The term job carving has been kicked around a lot these days



Job Analysis and Job Matching

Slide One: What is a Good Job Match?

• Job matching plays a very important role in long term job retention.

• A job match is the comparison of the individual's skills, interests, and preferences and the performance requirements of a job to determine if there is a good "fit."

• This includes identifying "mismatches" between the individual's unique characteristics and the workplace.

• Successful employment also may depend as much on the match between people and their work environments as on the personal characteristics of individuals.

In the first lesson, we discussed the importance of getting to know the individuals that we are assisting in finding jobs. We cannot do job development successfully until we have a good idea of what the person wants to do as well as the individual's skills. We are going to talk in this lecture about the process of job matching, and how it plays a very important role in long term job retention.

So, what is a good job match? A job match is the comparison of the individual's skills, interests, and preferences and the performance requirements of a job. Some employment specialists or job developers after working in this field for a long time and getting to know their job seekers may be able to observe a job and quickly determine if the person and the job are a good fit. Typically, job analysis and job matching take time and patience and requires careful and multiple observations of the workplace and job.

This analysis will also identify the "mismatches" between the individual's current skill level and interests and the position. If these "mismatches" are minimal, we can determine how to compensate for differences between the individual's skills and the requirements of the job. We will talk about this more in a few minutes.

A match between the individual and the job includes more than simply deciding if the person has the skills to do the job. As I have mentioned, we need to also determine if the person is interested or receptive to taking a job in this workplace. A person may be willing to take a job if the characteristics of the work environment and coworkers match what the individual is looking for rather than the actual job duties. In other words, successful employment also may depend as much on the match between people and their work environments as on the individuals' personal characteristics.

I remember two young women with very similar interests and skills. They accepted jobs in a large hotel's laundry where one person worked in the morning and the other in the afternoon. They had equal ability and learned the job duties to the production standards of the position. However, one "fit" better in the laundry, because she was very social and enjoyed interacting with her coworkers at break. While she had very limited language and talked in phrases rather than sentences, she smiled and laughed with the coworkers as they discussed dating, cloths, music, and social activities. The other young woman, who had significantly better verbal skills, did not "fit" as well in the environment, because she preferred to sit alone during breaks and was not interested in talking about dating, music, and social activities. Eventually, this young woman moved to another job where the coworkers were older women, and she fit in there much better than the first workplace. So, there is more to matching a person to a job than just considering if the person has the skills to perform or learn the job duties.

Slide Two: Job Matching Blunders!

"I found a job today at Big Bob's Burgers! Who's in the referral pool? Hurry, before someone else takes the job!"

"I know that Sally lives 45 miles away from the factory. But, it's a big company! I'll drive her until I find her a ride with a coworker."

"I know that you don't want this job. But, it's a good entry level job. We'll look for something else down the road once you have some experience."

I don't know if you have ever heard yourself saying any of the statements that are on this slide to a coworker, a parent, or a job seeker with a disability. Take a moment to read them with me. Let's think about what might happen if you move forward with job placement if these situations occur.

• "I found a job today at Big Bob's Burgers! Who's in the referral pool? Hurry, before someone else takes the job!"

• "I know that Sally lives 45 miles away from the factory. But, it's a big company! I'll drive her until I find her a ride with a coworker."

• "I know that you don't want this job. But, it's a good entry level job. We'll look for something else down the road once you have some experience."

All of these are common job matching mistakes that have been made many times when accepting a job on behalf of a job seeker. Sometimes, we get so excited when an employer has agreed to hire one of our job seekers that we forget to analyze the job requirements and determine if anyone matches the position. I know of many instances, when an employment specialist accepted a job prior to the completion of a job analysis and observation of the specific job duties. Occasionally, you might get lucky, and have a person in your referral pool that fits the position. More often, the person placed quickly in a job with limited up-front prep work will fall out of the job quickly and end up with a history of poor job retention. By no fault of the individual, he or she may get the reputation of being difficult to place when in reality; we did not do a good job of matching the person to a job.

So, if you hear yourself saying to a job seeker: "I know that you don't want this job. But, it's a good entry level job." Stop yourself. Consider the implications of putting someone into a job where there are barriers to success before the person even starts to work.

Slide Three: Completing a Job Analysis

• A job analysis begins when the employment specialists starts the interview process.

• Interview coworkers and observe the job duties that are being considered.

• Length of time required to observe depends on the complexity of the work environment.

• Observe the physical characteristics of the work area.

Where is the work station?

What are the noise level and the activity level in this area?

Is this a small space and what is the lighting like?

