JOB ANALYSIS EXAMPLE #1 - DISHWASHER

Mary is sixteen years old, the oldest of ten children. She has moderate mental retardation. While her intellectual ability is limited, she gets along with people very well and really wants to work. Her fifteen-year-old sister already has a job and Mary is quite upset that her younger sister is working and she is not. Mary likes doing dishes. That has always been her job at home and she would like to get a paid job as a dishwasher.

1. I watched a dishwasher at the café. It is a little different than doing dishes at home, because the machine is larger and has a spray hose someone would have to teach Mary to use, but she could certainly learn to use it without much difficulty.
2. The dishwasher machine is pretty noisy, and the water is somewhat hot. Neither of these conditions are the type of thing to bother Mary. Sometimes at lunch the café is really busy and there are a lot of dishes to be done in a hurry. This might be a problem for Mary because she hates having people rush her.
3. I actually worked as a dishwasher sometimes to make money while going to college, so I did not feel I needed to perform the job myself!
4. Here is what I wrote down about what was expected.

• a. Be at work on time at 6:30 a.m.
  b. Punch in on the time clock.
  c. Put time card back in slot
  d. Clear dishes from tables at customers are finished eating.
  e. Rinse dishes in sink using overhead hose
  f. Load dishes on racks in dishwasher
  g. Put soap in dishwasher
  h. Run dishwasher
  i. When dishwasher cycle is complete, open dishwasher.
  j. Let dishes cool off briefly
  k. Put dishes away.
  l. Punch out on time clock at end of shift
  m. Put time card back in slot.
  

I also wrote down other expectations for behavior on the job.

• Dress code: Casual- jeans and a t-shirt or sweatshirt are fine, but must be clean, fit - not too tight or loose – and without holes or lots of stains.
• Behavior: Must be polite to customers and co-workers, willing to take simple orders and follow through without argument. Must be able to work quickly and focus on the job during rush periods. Sitting down and talking with customers and co-workers is acceptable when the restaurant is not busy.
  
  Looking at the expectations, the job seemed to fit Mary well overall. She is a morning person and is used to getting up very early. The café is close enough to her house that she can walk there on her own after having been shown the way many times. She needs to be reminded to put her time card back, but that is not really an issue with the other workers. Mary is a very hard-working person, very friendly and likes to talk. The other workers like her and don’t mind reminding her of simple things like putting her time card away. The one major issue is that she gets frustrated when there is a big rush.
  
  Her first six days of work went well. On Sunday morning, during the big breakfast rush, Mary had it with there being a new load of dirty dishes every time she finished the last one. She sat down at one of the tables and refused to work any more. You might think this was the end of Mary’s employment. However, as it turned out, the owner had a really hard time finding and keeping dishwashers. The waitresses liked Mary much better than the previous dishwasher, who was very unpopular with the other employees. The result was that they agreed to help Mary clear the tables during the Sunday rush and even pitch in with the dishwashing if they could. They all agreed that a little inconvenience was well worth it to have a reliable dishwasher who everyone liked.
  
  JOB ANALYSIS EXAMPLE # 2 – DATA ENTRY CLERK
  
  Watch an employee do the job. Are there any special tools or skills needed?
  * Obviously, the job requires a computer and software, but this is provided. The employee needs to know how to turn the computer on, open the program, enter data, save the file, exit the program and turn the computer off.
  
  Observe the environment. Must an employee be able to get used to working with a lot of noise, extreme temperatures or under pressure? Will it be easy to get along with co-workers?
  * This is an office environment without much in the way of noise or temperature extremes. While some data entry jobs are high-pressure with a large amount of data to be entered on a daily basis, in this specific job work tends to begin way in advance of deadlines. The workers in the office are very easy to get along with. This is an ideal job for someone who has difficulty handling stress.
  
  Ask to be trained in the job yourself. Perform the job yourself for a day or more.
  * Again, since I did my share of data entry jobs while in college, I skipped this step.
  
  Write down everything that is expected for the job tasks. Also include other expectations like dress code or behavior.
  * Come to work at the agreed time.
  * Dress appropriately for an office – clean clothes, casual attire.
  * Punch in on time clock
  * Take folders with data from in-basket. Enter data and return completed folders to supervisor at the end of the shift. Mark place where left off if leaving in the middle of a client folder.
  * Save file regularly.
  * Save file at end of shift.
  * Punch out.
  
  Have the employer review what you have written and agree that this is what is expected.
  * The employer added “Maintain work area neatly” and “Shut down computer before leaving.”
  
  Ask about any unusual work expectations, for example, the Christmas shopping season might be more rushed than usual work days, and employees would be expected to work extra hours during that time.
  * There are no unusual work expectations.
  

REFERENCES
Callahan, M. J. & Garner, J. B. (1997). Keys to the workplace: Skills and support for people with disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
Griffin, C. & Hammis, D. (2002). Job analysis: Key to job retention. The Rural Exchange, 15 (1), 3-6.