Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

The common standardized job analysis technique is the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ), which is a 194-item survey that measures a number of different employee work-related behaviors necessary to perform a variety of tasks in different jobs. Of these survey items, 187 relate to worker behaviors that employees must display to successfully perform the required tasks of a job (e.g., estimating sales or analyzing information). The underlying logic of this approach is that while the specific tasks performed across jobs may differ, there are certain work behaviors common in the performance of most jobs. Because the PAQ is widely used for job analysis across many companies, results that are submitted to the PAQ headquarters may be used to identify comparisons between similar jobs in different companies. In addition, the PAQ is believed to be more suited for blue-collar jobs than for professional, managerial, and some technical jobs. Due to these limitations, the PAQ approach is not the most appropriate for analyzing every situation. The PAQ method does, however, provide an excellent method for classifying different jobs into a coherent structure that is useful for other HR activities, such as administering pay and benefits programs. And, because the work behaviors may be linked to necessary job specifications, the PAQ may prove useful for staffing and training purposes as well.