Creating Defensible Job Duty and
Knowledge, Skill, Ability, and Personal
Characteristic Statements
Jim Kuthy & Chris Atkinson
Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
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• Forty years of experience in Equal Employment
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• Has performed job analyses and validation studies
for hundreds of employers
• Has created valid selection testing that have been
used by thousands of employers
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Creating Defensible Job Duty and
Knowledge, Skill, Ability, and Personal
Characteristic Statements
Jim Kuthy & Chris Atkinson
Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
Today’s Presenters
Jim Kuthy, Ph.D.
Principal Consultant
[email protected]
(800) 999-0438 x 239
Chris Atkinson, M.S.
Consultant
[email protected]
(800) 999-0438 x 120
Notes
• This presentation is designed to aid job analysts who are
developing lists of tasks or duties that employees perform,
as well as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal
characteristics needed to perform those tasks
• The approaches described in this presentation are designed
to address the content-related validation requirements of
the federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Procedures and generally-accepted “best practices”
• However, nothing in this presentation is offered as legal
advice and we recommend that you seek counsel to
address potential legal issues associated with your job
analysis and/or test validation practices
www.uniformguidelines.com
Uniform Guidelines Section 14C(2)
• There should be a job analysis which includes an analysis of
the important work behavior(s) required for successful
performance and their relative importance and, if the
behavior results in work product(s), an analysis of the work
product(s).
• Any job analysis should focus on the work behavior(s) and
the tasks associated with them.
• Any job analysis should focus on the work behavior(s) and
the tasks associated with them. If work behavior(s) are not
observable, the job analysis should identify and analyze
those aspects of the behavior(s) that can be observed and
the observed work products.
• The work behavior(s) selected for measurement should be
critical work behavior(s) and/or important work behavior(s)
constituting most of the job.
What Does the Uniform Guidelines
Consider a “Work Behavior?”
• “Work behavior. An activity performed to
achieve the objectives of the job. Work
behaviors involve observable (physical)
components and unobservable (mental)
components. A work behavior consists of the
performance of one or more tasks.
Knowledges, skills, and abilities are not
behaviors, although they may be applied in
work behaviors.” (Section 16Y)
What are Tasks and Duties?
• Task
– A distinct work activity carried out by an
employee for a specific purpose
• Duty
– A large segment of the work performed by
an employee; may include a number of
tasks
Should You List Tasks or Duties?
• The federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee
Selection Procedures do not specify whether
work behaviors must be identified at either the
task or duty level
– However, it does state that, “A work behavior consists of the
performance of one or more tasks,” so both appear to be acceptable
• Both have been accepted by the courts and Equal
Employment Opportunity government agencies
• The decision is yours to make
Goals When Creating Task Statements
• Task statements should
1. begin with an action word (verb);
2. describe an observable behavior that an
employee performs on the job; and
3. include the work product or outcome of the
duty if the task itself cannot be observed by
others (e.g., “information is communicated to
others”)
– Example: “Prepare written messages using word
processing software and deliver to prospective
clients using email.”
Goals when creating Duty Statements
• Duty statements should
1. begin with an action word (verb) summarizing
the work behavior(s) associated with the duty;
2. Include the process for completing the duty; and
3. Include the work product or outcome of the
duty
– Example: “Prepare documents, such as
correspondence and project-proposals, using word
processing software.”
Job Task/Duty Statements Typically Start with
an Action Word (Examples)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Analyze
Coordinate
Evaluate
Obtain
Repair
Arrange
Delegate
Inspect
Coordinate
Write
Speak
Measure
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Paint
Show
Assist
Design
Maintain
Plant
Sort
Build
Develop
Manage
Drive
Operate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Prepare
Supervise
Clean
Plan
Monitor
Process
Confirm
Ensure
Move
Provide
Carry
Lift
Load
Examples of Duties and Tasks
Duty
Task
• Perform crime-scene
investigation tasks, such as
surveying and analyzing
scene, collecting latent
fingerprints, taking photos,
and creating diagrams to
document potential
evidence at a crime scene.
• Survey and analyze crime
scenes.
• Collect latent fingerprints.
• Take photos at scenes of
possible criminal activity.
• Draw diagrams
documenting location of
potential evidence at scenes
of possible criminal activity.