A job analysis actually begins when the employment specialists starts the interview process with a potential employer. We have posted a Business Interview Form for your information, which can be modified to meet the needs of your agency. During this initial interview, the goal is to obtain key pieces of information about the company and, if applicable, the specific job opening. Some information can be learned prior to the business interview by looking up the company online. Employers may be more receptive to working with your agency if they feel you have a genuine interest in their businesses. You want to leave the initial interview with a time to come back to the company and complete a job analysis if the employer is receptive to hiring one of your job seekers.

Posted in this lesson is a sample job analysis form that you can use for the purpose of analyzing a workplace. You will want to interview coworkers and observe the employees that are assigned to the job duties that are being considered. I personally like to have the opportunity of working the job so I can be a sense of exactly what skills will be required. This is particularly true if I am attempting to place an individual with a significant disability such as a significant intellectual disability. I can plan as I work the job how job duties might be taught or modified to accommodate the person's support needs.

The amount of time that is required to spend on the job site can vary from one hour to a full day. The complexity of the work environment, as well as the individual’s support needs will determine the amount of information that is needed as well as the length of time it will take to gather that information. For instance, if the person is going to be working a limited number of job duties for a four hour time period, the employment specialist may be able to complete the analysis in less time. However, be sure that you spend enough time in the workplace to observe the interactions between coworkers and the supervisors as well as during breaks and lunch. More on this important topic will be covered later in this lecture.

Some of the questions that I want answered involve the physical characteristics of the area where the person will be working. Where is the work station? What are the noise level and the activity level in this area? Is this a small space and what is the lighting like in the area? All of these things can have an impact on a person's success. For instance, if the work area is very crowded and noisy, would the person that you are considering for this position be able to deal with the distractions? Or, would you be setting the person up for failure if placed in this type of environment? Again, the basic question that you need to answer is do you have anyone whose skills and interests match this particular work environment?

Slide Four: More Observations in the Workplace

• Consider how much coworker or supervisor interaction is available in this workplace.

• Are there coworkers in this area and for what % of the day?

• What is their proximity to the workstation?

• Do they interact with each other? When and how often?

• Do coworkers assist each other with work tasks?

There are many things that you want to observe when considering a potential job for one of your job seekers other than just the job duties that are to be performed. I'd like to make some comments about this for the next time that you complete a job analysis.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities may never have been in settings where they are required to perform independently. This sometimes results in the person becoming prompt dependent on others to participate in activities or to work. People who are prompt dependent often get passed over for employment, because professionals believe that they can never become independent.

During your job analysis you will need to consider how much coworker or supervisor interaction is available in this workplace as well as if a potential job seeker's support needs can be met there. In other words, are natural supports available in this workplace? When observing the area where the individual is potentially going to work, ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Are there coworkers in this area and for what % of the day?

• What is their proximity to the workstation?

• Do they interact with each other? When and how often?

• Do coworkers assist each other with work tasks?

I also like to consider if there are natural patterns or a flow to the work day. When do breaks occur? Are routines and schedules followed? For instance, if coworkers are not in the immediate area, do coworkers pass by the person's workstation during specific times of the day? Can those times be used to provide prompts or feedback to the worker that will assist the individual in being successfully employed?

You also want to determine if there are interruptions that may occur that will take the person off task. What are the physical demands of the position such as endurance, strength, and motor skills? All of these items can be found on your job analysis worksheet that is included in this lesson.

Slide Five: Bridging the Performance Gap

• Compare the characteristics of the job to the characteristics of the individual considering the position.

• Consider if changes can be made or supports added that would facilitate employment for a specific person.

• Often, people with significant disabilities are "screened out", because an accommodation or support was not considered during the job analysis process.

• Can the task be modified?

As you complete the job analysis, you will be comparing the characteristics of the job to the characteristics of the individual(s) considering the position. Sometimes, you will have a specific person in mind as you complete the analysis at the job site. At other times, you may go back to your agency and compare the individual's vocational profile information to the job analysis information. There are really no hard and fast rules as to how this process is completed. If I know the job seeker really well as I complete a job analysis, I may not need to have the actual form in front of me. This is a skill that will develop over time. It should be pointed out here that many individuals with significant barriers to employment will need "individual specific" job development. What I mean by this is that you will need to know the individual well and actively seek employment specific to that person.

As you work towards matching a person to a particular job opening, it is also important to consider if changes can be made or supports added that would facilitate employment for a specific person. Can accommodations be put into place and is the employer receptive to making accommodations? Too often people with significant disabilities are "screened out" of employment, because an employment specialist could not envision an accommodation or support during the job analysis process.

