Good Job Descriptions Can Benefit Everyone
© Workplace Today
Why we need them
A job description helps an individual within an organization understand the basic requirements of their job, their reporting structure, and how they fit into the overall organizational structure. Each employee should have a job or work description so they can understand their duties and responsibilities and how their work contributes to the success of the organization or company. The organization benefits from job descriptions by helping managers in assigning work and managing workloads and later in assessing and evaluating the performance of each staff member.
Job descriptions can also assist in recruiting by clearly stating what you are looking for in a new hire and ensuring that candidates have the basic skills and qualifications to meet the needs of the vacancy. A job description is also a good tool for orienting new employees to let them know their areas of responsibility and how they relate and interact with other positions in the organization. In addition a job description makes it easier to supervise and evaluate an employee and to determine their level of compensation.
How to do them
There are three basic steps to developing a job description. They are conducting a job analysis, identifying the major functions of the job, and covering the main areas of responsibility of the job. A job analysis doesn't have to be complex but it should be a process that helps the employer identify and describe the key functions of the position and the competencies or skills required to carry them out. In identifying the essential functions of a job it is important to start ranking the different elements of the job by importance or value to the organization. One way to do this is to consider how often a particular function is performed and the consequences of not having this task performed properly.
It is also important to remember that job descriptions describe the work and not the individual. They are simply a written description of an employee's major duties and responsibilities and the results that you expect them to attain. Every job description should include a job title, who the individual reports to, a summary of the purpose of the job and the key responsibilities of the position. It should also specify the scope or scale of the position and whether there any responsibilities for guiding or supervising others.
Do's and Don'ts
It is best to use clear and concise language when writing job descriptions. Resist the urge to be creative and don't use flowery or elaborate language. It is better for all concerned if both the employee and the supervisor are clear right from the beginning of what is expected from the employee at work. It is also important to be accurate and precise about what your expectations are for the position.
Talk about the job functions in the job description, not about the person who will occupy it. You should also write about those functions as they exist today and not it how they might change or evolve in the future. That will only confuse everybody. Wherever possible avoid using abbreviations or acronyms. An employee can pick up the "inside" lingo later, for now they need to know their duties and responsibilities without having to have a translator. Unless it is required by law or a professional licensing body you should avoid specifying education or certifications in the job description. They may need certain skills to get the job but they probably don't have to prove that every day at work.
In describing the actual work required in the job description there should be one statement for each major duty or area of responsibility. These statements should be listed in descending order of importance and include action verbs like what, how and why. What is the duty being performed, how it will be done, and why is to clarify the reason that is being performed. Any job function that is being performed less than five percent of the time does not need to be listed here. Those duties can be captured under a general statement or by using the infamous "other related duties".
Sometimes supervisors or managers rebel at the idea of drafting or re-drafting job descriptions. They may see them as a waste of their valuable time. But job descriptions can be an important tool in any manager's tool kit and if they are prepared and used properly they can be of great benefit to the individual, the manager, and the whole organization.
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