Job Analysis
A job analysis is a systematic process of collecting and gathering critical information to determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) necessary to perform well on work-related tasks. One was created for the role of a Community Manager for Mob Scene. Mob Scene is an entertainment advertising and production company located in Los Angeles, California.
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The job analysis is effective for:
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recruitment -- identifying and communicating accurate job duties and descriptions
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selection -- determining the qualities and KSAs that would be necessary for a candidate to likely be successful on the job
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training -- creating effective training programs and courses for the job position
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performance appraisals -- develop performance standards and evaluation criteria
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Mob Scene
Mob Scene is an entertainment advertising and production company located in Los Angeles, California. They were founded in 2006 and specialize in a variety of production services. Some of their work includes creative advertising, movie trailers, social networking, and much more. They are known for their creative and imaginative work with notable companies such as Google, Amazon, DreamWorks, and much more. Within Mob Scene, there are myriad sectors employing over 100 employees. Of the many employees, a community manager is an entry-level role within the social media marketing team.
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Process
01
DATA COLLECTION
02
TASK STATEMENTS
03
KSA STATEMENTS
04
LINKAGES
05
ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Data Collection
To gather data, our team conducted initial research through unobtrusive methodologies utilizing online sources. Further data were collected by referring to incumbent logs and subject matter expert (SME) interviews. Data gathered for this project included job activities, equipment, working conditions, and KSAs.
Research
Research on the job description of a social media community manager was conducted online. Reputable sources include the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), mobscene.com, jobsearcher.com.
Incumbent Logs
To mimic observations, incumbent logs were created for the job incumbents to record and document their daily job responsibilities and tasks. This spanned two days and incumbents were to record at 3 different time points throughout the day.
Subject Matter Expert Interviews
Formally structured interviews were conducted with each of the three job incumbents along with one supervisor. The structured interviews were created from the incumbent logs and job descriptions. The interview questions were designed to gauge varying aspects of the job (i.e. specialized job characteristics and general job-related questions). This was used to confirm and identify the job tasks.
Tasks and KSAs
Task Statements
A list of 29 task statements was developed based on the collected data from the incumbent logs, job descriptions, and interviews. There are four characteristics to task statements. 1) What the worker does. 2) To whom or what the worker does it. 3) Why the worker does the task. 4) How the worker does it.
The tasks were then categorized into 4 different categories:
Social Media
"Posts on social media platforms to promote marketing content..."
Client Relations
"Develops new project proposals for client review and approval"
Communication
"Actively participates in meetings with coworkers to discuss projects and deadlines"
Collaboration
"Collaborates with employees from other departments to ensure timely project completion"
Rating Task Statements
Subject Matter Experts then rated each task statement based on the importance of the task as well as how frequently they perform the task. This was completed through Qualtrics. Each rating scale had a range of 1 to 5 and mean ratings were computed to finalize the tasks.
Statements were kept if their mean scores were:
3
cut-off score
KSA Statements
A list of 24 KSA statements were developed based off the finalized task statements.
Knowledge
Information about a particular domain that contributes to successful performance
Skill
Level of proficiency or competency in performing a certain task
Ability
An enduring trait an individual naturally possesses.
Rating KSA Statements
Subject Matter Experts rated each KSA statement based on importance and when the KSA was acquired. Each KSA statement was rated on a scale of 1-5 for importance. Each KSA statement was also rated on a two-point scale for when the KSA was acquired.
cut-off score
Statements were kept if their mean scores for importance were:
3
When was this KSA acquired?
The data reveals that most of the incumbents acquired their skills prior to job entry
Linkages
Linkages were then made to identify which KSAs were necessary to perform certain tasks in the role. The incumbents rated each KSA in correspondence to each task based on how important and how necessary each KSA is to the task. 414 linkages were created (23 job tasks and 18 KSA statements)
Example:
Social Media
Knowledge about social media policies and guidelines
Knowledge on promoting social media content
Create strategy plans (e.g. placing face in the first seconds of a video) that will improve content viewing
X
X
A critical rating meant that the KSA was deemed essential to the job task
16 KSAs received at least one rating of critical
Selection Recommendations
Weighted Application Blanks (WAB)
WAB is a pre-screening method that can be applied to a large number of applicants. It scores each item from the biodata and corresponds it to a criterion of job success. This is useful to identify which applicants might be more qualified for job success versus less qualified applicants.
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Read more
Structured Interviews
Structured interviews are beneficial to assess relevant experiences of job candidates that could serve as predictors of successful job performance. This can be done by modeling pre-determined questions to gauge the critical KSAs that are essential for job performance.
Read more
Performance Tests
The tests will be a work sample simulation that can be used to assess how the job candidate can perform essential, job-related tasks.
Read more
These selection tests are meant to identify the most qualified candidates for the job. It is a great way to predict future job performance.
Client Testimonial
"My team had an excellent experience with this group. they were efficient and thorough with their questioning and were able to pull some interesting things. The management was seamless and I'm very glad this group chose my company for their research"
Reflection
Accomplishments
Future Considerations
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Conducted a thorough job analysis while employing varied data collection methods
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​First time applying a theoretical framework through an external consultation project
I learned how to perform a job analysis as part of a team. This was my first time performing a job analysis as an external consultant. Given that, I am really proud of myself and my team for executing a high-quality project within a limited time frame. We were able to establish trust with the organization and from that relationship, we were able to attain meaningful data. I also learned a lot from the incumbents and their organization. We gained valuable insight into the dynamics between team members and how important it is to have a job analysis. Identifying best practices and selection tools is critical to ensuring a fair process and identifying the most qualified candidate for the job.
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Conduct in-person observations over a 1-3 day period
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Extend incumbent logs to a 5 day time period
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Follow-up on the effectiveness of the job analysis
If we had a longer timeframe to complete the project, I think it would be beneficial to extend the length of the incumbent logs. Along with that, it would have been very insightful to conduct in-person observations. Observations provide other meaningful data that some techniques might not be able to capture such as gauging employee relationships and identifying subtle nuances in the workplace. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was vital that we adhere to safety protocols. On that note, if we were able to extend our work with Mob Scene, it would be beneficial to evaluate the effectiveness of the recommended selection tests.
Competencies Utilized
Stakeholder Management
Building rapport with both the leadership team and staff members to establish trust. This enabled us to understand the working environment and obtain enriching and meaningful data.
Data Collection & Analysis
Identifying and employing applicable data collection methods and techniques helped us obtain critical information. Appropriately analyzing the data allowed us to interpret and extract meaningful information. We were able to build the interview questions, incumbent logs, and surveys to obtain our data.
Communication
Communication is crucial to every aspect of the project. This is essential to relay ideas, messages, and intentions to both team members and stakeholders.
Teamwork
Teamwork was an integral component to the success of this project. A lot of coordination and collaboration between team members were required to collect data, analyze data, and formulate ideas.
Adaptability
We were able to rely on a flexible timeline and were open and accommodating to any changes that had to be made.