Optimizing Manpower: Exploring Critical Task Analysis Approach

Abstract

This chapter explains how organizations optimize their workforce by identifying which occupations are vital to key business activities using critical task analysis. Critical task analysis can reveal how many personnel are in short supply or surplus, as well as what skill sets are required to support departmental and organizational performance. Our examples are based on experience with consultation works for utility companies. An agile and flexible organization must pursue proactive measures to revisit and re-strategize its workforce planning according to the new workforce landscape. Key changes that have taken place within the water operator company for the past few years provide further justification that requires a timely transformation of its workforce strategies. In conclusion, this chapter provides managers and organizations with recommendations for managing critical tasks and optimizing manpower in alignment with organizational targets.

1. Introduction

Employees are empowered by workforce optimization. This information can be used by Human Resources (HR) and management to determine if a specific team or individual is performing well. This can provide valuable information about peak team performance and results, as well as help forecast them. Increasing reliance on workforce and intellectual capital to provide organizations with competitive advantages in expanding markets implies that determining how to allocate human resources (workforce) is imperative [1]. In knowledge-based service organizations such as in the utility sector, the resources handling the project determine the project’s productivity and quality. There are multiple employees and groups with diverse skills. A project team is formed by mixing resources available to meet the demands of that project. Choosing the right combination of employees based on their varied skills and roles is essential to any project’s success.

Often, the success of a project is measured by parameters such as time, scope, and cost; as far as costs are concerned, all resources should be managed effectively [2]. Numerous human resource positions contribute to the optimization of services, including nurses, call centers, railway crews, airline crews, and postal workers.

In this chapter, we demonstrate how an organization, especially one that operates in the water industry, can optimize its workforce using critical task analysis. The analysis can be used to guide an organization in doing rightsizing. A manpower optimization practice is explained based on workload, scheduling, and automation effects that are mostly applicable to project-based management. Six concepts relevant to workforce optimization for organizations to adopt have been discussed in the following section, including Critical Task Analysis Approach, Input-Process-Output Model, Systematic Approach to Task Analysis, Systematic Approach to Task Analysis, DIF (Difficulty-Importance-Frequency) Model, and Performance Assessment.

2. Workforce optimization

Optimization is crucial in banking as hundreds of average employees find themselves under a lot of pressure in the operational and call centers, and they rely on the previous experience of operation leaders and team members to assist [3]. Most often, they reschedule and change their plans as soon as the workload density is detected. Delayed planning creates an unoptimized working environment that should be avoided. Staff scheduling issues may lead to this if the workload is not static. Optimizing shifts to match workload as precisely as possible is the most important optimization goal. Typically, shifts are created based on either the number of employees working at certain timeslots or the number of tasks each shift is expected to cover [4]. A water supply company, for instance, have problems in maintenance scheduling and asset inspection, which HR must address to optimize its operations. Managing this issue requires strategic planning since its operation is considered a high-risk activity and requires proper manpower optimization [5]. Optimal solutions are those that minimize costs, satisfy employee preferences, distribute shifts equally, and satisfy all workplace requirements. Organizations require decision support tools to ensure the right employees are provided at the right time and at the right cost while achieving a high level of employee satisfaction [6].

As automation increases, firms are less likely to organize their activities around routine tasks, as well as more likely to organize their activities around highly abstract activities. When technology changed, companies had to adapt by upgrading their technology and restructuring their activities to become more focused on other tasks, contingent upon the benefits each combination of technology and human resources could bring [7]. The automatic meter reading system, for instance, reduces manpower requirements and work delays, maintains accuracy, and increases efficiency [8], where employees can read their meters at their desk using friendly software applications without requiring high levels of knowledge [9].

Automation of routine work processes has brought scholars in this field to study the phenomenon. In addition to regular cognitive tasks, abstract tasks require analytical skills and/or interpersonal skills, such as problem solving, coaching, directing, and creative thinking. Engineering jobs are abstract tasks, like how they are conducted. The content of routine tasks can be followed by a set of instructions that are particularly intensive in jobs like office clerk, salesperson, machine operator, and assembly line worker. Although manual tasks are conceptually simple, they cannot be routinized due to their high variability, which makes them impossible to code. Machines and technology enable work procedures that do not require difficult decisions, and machines can already digitalize and automate all activities. Manpower, on the other hand, can be changed or upskilled to conduct more meaningful work that requires social skills or human touch.

3. Critical task analysis approach

According to Kirwan et al. [10], task analysis is fundamental for evaluation of human-machine interfaces, changes in productivity requirements, various technology or systems used in tasks, task performance in different environments, as well as safety management (i.e., human errors; near misses). It implies a study of what sort of manpower is required to accomplish a system goal. Using task analysis, for example, one can determine staffing requirements for certain processes, where automation is needed, and what critical areas of staff qualification are lacking to improve efficiency. Making work easier involves reducing repetitive tasks, designing better tools, and developing work aids. In teams, efficiency is demonstrated by allocating tasks to individuals to minimize redundancy and to avoid having too many skill sets (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics—KSAOs) at the same time [11].

