A person applying via the internet and related technologies to be an applicant if all four

of the following criteria are satisfied:

The individual submits an expression of interest in employment through the

internet or related electronic data technologies

The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position

The individuals expression of interest indicates the individual possesses the

basic qualifications for the position and

The individual at no point in the contractors selection process prior to receiving

an offer of employment from the contractor, removes himself or herself from

further consideration or otherwise indicates that he or she is no longer

interested in the position

Bases for Employment Lawsuits

o Disparate treatment (intentional discrimination) is evidence by employer statements or

written policies

o Adverse (disparate) impact (unintentional discrimination) might occur with educational

requirements or high or weight restrictions that may exclude large numbers of certain

groups.

Disparate Treatment

o Disparate treatment: the intentional discrimination based on a person’s protected

characteristic

Can be direct- resulting from company’s policy to not hire old people

Can be inferred- situation factors or result from a combination of permissible

and prohibited factors

o To establish disparate treatment, the plaintiff must show:

That he or she belongs to a group protected from discrimination

That he or she applied for the job and was qualified for the job for which the

employer was seeking applicants

That despite being qualified he or she was rejected

That after being rejected, the position remained open and the employer

continued to seek applicants whose qualifications were similar to those of the

plaintiff

o If the plaintiff establishes the previous 4 aspects of the case

The burden shifts to the employer to show that the discrimination is the result

of a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) that is reasonably necessary for

the normal operation of the business or the plaintiff wins the case

If the employer shows that the discrimination is based on a business necessity,

the plaintiff then has the opportunity to present evidence showing that the

employer’s stated reason for the rejection was false and merely a pretext

Mixed Motive Case of Disparate Treatment

o Employer is accused of having both a legitimate and an illegitimate reason for making

the employment decision.

o It is sufficient to show that a protected characteristic (race, sex, etc.) was a motivating

factor in an employment decision, even if other legitimate factors (such as absences)

also motivated the decision.

o A plaintiff only needs to prove that the protected characteristic was a motivating factor

– one of the reasons for the decision – no matter how small a role it played.

o If a plaintiff satisfies the burden of proof that discrimination was a motivating factor in

the employer’s adverse employment action, the employer is found liable.

o The burden of proof then shifts to the employer to eliminate or reduce a plaintiff’s

monetary damages by proving to the jury that it would have made the same

employment decision in the absence of the discriminatory motive.

Adverse (Disparate) Impact

o Adverse (disparate) impact: When an action has a disproportionate effect on a

protected group, regardless of the employer’s intent.

o The only defense for adverse impact is when the adverse impact is justified by business

necessity or job relatedness (a bona fide occupational qualification or BFOQ)

o Assessment scores cannot be altered or changed to reduce the adverse impact on

protected groups

o Assessment test results cannot be ignored simply because they have an adverse impact

on a protected group

Adverse Impact Statistics

o Stock statistics: compare the percentage of men, women, or minorities employed in a

job category with their availability in the relevant population of qualified people

interested in the position.

o Flow statistics: compare the percentage of applicants hired from different subgroups to

determine if they are significantly different from each other.

The 4/5 or 80% rule: a selection rate for any race, sex, or ethnic group which is

less than 4/5 (or 80%) of the rate for the group with the highest rate will

generally be regarded as evidence of adverse impact.

o Concentration statistics: compare the percentages of men, women, or minorities in

various job categories to see if men, women, or minorities are concentrated in certain

workforce categories.

o If half of an organization’s employees are female but women tend to comprise 90% of

the clerical workforce and men tend to comprise 90% of the managerial workforce

women may be underutilized in managerial positions and men underutilized in clerical

positions.

Establishing an Adverse Impact Case

o The plaintiff must prove, generally through statistical comparisons, that the challenged

practice or selection device has a substantial adverse impact on a protected group.

o The defendant can then criticize the statistical analysis or offer different statistics.

o If the plaintiff establishes disparate impact, the employer must prove that the

challenged practice is “job-related for the position in question and consistent with

business necessity.”

o Even if the employer proves business necessity, the plaintiff may still prevail by showing

that the employer has refused to adopt an alternative employment practice that would

satisfy the employer’s legitimate interests without having a disparate impact on a

protected class.