Statements Should be Broadly Written
• Job Duty statements should be broadly written,
whenever possible
• Statements should be written in terms of observable
performance and/or observable work outcome
• Provide examples of observable performance and/or
outcomes without limiting to only those examples, if
appropriate (e.g., “such as…”)
– “Operates office equipment, such as photocopiers, FAX
machines, and multi-line telephones”
– “Uses software tools, such as Microsoft Word and Excel, to
enter data and/or document activities”
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and
Personal Characteristics (KSAPCs)
• Knowledge:
– Section 14C(4) of the federal Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection Procedures states, “In the case of
a selection procedure measuring a knowledge, the
knowledge being measured should be operationally
defined as that body of learned information which is
used in and is a necessary prerequisite for observable
aspects of work behavior of the job.”
– Knowledge is the “information” you need to know to
perform the observable aspects of the job!
Knowledge Examples
• Knowledge of how to order supplies within the
organization.
• Knowledge of company policies and procedures
regarding bio-hazardous materials, such as the
knowledge of methods for properly disposing of
bio-hazardous materials.
• Knowledge of advanced shop mathematics
sufficient to read, understand, and use diagrams,
drawings, specifications, charts, tables, and
associated formulas.
Recommendation
• We recommend that you do not limit the knowledge
areas too rigidly, since that would limit your ability to
test/measure new and/or additional knowledge areas
that might become evident once the job analysis is
completed and/or at some later time
• Instead, offer a broadly defined type of knowledge
description and follow that with one or more examples
• “Knowledge of basic spreadsheet software functions to generate
reports, such as opening and closing workbooks, saving work, and
entering formulas to perform calculations.”
• Hint: Use a similar approach when developing skill,
ability, and personal characteristic statements
Skills/Abilities
• Skill: A present, observable competence to perform a
learned psychomotor act.
– Psychomotor skills involve both mental and muscular
ability in which practice and/or concentration is involved,
including, but not limited to activities, such as typing/data
entry, throwing darts, or walking a tightrope.
• Ability: A present competence to perform an
observable behavior and/or a behavior that results in
an observable product.
• Do not become overly concerned of the difference
between skills and abilities… some can be both!
– Hint: If in doubt… write as an ability statement!
Skill or Ability?
• Skill at throwing a baseball to hit a target, such
as the strike zone and/or other player’s glove
– Learned psychomotor skill
• Ability to toss rocks out of a yard
– Observable behavior… no real skill involved
• Ability to throw a baseball to hit a target
– An observable behavior (i.e., throwing) and an
observable product (i.e., hitting the target)
Skill/Ability Examples
• Ability to tell time and compute time intervals.
• Ability to read and comprehend written text, such
as general instructions, safety warnings, and/or
letters from various stakeholders.
• Skill at entering information, such as names and
social security numbers, into a computerized
database.
• Skill to drive a van equipped with a stick shift
transmission to deliver packages to clients.
– Note: This skill could just as easily been worded as the
“Ability to drive a van equipped with a stick shift
transmission to deliver packages to clients.”
Personal Characteristics
• Personal Characteristics: These are characteristics that
are typically not as concrete as individual knowledge,
skills, or abilities. Examples include “dependability,”
“conscientiousness,” or “charisma.”
– The Uniform Guidelines do not permit measuring abstract
traits in content-validated selection process (see Section
14C(1)) unless they are clearly operationally defined in
terms of observable aspects of job behaviors
– Section 14C(4) of the Uniform Guidelines specifies that the
measurement of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities can be
justified using a content-related approach. With that in
mind, we recommend writing Personal Characteristics in
terms of abilities.
How to Define Personal Characteristics in Terms
of Observable Behaviors/Skills/Abilities
– While the characteristic “dependability” (if left
undefined) is too abstract to be legitimately included in
a job analysis, if it can be described as “promptness
and regularity of attendance,” which is an observable
work behavior that can be measured during a selection
process.
– “Stress tolerance,” if not clearly operationally defined,
is also too abstract for inclusion in a selection process
under a content validity approach. However, if defined
as “the ability to complete job duties in a timely and
efficient manner while enduring stressful or adverse
working conditions,” it is converted into an essential
work ability that is observable on the job.