4. Input-Process-Output (IPO) model

Davis’ IPO model has been widely studied to prove its correlation to project success mostly on information systems [12, 13] and team effectiveness [14, 15, 16]. Organization systems and their subsystems can be understood through the use of an IPO model. An organization takes inputs from the environment, such as raw materials, human resources, and technology. The output is then provided to the environment after the input has been transformed using people and machines. Using the reaction of the environment to the output, the organization can evaluate and correct its performance. Using this method, we can classify each department according to the organizational core business process stages. For instance, the water supply industry can be effectively mapped from the process of water treatment up to delivery of treated water to consumers and billing. Organizational diagnosis allows us to identify the human resource components of organizations. The next step is to evaluate whether these components are aligned with organizational needs (or desired performance), strategy, and objectives. Differentiating workforce segments can be determined by the complexity and impact of departmental roles such as critical vs. supporting functions. In this sense, task analysis and levelling are important [17].

5. Systematic approach on task analysis

To summarize the department’s objective, major tasks, structure, parameters, performance indicators, and set skills that are required for the department, we develop a portfolio for each department. The process begins with identifying the major task that will be analyzed (Table 1). The tasks must be defined and described in detail, including expected procedure, desired success level, etc. From task-based analysis, employee competencies and KSAOs can be determined. A task is rated based on how much time is spent on it and how difficult it is to complete it compared to others [18]. A good understanding of cognitive aspects of a job is also helpful with understanding cognitive overload, cognitive fatigue, and how they affect task performance. A task analysis and a job analysis are two scientific methods used to systematically deconstruct a job into its component parts (observable and unobservable tasks) and analyze their relative importance [19].

Department:
Major tasks*	Weightage (100%)	Impact level/areas of influences	Desired performance/relevant standard	Required knowledge, skills, abilities
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3

Table 1.

Task analysis.

*

Based on prioritizing technique

According to Baker [20], job descriptions (JDs) provide the most information about a job, but its role has diminished since it focuses on job details and ignores performance-based aspects. Yet, HR practices continue to use and rely on JDs.

6. Difficulty-Importance-Frequency (DIF) model

In the context of risk management training within critical operators, the DIF approach, which emphasizes difficulty, importance, and frequency, is extensively used to analyze human factor issues, especially within railway [21], train drivers [22], librarians [23], cyber defenders [19], and nuclear power plant crews [24]. Based on the analysis outcomes, human resource needs (e.g., desired levels of training, KSAO levels) can be determined, and the implications for the future performance of the task can be derived [23].

As a result of applying this approach, we propose a manpower critical analysis model that ranks all tasks in the operation and maintenance area in the water industry from very critical to not critical. The importance of and difficulty of a task such as “supervising a dam that supplies raw water to water treatment plants” makes it highly critical. Such tasks have extremely high standards that must be met and require manpower with specific competencies to accomplish. The tasks that fall under critical level were earmarked for future improvement and manpower development. Once major tasks for each department are identified and assessed, skill sets can be further improved.

7. Performance assessment: parameters and performance indicators

The key to achieving organizational success and sustainability is to recognize the core business and main operations of the organization. Performance assessment must be linked into these critical success factors (CSFs), and the factors must be identified and prioritized [25]. CSF can be measured by metrics, parameters, or indicators. Table 2 shows general performance assessment for the water industry. Based on four major processes in the water industry, we outlined parameters and indicators for water abstraction, raw water treatment, distribution of treated water, and sale of treated water. It shows how each department in the organization interacts with the main processes, either operating them or supporting them. Operational resource optimizations, particularly manpower arrangements, can be forecasted to determine how many ideal or optimal manpower resources are required for each task [26], for example, using ratio analysis [27] and manpower productivity analysis [28].

CSF	Indicator	Parameter
Water quality compliance Excellent services	Pipe network performance Non-revenue water (NRW) level Customer satisfaction index Safety program certification	No. of pipe replacement No. of water theft cases

Table 2.

Performance assessment.

8. Conclusion

This chapter explains how task analysis needs to be carried out to produce a more accurate picture of how an organization’s system operates. By examining critical scope of work, the system and process involved within its core businesses could be better explained. Manpower analysis models have been used to analyze organizational manpower planning trends, levels, parameters, and workload performance-based approaches [29]. It can be optimized by generating current headcount, estimating future employees needs and to close the gap between desired optimum level and current usage [30].

This chapter emphasizes the need of employing critical task analysis as a fair method to rightsizing. Identifying crucial tasks that are linked to organizational success (i.e., the IPO model) allows organizations to notify important competencies (i.e., KSAO) that are required to execute important tasks and the optimal amount of people to operate certain tasks. Furthermore, redundancy issues and manpower surplus or shortage can be resolved by analyzing systematic approaches to manpower planning. Since task analysis determines organizational performance, a holistic strategy must be developed and implemented to guarantee operational efficiency in relation to the quality and level of performance over a specific time period. The approach that we have proposed based on our consulting experiences can help practitioners maximize the utilization of their potential employees through strategic alignment with business strategy. The notion and application of data and analytics in management (i.e., human resources) are currently receiving increased attention as scholars and professionals seek to understand how data can be translated into actionable insights that lead to enhanced organizational performance. In other words, this practice focuses on investigating and enhancing human resource elements while also using analytical tools and people data to guide organizational strategy and improve performance [31].

Acknowledgments

This consultation work was funded by the sponsor under contact research grant (R.J130000.7653.4C435). The funding source has no role in the design of writing of the manuscript, and publication of the manuscript.