Fraudulent Recruitment

o Definition: misrepresenting the job or organization to a recruit (also called fraudulent

inducement or truth-in-hiring)

o Making employment at-will does not preclude a fraudulent recruitment claim

o To win a case involving an allegation of fraudulent recruitment and hiring, the plaintiff

must prove five things:

o That the employer made a false representation of material fact;

o With the knowledge or belief that it was false, or with an insufficient basis for asserting

that it was true;

o That the employer intended the employee to rely on the representation;

o That the employee justifiably relied on the representation; and

o That the employee suffered damages as a result, such as the costs involved in

relocating, resigning from employment, or rejecting other offers.

Negligent Hiring

o Based on the common law concept that an employer has a general obligation not to hire

an applicant that they knew or should have known poses a risk of harm to third parties

o In order for a customer, employee, or other third party to win a negligent hiring suit

against an employer, the following must generally be shown:

o The existence of an employment relationship between the employer and the worker,

o The employee’s unfitness,

o The employer’s actual or constructive knowledge of the employee’s unfitness (failure to

investigate an employee’s background can lead to a finding of constructive knowledge),

o The employee’s act or omission causing the third party’s injuries, and

o The employer’s negligence in hiring the employee as the most likely cause of the

plaintiff’s injuries.

Negligent Referral

o Definition: misrepresenting or failing to disclose complete and accurate information

about a former employee.

o A former employer can be sued for negligent referral if the employee is involved in

some incident at the new workplace that might have been predicted based on prior

behavior.

o Defamation: an unprivileged publication of false statements to third parties that tends

to harm the reputation of the plaintiff in the community

o Currently the most common cause of action used by former employees to challenge a

former employer’s reference.

o To avoid the risk of a defamation charge it may be best to say as little as possible except

in those situations where the employee’s behaviors could endanger others in the new

workplace.

Trade Secret Litigation

o Trade secrets can be any type of information, process, idea, or “know how” that is not

generally known and gives the possessor an advantage in the marketplace.

o Companies must take reasonable precautions including requiring employees to sign

confidentiality, noncompete, and nondisclosure agreements.

o Interviewers must know what information is protected, and how to question job

candidates.

o Warn candidates at the beginning of an interview not to share a previous employer’s

proprietary information.

EEOC Best Practices Definition

o A best practice in staffing:

o Complies with the law,

o Promotes equal employment opportunity,

o Addresses one or more barriers that adversely affect equal employment opportunity,

o Manifests management commitment and accountability,

o Ensures management and employee communication,

o Produces noteworthy results, and

o Does not cause or result in unfairness.

Key Elements That Support Successful EEO Programs

o Study – know the laws and standards, remove EEO barriers, and seek assistance from

the EEOC, professional consultants, associations or groups, etc.

o Plan – know the relevant workforce and demographics, define the problem(s), propose

solutions, and develop strategies for achieving them.

o Lead – have all levels of management champion the cause and provide leadership for

EEO implementation at all organizational levels

o Encourage – link pay and performance for how employees interact, support and respect

each other.

o Notice – monitor the impact of EEO practices; ensure that unfairness does not occur as a

result of a corrective strategy.

o Discuss – communicate and reinforce the message that diversity is a business asset.

o Include – bring all employees and groups into the analysis, planning, and

implementation process.

o Dedicate – assign needed resources and stay persistent; investment in EEO may take a

little while to pay off.