It is vital for the employment specialist to have a vision of how a job accommodation can impact the employability of an individual. There are many strategies that we can use to bridge the gap between a person's skills and the demands of the job. Most likely, you are thinking of ways that this can be done as you listen to this lecture. We need to decide if the individual can be trained to complete the job duties within a reasonable time period. The person does not need to independently perform the job on the first day of work but is there a reasonable expectation that the requirements are within the person's capabilities? In other words, you don't do anyone any favors if you try to "fit" someone into a job that is too demanding or does not match the person's areas of interest. Also consider if there are naturally occurring cues that will signal the person to work. For instance, in my office, I can judge the time of day as the sun moves in the sky and the light decreases through my window. Finally, can modifications be made to the task including environmental modifications, material adaptations, compensatory strategies or assistive technology so the person can be independent?

I remember a young man with a traumatic brain injury who accepted a job at a veterinarian's office. If the vet needed him to assist with an animal, he could call the worker away from whatever task that he was working on. This confused the individual, because he could not remember what he was doing once it was time to return to the task. A small notepad used as a compensatory strategy allowed him to write reminders to himself. This made the difference between success and failure in this particular work situation. We will talk more about making task modifications during the lesson on job site supports and training. But, it is important to think about this as you complete the job analysis process.

Slide Six: Job Negotiations and Customized Employment

• Individuals with significant disabilities may not be able to complete all the job duties associated with existing job descriptions.

• The term customized employment now is being used related to assisting a person in finding a customized or negotiated position.

• Customized employment holds many short and long term benefits that may not be initially obvious to the business.

• These jobs have been referred to as the "hidden job market.”

As you assist individuals with disabilities in finding jobs, you may find that some of them are more difficult to place in employment. This may be due to a number of factors. The person may have very specific skills and interests, the person may have limited or no work history, or the person may have a significant disability. Regardless of the reasons, the person may not be able to complete all the job duties associated with existing job descriptions. No matter how well you analyze a job, you may find that no one can fill the position as it is advertised.

When this occurs, employment specialists may not know how to assist the individual with a significant disability in finding and maintaining employment. The term customized employment refers to finding a job that is specifically negotiated for an individual. The negotiation process results in a job that is designed both to meet an employer's needs and to capitalize on the strengths and preferences of the job seeker. We are not finding and filling existing job openings rather working with an employer to restructure existing positions.

Customized employment holds many short and long term benefits that may not be initially obvious to the business. It is our job as employment specialists or job developers to assist employers in identifying some of these benefits. This can include increased efficiency, productivity, improvement in the organization of work tasks, efficient use of employee skills and abilities, as well as improved customer service.

For instance, a job developer was looking for a receptionist position for a young woman in our referral pool. While interviewing the employer regarding the open receptionist position, the job developer discovered the real issue! The current receptionist was compiling sales binders for the sales staff. When she completed this task, she was pulled away from the reception area. The job developer proposed that the current receptionist could increase her productivity and perform her job more efficiently if another person were hired to compile the sales binders. This negotiation resulted in a new job description for another job seeker who was interested in a clerical position.

This process has also been referred to as the "hidden job market.” One way to find hidden jobs is to ask the employer questions during the job analysis process. They may include the following questions as well as others that you develop.

Do you have tasks that could be done more efficiently?

Do you pay overtime for specific tasks?

Do you use temporary services routinely?

Are there tasks that just aren't getting done?

Are there tasks that are taking employees away from their areas of expertise?

Are there busy times of the day that you could use more help?

Are there tasks that should be done more often?

Slide Seven: Job Restructuring Strategies

Employers often restructure jobs within their companies to make their businesses more productive.

How does one go about proposing job restructuring to an employer?

"Cut and paste" - One or more tasks are "cut" from one or more positions to create another.

"Fission" - One job is divided creating two or more jobs.

"Marginal tasks" - Tasks not being done; done poorly; not frequently enough; or not clearly anyone's responsibility are combined to create a job.

Employers most likely will not know what you are talking about if you refer to customized employment. It is more likely that employers will understand the term job restructuring. Employers often restructure jobs within their companies to make their businesses more productive. If you think about it, you may know of a situation in your agency where a job was restructured to meet the skills of a particular employee. So, when we approach employers, it is most helpful to use the language that they are already familiar with. You need to find out what that language is in your area and incorporate it into your discussions with business. This has already been discussed in other lectures during this lesson so please be sure to listen to those lectures.

Here is an example of how a hotel might restructure a housekeeper position. Let's assume for a moment that there is a housekeeper who has a language barrier and has some difficulty reading notes that customers may leave in the room. To deal with this situation, the hotel decides that instead of having one person to clean ten rooms that they would have two housekeepers work together handling twenty rooms during the course of the day. With this solution, you have the opportunity to split up the task and have those two people job share the position and still maintain the quality of the job. That is the essence of job restructuring. It's looking at how to get the tasks that need to be completed done in a manner that better satisfies the needs of the employer.

