Objective Placement of Disabled Through Job Analysis

Objective Placement of Disabled Through Job Analysis

Employers--and employees--often have preconceived ideas about jobs. Ask three people to describe the most important requirements for being successful in a particular job and you are likely to get three very different responses. Similarly, employers may have preconceptions about the capabilities of handicapped persons. Mistaken assumptions about the skills required to perform a particular job or about an individual's limitations can result in inadvertent discrimination against workers with disabilities.

How does an employer know whether a worker , who is disabled can perform a particular job?

 Often, if the individual is referred by a rehabilitation agency, a worker profile is provided that outlines the prospective employee's medical condition and limitations, as well as his or her physical and work skills. This information, although valuable, does not answer an employer's question of whether the individual will be able to perform the job successfully. One way that an employer can answer this question is by having a written job analysis. Such an analysis provides a useful means for objectively measuring the fit between a worker with a disability and a given job.

Job Analysis

The technique of job analysis has been a proven tool in industry for many years. A job analysis is not a job description; it goes well beyond the one- or two-page subjective "description" of a particular job. A job analysis systematically identifies the specific tasks involved, the frequency of the tasks, and their importance to successful job performance. It identifies specific background experience and skills that an applicant may need in order to learn, for example, how to operate equipment used in the job. In addition, the prevalent working conditions and the worker skills and behaviors critical for successful performance of the job are spelled out.

From the job analysis, an employer can develop a worker profile of the skills, characteristics, and experience that are required for successful job performance. This profile can be used in recruiting and interviewing to match applicants--disabled and non-disabled--to jobs for which they are qualified. By making job qualifications relevant to job performance, a job analysis can help eliminate preconceptions about what is and is not required. It can also be used to determine what, if any, modifications can be made in the job and to uncover working conditions that should be changed for safety or environmental reasons.

The job analysis also provides an employer with relevant information for setting performance criteria and ascertaining training needs. It often highlights similarities and differences in jobs that can be used in adjusting wage and salary rates. In fact, job analysis provides significant information about a job that goes well beyond the issues involved in hiring.