What do you think of when you see the term ‘job description?’
Some people might think that a job description is simply a document containing a lot of words.
In reality, job descriptions serve many useful purposes. A well-developed and current job description serves as a valuable multipurpose tool. Ultimately, a job description should serve both employers and employees with a blueprint for grasping the bigger picture.
Or, you can think of the job description as the employer’s ‘Swiss Army Knife.’
And when this tool is well-maintained and readily available, it allows employers to set the cornerstone for a variety of human resource functions. For example, the job description will:
- assist in the recruiting process, as the description reflects the basis for identifying ideal candidates;
- aid in determining the education, knowledge, skills, unique abilities and experience required for a position;
- serve as a guide for developing advertising copy for position openings;
- help establish applicant-screening criteria and interviewing questions;
- serve as a communication device;
- help define tasks, expectations and accountability measures, which are all necessary for employee success;
- provide a basis for integration of job tasks with talent- and career-management programs, including performance reviews and goal setting;
- position and ready employers for potential legal compliance issues or personnel actions;
- feed into the new hire on-boarding and employee orientation programs;
- help with assessing or forecasting training needs;
- serve as a strategic-planning platform, which can help employers laser in on job tasks to examine how those tasks fit in with the workflow and to make predictions—for example, determining workflow resource availability and other long-term organizational or forecasting needs.
Finally, one of the most important benefits that many employers will probably appreciate: A well-developed job description can help employers avoid those old familiar “that’s not my job” misunderstandings.
Now, the above describes a sampling of many employer benefits and features that job descriptions provide. Since the employer-employee relationship is a two-way street, I’ll also mention a few employee-related benefits.
Basically, job descriptions can also help streamline and maximize the employer-employee relationship in a variety of ways. Again, we’re talking bigger picture objectives.
This is because job candidates can examine a well-crafted job description to size up an employer and to achieve their own objectives. For example, by reviewing a job description, they can:
- attain a clearer picture of what the job entails;
- determine if the position is what they want to pursue;
- evaluate criteria such as, “Is this organization a good match for me?” etc.;
- evaluate how they can contribute to the team and to the company overall.
- better predict how a job/organization fits into their career goals;
- increase the likelihood of their own level of engagement by reviewing the position responsibilities, goals and expectations;
- size up their likelihood of success;
- visualize growth opportunities;
- understand the hierarchy and how it might affect their paths for advancement; and
- assess the skills, experience and education they will need to acquire to move on to the next level.
Now that I’ve laid the groundwork for why and how job descriptions can benefit both employers and employees, my next HRTools Insight will cover some commonly made mistakes and other real-world experiences.
Before closing, however, it’s very important to remember: When developing job descriptions, employers will want to craft them with accuracy and keep them current and up-to-date. Job descriptions reflect a dynamic process.
In other words, job descriptions are not documents that you create once and put them on a shelf to collect dust!
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