Job Descriptions – Are They Useful?

 

As an organization grows, the tools needed to manage moving forward need to be clear.  A job description or profile is a tool that provides a guide line of the Objectives and Goals of the position and also includes accountability and the consequences good or bad when position objectives are not positive.

Job Descriptions will improve an organization’s ability to manage their people and their roles in the following ways:

  • Clarifies the expectations of the employer for the employee.
  • Provides a clear depiction of the position of job candidates.
  • Provides a basis for measuring job performance.
  • Provides a structure and discipline for the company to recognize and structure all jobs, and guarantee that all necessary duties, activities, and responsibilities are covered.
  • Allows pay and grading systems to be structured justly and logically.
  • Provides continuity of role parameters regardless of a manager’s interpretation.
  • Prevents arbitrary interpretation of a position’s content and limit by an employee, employer, and manager.
  • An essential reference tool for discipline-related issues.
  • Essential reference tool when there are issues of employee/employer dispute.
  • Provides essential reference points for training and development.
  • Provides neutral and objective (as opposed to arbitrary or subjective) reference points for performance reviews, appraisals, and counseling.
  • Enables an organization to configure and manage roles in a uniform manner, increasing efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment, training and professional development, organizational structure, work flow, and activities.
  • Enables creation of skill set and behavior set requirements per role.
  • Enables factual view (instead of instinctual) to be taken by managers and employees in career development and succession planning.

Reviewing your job descriptions on a regular basis is essential in keeping up to date with what is happening in the role and what impact it’s having on the company’s overall goals and objectives. Communications is KEY to ensuring everyone is in sync towards the company’s overall strategy. So make it a plan to review this tool often with your employees to clarify what is truly important in their role and how it affects the company’s bottom line.

 

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