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Jobs can be particularly unstable and inconsistent in fast-changing organisations. This is evidenced even more when organisations are new, have recently changed their strategy or are taking on new and more complex work. This will continue to be the way of many organisations as globalisation and the impact of technology force change in the business environment. In these cases, job designs can be non-existent or can quickly become inconsistent and out-of-date.
Where this happens, little thought can be given to career paths or anything other than short-term handling of difficult situations. Objectives can be vague, demands can be irreconcilable and goals and priorities may conflict. There may also be inconsistencies between what the organisation says it wants and what it rewards.
Finding the Positives...
This all sounds quite negative. Yet, in the right organisation, a lack of structure and system can be intensely stimulating. Fast-growing organisations can offer tremendous opportunities for quick career advancement. These organisations can face enormous challenges and working through these can give a tremendous sense of achievement. Lack of structure also means that there is plenty of opportunity to get experience - albeit sometimes quite shallow experience - in a wide variety of roles.
But Avoiding the Negatives...
On the other hand, mediocre companies in stable or contracting industries can be dispiriting places to work. Opportunities can be limited, career progression can be difficult and working conditions can be grim. Particular types of job can be intrinsically unpleasant, particularly when you have no control over the pace of your work or where the work involves exposure to routine unpleasant stresses.
An important point to remember - when employers create jobs, they have no obligation to make them pleasant or rewarding. Some employers will care little about anything other than their own reward. It is up to you to find jobs with good employers and, in some cases, you need to recognise that the best option may be to leave bad ones.
Job Analysis is a useful technique for getting to grips with the reality of what is important, so that you are able to perform excellently. It helps you to cut through waffle and inaccuracy to get to the heart of the job.
This is particularly important in a job that is not consistently structured. It is extremely frustrating to have worked hard at what you thought was important, only to find that your work is being assessed on different criteria. It can also be intensely stressful to be pulled in different directions by inconsistent or conflicting demands.
Conducting a Job Analysis
- Review the formal documentation on the job
- Look at the most recent job description that exists. Identify the key objectives within the job description and the priorities identified within it
- Look at the forms for any periodic performance reviews. These should show precisely the behaviors that will be rewarded, as well as those that will be punished
- Find out what training is available for the role. Ensure that you attend appropriate training so that you know as much as possible about your role and any expectations of you in this role
- Look at any incentive schemes to see the factors that these are geared to
- If any of these are not available, write down what you believe the roles, responsibilities, objectives and performance criteria to be. You should then work through these with your boss
Understand the Organisation’s Strategy
Your job will exist for a reason and this will be determined by the strategy of the organisational unit you work for. This is often expressed in a mission statement. In some way, what you do should help the organisation achieve its mission - if it does not, you have to ask yourself how secure the job is!
Look at the way in which your objectives contribute towards the mission. These should be major objectives of your job. If they are not, make a note of this.
Understand the Organisational Culture
Similarly, every organisation has its own culture – its own, historically developed values, rights and wrongs, and things that it considers to be important. If you are new to an organisation, talk through with established, respected members of staff to understand these values.
Ask yourself which objectives fit with these values. Do they reinforce the company’s culture or do they go against it? Looked at through the lens of culture, will the company value what you do? Check that your priorities are consistent with the company culture. Make an appropriate note if they are not.
Find out who the top achievers are and understand why they are successful!
Inside or outside the organisation, there may be people in a similar role to you who are seen as highly successful. Find out how they work and what they do to generate this success. Look at what they do and learn from them. Understand what skills make them successful and learn those skills.
Understand where your career could go from here!
If you find, as you work through this, that little thought has been put into the design of your job, chances are that career progression from this position has not been considered.
Check that you have the people and resources to do the job!
The next step is to check that you have the staff support, resources and training that you think are needed to do the job well. If you do not, make a note of this as well.
Confirm priorities with your boss!
By this stage, you should have a thorough understanding of what your job entails and what your key objectives are.
You should also have a good idea of any lack of clarity in objectives or lack of resource or of discrepancies and inconsistencies between what you believe your job to be and the realities of the situation. These have the potential to undermine you in your role.
This is the time to talk the job through with your boss and confirm that you share an understanding of what constitutes good performance in the role. Also, talk through the inconsistencies in the job. Make sure that you resolve these in a satisfactory way. If you do not, these inconsistencies may undermine your position in the future.
This second form of Job Analysis is a seven-step technique for:
- Understanding your job and how to achieve peak performance in it
- Ensuring that your job is consistent with corporate strategy and corporate culture
- Ensuring that you have agreed with your boss the areas you should concentrate on when time gets tight, and the areas that can be de-emphasised
- Ensuring that you have the resources, training and staff needed to do a good job
By using the Job Analysis tool, you should flush out any major issues or hidden problems with your current job. You should also understand exactly how to do your job excellently.
Reference:
Stress Management from Mind Tools
See also the five step Job Analysis tool
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