CASE ANALYSIS $1$

Performance and Job Analysis

This case deals with a job analysis conducted by Dr$.$ Joan Brannick as part of a collaborative effort to validate a selection test for supermarket warehouse employees.

A national supermarket chain hired Dr$.$ Brannick to be part of a team that developed and validated a selection test for warehouse workers. A testing company that specializes in physical agility testing actually designed the test. The client wanted an independent consultant to do the initial job analysis that would indicate what sort of test was needed and then to do the validation to show the test worked. The client was concerned about the potential conflict of interest if the testing company were to do the entire project, especially the validation. Dr$.$ Brannick was hired to provide the objective expert point of view. It is quite common for the I$/$O consultants from different companies to work together each doing a separate piece of a complete job.

The job in question involved the filling of orders received from individual stores. Each day supermarkets submitted orders for various products. Warehouse employees filled these orders by loading products into large plastic tote boxes at the warehouse and shipping these totes by truck t the stores. The job required physical agility, as various items had to be taken from shelves and put into totes by hand. Dr Brannick used an observational method of job analysis. She took a tour of the warehouse and then spent many hours watching employees and recording the specific physical motions required. There were three in particular that were important: grasping $($picking up an item with all fingers and the thumb of one hand$),$ lifting $($picking up an item with both hands$),$ and pinching $($picking up an item with the index finger and thumb only$).$ Once the specific motions were determined, the testing company designed the actual psychomotor test to determine how well applicants were able to perform the required motions.

Once the test was developed, it was administered to $350$ employees. Dr$.$ Brannick trained supervisors to rate the quality of their employees$$ job performance. Objective performance data were also collected on absenteeism and the number of totes$/$day each employee filled. She then conducted statistical data analysis to see if the test could predict how well employees perform their jobs. This study was successful in showing that the test was valid; in other words, test performance significantly predicted job performance. The test is being used today to help select warehouse workers.