General Barriers to Legally Defensible Staffing

o The “like me” bias

o Stereotypes

o Ignorance

o Prejudice

o Perception of loss by persons threatened by EEO practices

o Hiring managers

Specific Barriers to EEO

o Barriers to recruiting:

Failing to advertise widely in order to attract diverse applicants

Recruitment practices that overlook or fail to seek all qualified individuals

An over-reliance on informal networks for recruitment

A lack of no formal systems for recruitment

o Barriers to advancement and promotion:

Deficient feedback, performance evaluation, and promotion processes of

employees

Little or no access to informal networks of communication by employees of

protected classes

Different standards of performance used for different classes of employees

Lack of equal access to assignments that provide key career experiences,

visibility, and interaction with senior managers

EEO HR personnel not included in the recruitment process for higher job levels

o Barriers in terms and conditions:

Unequal pay

Counterproductive behavior and harassment in the workplace

Employer policies that are not family-friendly

Inflexible working hours and working conditions

Failing to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with

disabilities

o Barriers in termination and downsizing:

Unfairness of standards used in making layoff decisions; differences in benefits

given to different types of employees

Inadequate planning for the layoff

Lack of adequate incentives to encourage voluntary separations

Lack of communication between employers and employees

Failure to provide counseling, job placement assistance, and training to laid-off

employees

Ch. 4: Strategic Job Analysis and Competency Modeling

Job Analysis

o Job analysis: a systematic process of identifying and describing the important aspects of

a job and the characteristics workers need to perform the job well.

o Job analyses are used for multiple purposes, including:

o Determining job entry requirements

o Developing a company’s strategic recruiting plan

o Selecting individuals for employment

o Developing employee training plans

o Designing compensation systems

o Developing performance evaluation measures

o Job analyses also help group jobs into job families or groupings of jobs that either call

for similar worker characteristics or contain parallel work tasks.

Job Analysis for Staffing

o A job analysis that produces a valid selection system identifies worker characteristics

that:

Distinguish superior from average and unacceptable workers;

Are not easily learned on the job; and

Exist to at least a moderate extent in the applicant pool.

o Future-oriented job analysis: job analysis technique for analyzing new jobs or analyzing

how jobs will look in the future.

Legal Requirements

o To meet legal requirements, a job analysis must:

Be valid and identify the worker knowledge, skills, abilities, and other

characteristics necessary to perform the job and differentiate superior from

barely acceptable workers

Be in writing and relevant to the particular job in question

Be derived from multiple sources

Practical Reasons to do a Job Analysis

o It links the staffing process to the firm’s business strategy and to what the firm needs in

terms of the position in the future

o It helps HR personnel write an accurate description of the job’s requirements and duties

for the purposes of advertising and recruiting for an open position

o It enables HR personnel to write an accurate description of the type of person the

organization wants to recruit

o It aids in the identification of the best selection methods that should be used to fill a

position

o It clarifies how to present the jobs rewards to candidates in the most appealing way to

match their needs and interests

o It helps to identify what to change in the current staffing system for a job

o It provides a foundation to determine the best way to combine a job candidates score

on multiple assessment methods to compute a total score for comparison with the

scores of the other candidates

o It assists potential recruits when they are making up their own minds about whether to

apply based on their perceived fit with and interest in the requirements and

responsibilities of the position

Job Description

o A written description of the duties and responsibilities associated with the job itself.

o Job descriptions usually include:

The size and type of organization

The department and job title

The salary range

Position grade or level

To whom the employee reports and for whom the employee is responsible

Brief summary of the main duties and responsibilities of the job

Brief summary of the occasional duties and responsibilities of the job

Any special equipment used on the job

Any special working conditions (e.g. shift or weekend work, foreign travel, etc.)

Purpose and frequency of contact with others

The statement, “Other duties as assigned” to accommodate job changes and

special projects

Person Specification

o Person specification: summarizes the characteristics of someone able to perform the

job well

o Essential criteria: job candidate characteristics that are critical to adequate

performance of a new hire

o Desirable criteria: job candidate criteria that may enhance the new hire’s job success,

but that are not essential to adequate job performance

Job Analysis Methods

o Must be:

o Reliable, or replicable

A reliable job analysis procedure will produce the same results when it:

is applied to the same job by a different job specialist;

when a different group of job experts is used; and

When it is done at a different time.

o Valid, or accurately measure what it was intended to measure

A valid job analysis accurately captures the target job.

