job analysis VS job evaluation

Discuss the differences between job analysis and job evaluation. How do these practices help establish internally consistent job structures?

Job analysis is the process of obtaining information about all of the parameters of a job such as the responsibilities, behaviors, skills, the physical requirements, and the mental requirements of the people who do it; this information is collected through determination of the duties, tasks, and/or activities that people who hold that job complete (Bohlander, Snell, & Morris, 2013). A job analysis is typically used in order to create a job description which is a clearly defined description of the job which includes a list of either required or preferred qualifications for the job incumbent (Performing Job Analysis, 2013). There are many reasons for an organization to perform job analysis such as: strategic HR planning, workflow analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, creation of accurate job descriptions, compensation management, and legal compliance. There are many different job analysis methods; the most common methods of job analysis are the: open-ended questionnaire, highly structured questionnaire, interview, observation, and the work diary or log. Job evaluations systematically recognize the differences in the relative worth among a set of jobs and establishes pay differentials accordingly (Martocchio, 2014, p 371). The job evaluation process involves six steps: determining single versus multiple job evaluation techniques, choosing the job evaluation committee, training employees to conduct the job evaluations, documenting the job evaluation plan, communication with employees, and setting up the appeals process. There are two main types of job evaluation, job-content evaluation and market-based evaluation. Job-content evaluation is a method of evaluating job worth that accounts for skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Market-based evaluation is an approach to job evaluations which utilizes market data in order to determine the differences in job worth.

The main difference between job analysis and job evaluation is that job analysis focuses on gathering, documenting, and analyzing information in order to create accurate job descriptions; while job evaluation centers on the recognizing the different relative worth of the different jobs in order to pay differentials accordingly(Martocchio, 2014). Job analysis and job evaluations are used by HR professionals and compensation experts in order to establish internally consistent job structures. A job analysis is used to create accurate job descriptions while a job evaluation is used to create a fair compensation system; when the job description is combined with the compensation system the company or organization then has established an internally consistent job structure. The two processes depend on the judgment of the HR professionals and compensation experts that are involved in the job analysis and job evaluation process. If the people completing the job analysis and job evaluation processes do not have sound judgment and the ability to analyze and evaluate fairly without bias, then the internal job structures might not be consistent.

References

Bohlander, G., Snell, S., & Morris, S. (2015). Managing human resources (17th ed.). Thomson/South-Western.

Martocchio, J. (2014). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.