Job descriptions are important and necessary, but it’s often difficult to go beyond a general overview of a position with only a job specification list.

Both employees and employers could benefit from a more detailed understanding of the day-to-day requirements of a job. This is where a work activity analysis, also known as a job task analysis, is extremely valuable to both employers and new hires. 

Below we’ll look at how you can utilize a work activity analysis to help prepare and inform your new hires. 

What is a work activity analysis

A work activity analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities of a particular position or set of positions.

A work activity analysis will give new hires and employers an idea of the exact skill set and knowledge requirements that are needed to succeed in a new role. This can help hiring teams assess training needs for current employers, how qualified a new hire is, and any existing skills gap within their teams. 

How to conduct a work activity analysis

So how does a work activity analysis work? You need to start with data and information, which requires you to get involved with your team members and the duties they’re performing. 

Below we’ll look at the different steps you should take when conducting a work activity analysis. 

• Interview key people on the job
• Sometimes the best teacher is experience, and there are few better ways to gain insight into the ins and outs of a role than by interviewing those with the most experience. Start with your team leaders and most reliable workers. Ask them about the day-to-day operations of their jobs. Ask them about things that have gone wrong, right, and everything in between. 

• Observe workers on the job
• Shadowing employees is another great way to get insight into what a specific role entails. This is an opportunity for you to see aspects of the position beyond the job description. Take note of what qualities employees need in order to meet their goals and deadlines, and be as specific as possible in your observation notations. 

• Try a work log/diary to define tasks
• A quicker and simpler way than observing or interviewing employees is to have each employee log their daily tasks and responsibilities. This will take the pressure off of you to connect with each employee, and it allows you to get a clear idea of the day-to-day tasks of each of your employees. 

• Aggregate a list of duties
• Once you’ve collected information from interviews, observations, logs, and journal entries, you can start listing the known roles of duties for each role in questions. This should be a more detailed list that goes beyond the basic responsibilities that you can find in any generic job search. Based on your findings, what aspects of a specific role may not show up on a basic job description? What other types of skills/responsibilities can you add to your analysis? 

• Collect and verify findings with current employees
• It’s important, once you’ve culled together a comprehensive list of duties, to verify their accuracy with current employees. What changes would your employees make? How accurately does it describe their day-to-day experiences on the job?

• Decide on selection criteria
• Once you’ve defined your comprehensive set of tasks and verified them with your employees, you can start deciding on your selection criteria and employee selection methods. Bring together the appropriate assessment tests and sets of interview questions that will most aptly reflect your unique needs. 

• Formulate the Job Description
• Defining your criteria and doing your due diligence in putting together a comprehensive work activity analysis will set you up for success when you eventually formulate your job description. Define exactly what skills and competencies you want highlighted in your description as well as how you plan on assessing them. This will give both you and your new hire a better idea of what’s expected of them and what kind of skills they’ll need to thrive in the role. 

Make smarter assessments and hiring decisions with Crosschq

Even with an effective work activity analysis, confirming the requisites and experiences of a potential hire can still be a challenge. This is where advanced pre-hire reference checking is key.

Crosschq’s cloud-based technology gives you the ability to benefit from job-based surveys, detailed 360 reporting, interview and onboarding tools, and qualified talent pipelines that will put you directly into contact with quality hires. 

Try the demo today to see how Crosschq can improve your work activity analysis process and ensure quality hires.