Job Analysis Techniques

o Critical incidents technique: identifies behaviors extremely effective or extremely

ineffective behaviors by documenting critical incidents that have occurred on the job

o Job elements method: uses expert brainstorming sessions to identify the characteristics

of successful workers

o Structured interview technique: subject matter experts provide information about the

job verbally in structured face-to-face interviews

o Task inventory approach: job experts generate a list of 50-200 tasks that are grouped in

categories reflecting major work functions that are then evaluated on dimensions

relevant for selection

o Structured Questionnaires: involves using a list of preplanned questions designed to

analyze a job (e.g., the Position Analysis Questionnaire or PAQ)

Planning Job Analyses

o Job analyses should be performed in such a way as to meet the professional and legal

guidelines that have been published in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection

Procedures

o Determine time and resources necessary and available

o Collect background information about the company, its culture and business strategy,

the job, and the job’s contribution to strategy execution and competitive advantage

o O*NET - Occupational Information Network

o Identify job experts

o Identify appropriate job analysis technique(s) to use

Job Analysis Steps

o Get the support of top managers and ensure that all managers support the job analysis

effort

o Thoroughly communicate the purpose of the job analysis to all participants and ensure

they are diligent about completing the tasks objectively

o Collect background information and analyze how the job contributed to the execution of

the firm’s business strategy

o Generate the task statements

o Generate the KSAOs

o Form the job duty and task groupings

o Link the KSAOs back to the job duties

o Collect critical incidents

o Weight the job duties

o Construct a job requirements matrix

o Write the job description and person specification

Competency Modeling

o Competency Modeling: a job analysis method that identifies the necessary worker

competencies for high performance.

o Competencies: more broadly defined components of a successful worker’s repertoire of

behavior needed to do a job well.

Because competencies are linked to the organization’s business goals, strategy,

and values, a person specification resulting from a job description can enhance

hiring quality and strategy execution

o A competency-based job description:

Enhances a manager’s flexibility in assigning work

Lengthens the life of a job description

Can allow firms to group jobs requiring similar competencies under a single job

description

Job Rewards Analysis

o Job rewards analysis: identifies the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of a job

Analyzes the intrinsic rewards that are non-monetary and derived from the

work itself and the firm’s culture

Including the satisfaction of meeting personal goals, continuous

learning, and doing meaningful work.

Analyzes the extrinsic rewards that have monetary value of a job.

Includes base pay, bonuses, and benefits.

o The combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are a job’s total rewards.

o Employee value proposition (EVP): the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards an employee

receives by working for a particular employer in return for their job performance.

o Communicating your EVP:

First determine exactly what attracts job candidates, and why employees enjoy

their work.

Then craft a message to clearly state what makes your company the obvious

choice over the competition.

3 Criteria for Employee Value Propositions

o Magnitude refers to a reward package that is neither too small nor too large in

economic terms.

Spending too much on rewards can negatively impact the firm’s financial

stability, and hurt investor relations.

o Mix refers to the composition of the reward package matching the needs and

preferences of applicants or employees.

Offering stock options that vest in five years to a young, mobile workforce, or

free daycare to an older workforce is not consistent with workers’ needs and

preferences.

o Distinctiveness refers to the uniqueness of the total reward package.

Rewards with no special appeal and that do not set the organization apart as

distinctive do not present a compelling value proposition.

Job Reward Dimensions

o Amount refers to how much of it is received.

i.e., how much pay, what level of task variety

o Differential is how consistent the reward is across different employees.

e.g., all employees receive the same number of vacation days, but merit

bonuses range from 2% to 15% of base pay

o Stability is how reliable the reward is.

Is the reward the same all of the time, or does it change (e.g., does it vary based

on organizational performance or business requirements?)

o