Applying the process — SOP job and task analysis

This part will provide you with guidelines to assist you in applying the processes of job and task analysis to your own SOP. In your assignment you are required to produce outputs of job and task analysis. These are a lot less detailed than those you could expect to achieve as the result of a comprehensive analysis. The following guidelines will help you to produce what is required.

In the process of producing your SOP you essentially carried out a fundamental job analysis. In producing your SOP the first thing you will have considered was a specific hazard, i.e. building fire and evacuation, major traffic accident etc. You then would have considered a particular appointment or job, i.e. Council Engineer, Police Inspector in Charge, Safety Officer, House Warden etc, within your organisation that had some major responsibility related to the hazard, i.e. coordinate evacuation, control emergency services at accident scene. We could refer to this responsibility as a duty.

Now consider the way in which you further developed your own SOP. Your SOP are in the form of a matrix which answers the following questions, Who? what? when? where? how? and why? Having already established the ‘Who’, we can equate the other SOP headings to the outputs of a job and task analysis, i.e. task performance, conditions and standards.

• The what? in SOP can be defined as a task performance, e.g. sound alarm, provide traffic control at scene etc.
• The when? and where? in your SOP can be equated to the conditions under which the task must be performed, e.g. on outbreak of fire, at accident scene etc.
• The how? can be defined as the task steps or sub tasks that need to be carried out to effectively perform the task, e.g. operate radio, deploy traffic control officers etc.
• The why? is not usually included in job and task analysis. That is because although it is very important within the SOP as a motivator it is not directly related to the performance of the task.

Performance standards

You will probably have realised that the one job analysis output we have not covered is the performance standard. In a detailed analysis this can be very definitive. For our purposes however we will consider only two basic standards, namely:

By applying commonsense to a review of the task performances you have identified, you should be able to determine which of the two performance standards is applicable in each case. In order to be able later in the process to compare performance required with existing ability we can allocate a score to each performance standard:

• under supervision/direction = 2
• without supervision/direction = 3

Sop job analysis matrix

The information/data we have collected can be displayed easily in a matrix or table format. The matrix below in Table 3.1 is an example of one that you can use and a word format of it is found in Activity 3.5:

Step 2: Identification of current competencies

If the above processes are carried out we will have now determined, for each job (who?), the task performances required (what?) and the performance standards. The next step is to identify whether the individuals to whom we have allocated the performance of these tasks in our SOP already have the necessary competencies.

There are three main processes used to identify current competencies, and these are similar to those we identified for job analysis. They are

1. observation of task performance;
2. interviews with task performers;
3. questionnaires to task performers.

Any of these methods would be appropriate and could in fact be carried out together. We recommend that for the purposes of your assignment you use a combination of methods 2 and 3, i.e. issue questionnaires to task performers and follow these up with interviews. Follow-up interviews may only be necessary where there is some doubt in the mind of the respondent or yourself as to the results of the questionnaire.

What sort of questions should we ask the task performers? There are a number of ways in which questionnaires can be framed. Remember that some people may be reluctant to admit that they are lacking in skills or knowledge. The following are some questions that you might include in your questionnaire.

The results of your survey will need to be consolidated. The following table/matrix is a simple recommended format for identifying current competencies that you could use in your assignment.

Remember we are not only trying to determine whether the performer is able to carry out the task but also whether they can perform it to the required standard.

In order to simplify our later recognition of the training need we can allocate each of the existing abilities a score as follows:

Step 3: Identification of training need

We have now determined what needs to be done, to what standard, and by whom. We have also identified the current ability of the appropriate person in respect of the task/s. It is the difference, if any, between these two that will, of course, determine the training need or other remedial action.

Remember that it is not only training that can be used to improve capability. For instance, revised written procedures, aide-mémoire and other job aids may be just as effective and more cost efficient than conducting training courses.

Activity 3.5 Read Reading 14: Extracts from Australian emergency manual: Training management, Chapter 3, paras 3.10-3.13. Reading 15: Extracts from Training and development, para. 106. This should reinforce alternatives to training and the relationship between the processes you have covered. In what situations would you recommend that training be carried out? In what situations would alternative methods, such as revised written procedures, be the better choice? Consider the above 2 options and provide your thoughts on them on the subject forum. Completing the SOP job analysis matrix Read Reading 16: Building fire evacuation (a sample SOP). Complete the SOP Job Analysis Matrix provided below, using the information contained in Reading 16. For the who? or the job use the House Warden and the Zone Wardens. Hazard _________________________________________________________ Who ? (A) What? (B) Performance standard required (C) Existing ability (D) Training required (E) House Warden         Zone Wardens                             Print this activity

You should now be familiar with the processes of training analysis and be able to apply a simplified system to your particular problem. You may want to start the Training Needs Analysis of your assignment by completing the job analysis matrix found in the Assignment Guide.

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