Human Resources Essentials: Job Analysis, Personality Types, and Recruitment Strategies
Job Analysis and Design Fundamentals
Understanding Core HR Concepts
Job Analysis: The process of determining the skills, duties, and knowledge required to perform jobs in an organization.
Job: A group of tasks that must be performed for an organization to achieve its goals.
Position: A collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by one person.
Purpose of Job Analysis
Job analysis is used to prepare:
- Job Descriptions: Documents containing information about a specific job.
- Job Specifications: Documents outlining the qualifications required for a job.
Job analysis is typically conducted:
- When an organization is founded.
- When new jobs are created.
- When existing jobs are changed.
Methods of Job Analysis
- Questionnaires: Quick and economical, they help identify employee tasks.
- Observation: The job analyst watches the worker perform and records observations.
- Interviews: Employees describe their duties, then the analyst contacts the supervisor for verification.
- Employee Recording: Employees describe their daily work activities in a diary or log.
Key Documents in Job Analysis
Job Description Content
A comprehensive job description typically includes:
- Job Title
- Department
- Reporting Relationships
- Job Number or Code
- Date of the Job Analysis
- Job Summary
- Duties Performed
Job Specification Details
Job Specification: A document containing the minimum acceptable qualifications a person should possess to perform a particular job. It includes factors such as educational requirements, experience, and specific skills.
O*NET is a primary source of occupational information.
Impact of Job Analysis on HR Functions
Job analysis can significantly impact various HR areas, including:
- Staffing
- Identifying Training and Development Needs
- Performance Appraisal
- Compensation Structures
- Identifying Safety and Health Requirements
- Employee and Labor Relations
- Legality of Employment Practices
Rodger’s Seven Points for Job Specification
According to Rodger, key factors for job specification include:
- Physical Health
- Attainments (Education, Experience)
- Intelligence
- Special Aptitudes
- Interests
- Disposition (Personality Traits)
- Circumstances (e.g., mobility, working hours)
Essential Core Skills for Employees
- Written Communication
- Spoken Communication
- Leadership
- Good Team Member
- Organizer and Planner
- Firm Decision-Taker
- Motivated and Ambitious
- Self-Confident
- Quick to Understand
Job Design Principles
Job Design: The process of determining the specific tasks to be performed in a job.
Job Enlargement: Increasing the number of tasks a worker performs.
Job Enrichment: Making basic changes in the content and level of responsibility of a job to provide greater challenge to the worker.
Five Principles of Job Enrichment
- Increasing job demands
- Increasing the worker’s accountability
- Providing work scheduling freedom
- Providing feedback
- Providing new learning experiences
Understanding Personality: An Introduction to Socionics
What is Socionics?
Socionics is a new approach to personality and human relations, offering an opportunity for a deeper understanding of ourselves and others. It identifies 16 distinct personality types, emphasizing that no type is inherently better or worse than another.
The Four Socionic Dichotomies
Socionics categorizes personality based on four key dichotomies:
- Gain Energy: Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)
- Take Information: Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
- Make Decisions: Logic (T) vs. Ethics (F)
- Approach Life: Rationality (J) vs. Irrationality (P)
Energy Orientation: Extraversion vs. Introversion
Extraversion (E)
Individuals who prefer Extraversion focus on the outer world of people and activity. They direct their energy and attention outwards, receiving energy from interacting with people and taking action. They often prefer communicating by talking.
Introversion (I)
Individuals who prefer Introversion focus on their own inner world of ideas and experiences. They direct their energy and attention inwards, receiving energy from reflecting on their thoughts, memories, and feelings. They often prefer communicating by writing.
Information Perception: Sensing vs. Intuition
Sensing (S)
People who prefer Sensing take in information that is real and tangible (what is actually happening). They are observant about the details of their surroundings and are especially attuned to practical realities.
Intuition (N)
People who prefer Intuition take in information by seeing the big picture, focusing on the relationships and connections between facts. They seek to grasp patterns and are especially attuned to seeing new possibilities.
Decision Making: Logic vs. Ethics
Logic (T)
Those who prefer Logic look at the logical consequences of a choice or action. They mentally remove themselves from the situation to objectively examine the pros and cons. Their goal is to find a principle that will apply in all similar situations, often focusing on tasks.
Ethics (F)
Those who prefer Ethics consider what is important to them and others involved. They mentally place themselves into the situation to identify with everyone. Their goal is to create harmony and treat each person as a unique individual, often focusing on people’s interactions.
Life Approach: Rationality vs. Irrationality
Rationality (J)
Individuals who prefer Rationality like to live in a planned, orderly way. They want to make decisions, come to closure, and move on. Sticking to a plan and schedule is very important to them, and they are energized by getting things done.
Irrationality (P)
Individuals who prefer Irrationality like to live in a flexible, spontaneous way. They prefer to stay open to new information, finding detailed plans and final decisions confining. They are energized by their resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of the moment.
Socionic Temperaments (Quadras)
- ST (Sensing-Logic): Practical, analytical (Pragmatists)
- SF (Sensing-Ethics): Sympathetic, friendly (Socials)
- NF (Intuition-Ethics): Insightful, enthusiastic (Humanitarians)
- NT (Intuition-Logic): Logical, analytical (Scientists)
Effective Recruitment Strategies and Alternatives
What is Recruitment?
Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers, and with appropriate qualifications, to apply for jobs with an organization.
Sources of Recruitment
Internal Sourcing
The practice of advertising a new or recently vacant position within a business to existing employees.
External Sourcing
A method of recruitment that conducts an employee candidate search through external recruitment tools.
Third-Party Sourcing
Using a placement agency to find qualified job candidates. They often use techniques such as extending offers of improved salary compensation.
Common and Effective Recruitment Strategies
- Obtain referrals from current employees.
- Participate in online social networking.
- Tap into online and offline social networks.
- Offer an effective corporate recruiting website.
- Participate in in-person networking at community and professional events.
- Attend and exhibit at job and career fairs at colleges and universities.
- Post job openings on job boards.
- Advertise job openings in newspapers.
- Sponsor scholarships.
- Contract for the services of a recruitment firm or headhunter.
Job Posting and Job Bidding
Job Posting
A procedure for informing employees that job openings exist.
Job Bidding
Permits employees who believe they possess the required qualifications to apply for a posted job.
Key Elements of a Job Advertisement
A compelling job advertisement typically includes:
- About the Company
- Position Overview
- Required Skills and Background
- Preferred Skills and Background
- Compensation and Perks
- Contact Information
Alternatives to Traditional Recruitment
- Overtime: Helps both employer and employee. The employer benefits by avoiding recruitment, selection, and training costs, while employees gain from increased income during the overtime period.
- Contingent Workers: Includes part-time, temporary, or short-term workers, independent contractors, and on-call workers.
- Outsourcing: The contracting out of a business process to a third party.
Advantages of Online Recruiting
Compared to traditional methods, online recruiting offers several benefits:
- Lower cost
- Ease of posting advertisements
- Faster response times
- Greater quantity of responses