How to Define Personal Characteristics in Terms
of Observable Behaviors/Skills/Abilities
– If an Employer desires to use a content-related
validation approach when collecting evidence
about the job-relatedness of a process used to
measure personal characteristics during their
selection process, they should convert those
characteristics from abstract concepts to concrete,
observable work behaviors and/or observable
skills/abilities
– This approach is also helpful for developing
potentially-defensible statements that are included
in Job Descriptions
Personal Characteristic Examples
• Ability to be honest and conscientious, such as being
truthful; reporting to work as scheduled and remaining
on the job for the entire shift; completing all tasks as
assigned in a timely fashion; respecting the property
and well being of the company and others; working
effectively when under very minimal supervision.
• Ability to work closely with others and to be an
effective member of a team in order to achieve goals;
including the ability to help others, as needed; and to
anticipate the needs of the team and act accordingly.
Physical Abilities
• Writing physical abilities follows the same guidelines as
other abilities
• However, with physical abilities it is typically a good idea to
provide various levels so the Job Experts can give their
opinion of how important it is to be able to perform at each
of the levels on the job
– Alternatively, one could use very broadly written physical
ability statements, but then the employer would need to
collect more definitive information at some later time if
testing in that area will be taking place
– For example, if you ask a Job Expert the importance of an
employee being able to move a 50 pound box a distance
ranging from 10 to 50 feet, are they rating the importance
of moving the box 10 feet? 50 feet? Or something in the
middle?
Physical Ability Examples
• Ability to clearly see and read documents and labels.
• Ability to clearly see small or obscure indicators of defects,
such as surface cracks on material.
• Ability to hear and understand conversations spoken at a
normal volume.
• Ability to hear and understand the spoken word above other
noises, such as machinery noises.
• Ability to lift objects weighing between 21 and 40 pounds
WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.
• Ability to maneuver (such as sliding, pushing, pulling) objects
weighing 8o to 100 pounds; WITH ASSISTANCE OF ONE OTHER
PERSON.
• Ability to use hands and fingers to manipulate objects or
devices, including, but not limited to, turning knobs, dials, and
to hold and use a hammer or other hand tools.
Sample KSAPC and Physical Abilities
can be found at the following:
www.autogoja.com/Admin/Reports/KSAPCs_FINAL.doc
Note
• It is not necessary to include words such as
“accurately” or “appropriately” in the duties or
KSAPCs since it should be assumed that job
performance should be accurate and appropriate
– “Ability to accurately enter information to a computer
database.”
• If you put these terms in some, but not all parts of the list,
that implies that the other parts of the list do not necessarily
require accuracy or appropriateness
– You can use these terms if the degree of accuracy or
appropriateness is significantly greater than that
which is typically needed for performing job-related
tasks
Carefully Use Relative Descriptors
• Be sure to define and/or clarify relative
descriptive terms you might use, such as “basic”
or “advanced”
– For example, instead of just saying, “knowledge of
basic electrical theory,” or “knowledge of advanced
electrical theory”
– you could say, “knowledge of basic electrical concepts
such as voltage, amperage, resistance, Ohm's law,
wattage, circuit theory and others” and “knowledge of
advanced electrical theory, such as the electrical
principles and schematics used in commercial,
industrial, hospital and supermarket refrigeration
systems.”
A Less Formal Approach for Developing
Lists of Job Duties and KSAPCs
• Investigate resources for possible job duties
and KSAPCs
• Conduct job observations and interviews to
obtain information needed to add, delete,
and/or modify the duties and KSAPCs
• Ask Job Experts to review the lists and provide
feedback
A Somewhat More Formal Approach
• Ideally, after the Job Experts have independently recorded the duties
of the target position, a facilitator could convene a panel to develop a
master, consolidated list that reflects the majority opinion of the
group.
• At this step, job duties from pre-existing job descriptions and other
suggestions or data from management should be integrated and added
to the master list for the panel to review.
• Have the participants review the list to see if they wish to remove any
of the items or add items to the final duty list
– You can stimulate thoughtfulness by asking participants to think
about the job, from the start of the day to the end of the day. Also,
ask them to think of duties that are performed infrequently, but
that are important.
• Using a 70% consensus rule (e.g., 7 out of 10) for removing or adding
items is suggested, or a lower ratio may be used if the job analysis
results will be sent in survey form to a larger Job Expert sample.
