Reference no: EM132446658

Job Analysis Guides Reorganization at Bethphage

Bethphage, with approximately 3,000 employees, is a nonprofit organization that provides living and rehabilitative services for individuals with developmental disabilities through operating entities in 15 states and several foreign countries. Dr. David Jacox, CEO, and the Board of Directors identified that due to continuing growth the structure of the organization needed to be reexamined. Previously Bethphage had the parent corporation serving as headquarters and providing corporate functions. Then there were four regional corporations throughout the United States and internationally, each with its own board of directors.

Concern about coordination of efforts and the legal issues associated with having so many "governing" bodies led to a need for an organizational restructuring. Job analysis efforts tied to HR activities provided key information for the parent company board and senior managers throughout all entities. The process of changing Bethphage's organization structure took several years and was done in several phases. Three years ago, Bethphage took a comprehensive look at all jobs. To provide Bethphage's Board, Dr. Jacox, and senior managers with an understanding of the jobs in the organization, a job analysis of all jobs and entities was required.

Raul Saldivar, Senior Vice-President of Human Resources, and a committee of managers and executive directors from throughout Bethphage guided the comprehensive look at all jobs in the firm. Like many organizations, Bethphage had a small HR staff that was busy with many other HR activities. Consequently, Saldivar gave the responsibility for conducting the job analyses and preparing the job descriptions and specifications to Kelli Jorgensen, Bethphage's Compensation and Benefits Manager. Jorgensen developed an extensive 12-page job analysis questionnaire tailored to the various job functions common throughout Bethphage. Then questionnaires were distributed to all employees in all locations. In spite of grumbling from some employees about the questionnaire length, over 90% of the questionnaires were returned within the allotted period to the appropriate departmental and agency managers for review.

They were then sent to Jorgensen and the HR staff. At that point several HR interns from a local university began the arduous task of writing approximately 300 job descriptions and specifications. Once draft descriptions were available, Jorgensen coordinated their review by the appropriate managers and team leaders. Then the drafts were revised, reviewed by the compensation committee, and prepared for use in developing a coordinated compensation system. The entire process of conducting the job analysis and developing final job descriptions and specifications took four months of intensive effort. The process of developing the compensation and performance appraisal systems took another nine months, and the refinement and implementation of all components of the "new and improved" HR activities took over a year.

Once the compensation system had been installed for most of the jobs below the senior management level, the next phase of reorganization proceeded two years later. Bethphage redefined its executive structure, beginning by establishing one Board of Directors for the entire organization and dissolving the separate regional corporations. A revised management structure was created by the addition of a Senior Vice-President of Operations, Linda Timmons, to whom all regional directors report. The structural reorganization affected only about 15-20 jobs at the managerial level; those jobs were analyzed and redesigned before developing new job descriptions, compensation groupings, and ranges.

Now that all phases of the reorganization have been completed, Saldivar and Jorgensen have established procedures so that all jobs are reviewed each year and the compensation structures are updated. Several beneficial outcomes are based on the comprehensive job analysis developed by Bethphage: The HR department has been able to use the job analysis process for developing job descriptions for new jobs. Bethphage's new compensation program enables the HR department to ensure a more equitable system of pay increases and to provide a more accurate method for developing pay structures and determining pay levels.

Over the past few years, Bethphage also has provided managers with a better system for conducting performance evaluations to ensure that they are promptly and accurately completed, and that a pay-for-performance system is developed and used. As a result of all these activities managers throughout Bethphage are now using the HR department on a consultative basis for organizational decisions of all types. The job analysis activities were the foundation for all of the actions taken by Bethphage.

Questions

1. Discuss why job analysis was an essential part of the corporate change process at Bethphage?

2. How does the process described in the case illustrate the linkage between job analysis and other HR activities?