I/O PSYCHOLOGY IN PRACTICE

This case deals with a Connections, a human resources consulting company

job analysis conducted
by Dr. Joan Brannick as
part of a collaborative
effort to validate a selec-
tion test for supermarket
warehouse employees.
Dr. Brannick received
her Ph.D. in I/O psy-
chology in 1987 from
(Courtesy
Bowling Green State Uni-
Joan Brannick )
versity. She is currently
President of Brannick HR
based in Tampa, Florida. The company helps organi-
zations improve employee retention by working with
organizations to create, implement, and evaluate selec-
tion and promotion processes that assess job fit and
culture fit. Prior to starting Brannick HR Connections
in 1995, Dr. Brannick worked for Eckerd Corporation,
which at the time was one of the largest drugstore
chains in the United States. It is a common career
path for an I/O psychologist to work for several years
for a private corporation and then start his or her own
consulting business.

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 com-
pany 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, espe-
cially the validation. Dr. Brannick was hired to provide
the objective expert point of view. It is quite common
for 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 supermar-
kets 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 to 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 phys-
ical 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
LEARNING BY DOING
Conducting a Job Analysis Interview
One way to conduct a job analysis is to interview
employees who hold the job in question. Choose a
person you know (acquaintance, family member, or
friend) who is currently employed in a job you have
never held yourself. Interview that person about the
job, taking careful notes of what he or she tells you.
You should ask about the following:
Chapter Summary 䉳 77
up an item with the index finger and thumb only).
Once the specific motions were determined, the test-
ing company designed the actual psychomotor test (see
Chapter 5) 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 perfor-
mance. Objective performance data were also col-
lected 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 success-
ful in showing that the test was valid; in other words,
test performance significantly predicted job perfor-
mance. The test is being used today to help select
warehouse workers.
Discussion Questions
1. Why was it important to conduct a job analysis
before developing the test?
2. Would a questionnaire job analysis method of
asking employees or supervisors what motions were
needed have been as effective?
3. How would this job analysis help a company if it
was sued for discriminating against a person with a
disability?
4. Why was it important to conduct a validation study?
1. Job title
2. Brief description of the job
3. The most important tasks involved in the job
4. The most important KSAOs needed for
the job
Write a brief report that provides an overview of
what you learned about the job.