• Then, have the Job Experts review the KSAPCs and Physical Abilities to
finalize those lists, using the same techniques describe above.
Content Validation
Important or
Critical
Job Duties
KSAPCs and
Physical
Abilities
Selection
Device (test,
interview)
or Job
Description
Linking KSAPCs & Physical Abilities to
Job Duties
• Section 15C(5) of the Uniform Guidelines
requires “…evidence demonstrating that the
selection procedure is a representative work
sample, a representative sample of the work
behavior(s), or a representative sample of a
knowledge, skill, or ability as used as a part of
a work behavior and necessary for that
behavior should be provided.
Linking KSAPCs to Job Duties
• Typically, Job Experts must indicate the
relationship between each KSAPCs to
each of the Job Duties to address the
requirements of the Uniform Guidelines
• This can be very time consuming and
tiring
• If only there was an easier way…
Perhaps clustering job duties into
logically-similar groups?
Clustering Job Duties for Linkages
• The important key to clustering is that the
clusters must make logical sense to those who
will be linking the Job Duty clusters to KSAPCs
and those who are later reviewing them
• If you have some “left over” duties that do NOT
sensibly fit in with other duties, then each of those
additional duties should be included as a separate
cluster.
• Do NOT attempt to create a cluster that contains
duties that are NOT logically associated to one
another.
Job Duty Clustering Advantage
• Imagine 60 job duties, 96 KSAPCs, and 42 physical abilities
are identified during a job analysis process
• If a job-duty clustering approach was not used, the Job
Experts would be required to link 96 KSAPCs and 42
physical abilities to 60 job duties for a total of 8,280 linkage
decisions
• If the job duties for the position were combined into six
logical groupings of work behaviors (clusters), the Job
Experts would be required to make only 828 job duty
cluster-to-KSAPC and job duty cluster-to-physical ability
linkage decisions.
• Thus, the number of linkage decisions will be dramatically
reduced with minimal reduction on the effectiveness of the
linkage process
Clustering Job Duties for Linkages
• CAUTION: Employers may be required to later
perform discrete linkages of KSAPCs to specific
important/critical Job Duties in the event of an
audit or legal challenge, so it is extremely
important any clustering is performed
appropriately
• Do not take short cuts when clustering!
What about Competencies?
• The federal Uniform Guidelines only recognize work
behaviors (duties/tasks), knowledge, skills, and abilities
when employers use a content validation strategy
– “Acceptable” competencies are made up of KSAPCs in an
applied context
• Using competency statements that do not address the
Uniform Guidelines requirements for Duties and
KSAPCs could can greatly reduce an employer’s ability
to defend themselves in the event of litigation
• Solution: Write competency statements so they
address the Uniform Guidelines for duties and KSAPCs
Hints for Developing Duties and KSAPCs
• It is generally a good idea to develop your job
duty and KSAPC lists in a software program,
such as Microsoft Excel, so you can more
easily edit and/or move the parts of the list as
needed
• Obtaining input from a variety of Job Experts
can enhance the possibility of your obtaining a
comprehensive list of job duties and KSAPCs
Where to Get Job Information
• Research previously-developed job analyses,
job descriptions, other supporting documents
• Search the Internet for information about the
target job or similar jobs
– While O*NET might be helpful, there is a lot of other job
information posted on the web (www.onetonline.org)
• Observe and/or interview current job holders
• Interview supervisors and/or trainers
When do you have enough Job Duty
and/or KSAPCs identified?
 Your job analysis should provide sufficient information for
another person (e.g., a judge or jury) to understand the
important activities employees actually perform on the job
(the job’s duties) and what is required of them to perform
those job duties (the KSAPCs and Physical Abilities)
Try to include as many important duties and KSAPCs as
possible
 Make especially certain that you have included KSAPCs that
might be measured during a selection process, as well as the
job duties for which those KSAPCs are needed
 Make a goal that all listed KSAPCs are associated with one or
more important/critical job duty
Summary
• The Uniform Guidelines offer clear guidance
about creating potentially acceptable job duty
and KSAPC statements
• Following the simple steps listed in this
presentation can help minimize potential
exposure to liability
• All KSAPCs should be able to be linked to one
or more important/critical job duties
Thank You Very Much
www.biddle.com