So, how does one go about proposing job restructuring or customized employment to an employer? Denise Bissonnette in her book, Beyond Traditional Job Development, provides us with some strategies. The link for purchasing this book is posted online in our lesson. I would highly recommend it, and perhaps you can purchase one copy for your agency staff to share.

There are a number of ways that a job may restructured. The terms that I use here are from Bissonnette's book and are "cut and paste", "fission", and identifying "marginal tasks." "Cut and paste" involves cutting one or more tasks from one or more existing positions to create a job. "Fission" involves dividing the job duties from one job, resulting in the creation of two or more jobs. Finally, identifying "Marginal tasks" involves asking employers if there job duties that are not being done; done poorly; not frequently enough; or are not clearly anyone's responsibility. Identifying these job duties and combining them can result in a job that benefits the employer as well as the job seeker. During this process, you are helping employers to identify needs that they may not realize as yet or haven't come to the surface. While I am using the term create in our lesson, you may not get very far with employers if you talk to them about creating jobs. This can translate for them into increased expense to the business versus decreased. So, I suggest that you use the word restructure when you are talking with employers.

Slide Eight: More Benefits to Customized Employment

• The negotiation process results in a job that meets an employer's needs while capitalizing on the strengths and preferences of the employee.

• The employment specialist may be able to negotiate a production rate that again meets the needs of the employer but also meets the abilities of the individual.

• An individual is not being judged or compared to other applicants, because the position is being negotiated specifically for that person.

• So how do you begin?

As I mentioned earlier, the negotiation process results in a job that is designed both to meet an employer's needs while capitalizing on the strengths and preferences of the employee. We may not be finding and filling a job opening rather restructuring existing positions. So, how does this process benefit individuals with disabilities? If we are assisting in the development of a new job description, there may not be pre-existing production requirements for the position. Therefore, as part of the negotiation process, the employment specialist may be able to negotiate a production rate that again meets the needs of the employer but also meets the abilities of the individual. This is particularly true for individuals who have never worked to a production standard or who have physical barriers to meeting established production standards. In addition, an individual is not being judged or compared to other applicants, because the position is being negotiated specifically for that person. Finally, the criteria for evaluation are individually determined during the job negotiation process. I have also found that a company is more aware of how the employee contributes to the business when the job has been customized for that person.

You may still be wondering how you find the "hidden job market" or how to customize jobs. Think back to our first lesson when Cary talked about informational interviewing. This is a perfect time to learn about business and begin to plan how to assist a person in identifying a job of choice. Customizing employment requires that you build relationships with employers in your community and I also recommend that you listen carefully to Howard Green's lecture on marketing your agency.

Let's assume that you have established a relationship with a business and the employer is receptive to customizing a position for an individual. So how do you begin? The first step is to really listen to the employer's needs during the interview process and again during observations on the job. Ask if you can study existing job descriptions as well as observe the coworkers in the various departments of the business. Interview the coworkers if possible to determine if there are job duties that they do not do often or have difficulty completing due to time constraints. Use the list of questions that we discussed earlier in this lesson. Take notes and then put together a proposal for the employer to consider if you can customize a job for a specific individual. Finally, discuss the proposal with the employer and take the individual who would like to work in this business for an interview.

Slide Nine: Some Final Comments

There has to be a match between what the individual is interested in and what the employer’s needs are!

What supports are available at this worksite, and do they meet the needs of the individual who will be placed there?

An individual is more likely to be successful if we carefully match his or her skills and interests during this stage of facilitating open employment.

There has to be a match between what the individual is interested in and what the employer’s needs are! I can't really say this enough and perhaps is the most important thing to consider when completing a job analysis. This is regardless of whether you are looking at an existing job description or working with an employer to customize a position for a specific individual.

The second important consideration is what supports are available at this worksite, and do they meet the needs of the individual who will be placed there? This is a quality consideration that must guide the entire job analysis process. I have seen individuals placed in jobs where the support did not match the person. The end result is that the employment specialist could never fade from the individual. Ultimately, these workers with disabilities will lose their jobs. I am not so sure that the issue is the person's significant disability as much as that we did not do a good job of matching the individual to a job. Please keep this in mind as you move forward. I can't promise that if you do a job analysis and match a person to the job based on the characteristics in the forms that people will always be successful! However, the individual will have a better chance for successful job retention if we carefully match his or her skills and interests during this stage of facilitating open employment.

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