BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

October 2005 Upgrade 37

GOOD SMALL BUSINESS ACTIONLIST

Changing Job Descriptions
Getting Started
Job descriptions serve so many important functions in an enterprise, its a wonder they dont have a more glamorous title! Often outdated, overlooked, and under-considered, the failure to deal seriously with these humble documents can trigger considerable organizational erosion. Managed properly, job descriptions can give employees important structure and yet, simultaneously, the latitude to grow towards greater responsibility and reward. Collectively, job descriptions can reflect the heritage, current challenges, and dreams of an organization.

FAQs
What are some of the benefits of a job description? Employees need to know what they are supposed to be doing on the job. Likewise, they need to know who they report to, what the expectations are, and what the limitations consist of. If people dont have this sort of guidance, it is easy for them to run amok. With good job descriptions, employee turnover can be reduced, as productivity and individual initiative rise. Should I change a job description only when seeking a replacement for that position? That may seem convenient, but its really not the best time. For one thing, you may feel too rushed to hire a replacement, and thus not give the job description the consideration it needs in order to be useful to the individual and the department. It is better to initiate a regularly scheduled review of all job descriptionsespecially since, doing it that way, you have the current job holder as a resource, a person who can provide input on how the job description could be changed to fit current responsibilities and future potential better. What should I do when I get thats not my job thrown at me? How do I decide whether its the person or the job description that is wrong for the job? Its common, especially among well established companies, that jobs and even departments come to resemble little fiefdoms, with longer-term employees acting more like royalty than peers. If youre hearing complaints from only a single source, you might well examine the individual job descriptionbut you would be wise also to see if the job requirements might not have begun to outpace the aspirations of the employee. In either case, meeting with the employee and his or her manager in a neutral setting is a good place to begin to unravel the question. However, if youre hearing more frequent complaints, its a sign to roll up your sleeves and prise open the whole job description box.

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BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

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Making it Happen
Review the Job Description and Get Everybody on the Same Page Job descriptions are not static documents, nor do they stand alone. Thus, even if you are only revising one job description, it would be advisable to do the following things before changing anything on it: Review any changes in the organizations visions, goals, and objectives. Likewise, see if the particular department in which the job resides has changed directionor is about to. Talk with the current job holder. Ask him or her how closely the job fits the present description. Verify that with others who work directly with, or supervise, that person. Also find out what things have been added to the job but not the description, or that should be added. If the level of responsibility and/or the skills have changed, the compensation for that job may also need changing. It is important to review the jobs connection to other jobs and to the organization as a whole. Be sure that those links are mentioned in all related job descriptions, and that they are made clear when hiring and conducting employee orientation. Failure to do this inadvertently leads to duplication of effort. Redraft the Job Description Usually, the HR department would have lead responsibility for writing job descriptions. In recent years, however, others have been joining the team, simply because the overlapping nature of jobs with other departments, and the direct expertise of other managers in how those jobs function and coincide with other jobs in the same department. After having gathered any new information, apply it to the job description and verify that: the job title is accurate; all responsibilities, duties, and tasks associated with the job are listed in order of priority, starting with the most important; challenges and objectives are spelled out in as much detail as possible. These will be important when the job holders performance is reviewed for a bonus, pay raise, or promotion; the chain of command is clearlist the person or people (titles only) to whom the job holder reports. Put in an organization chart if that would clarify things; any changes in this job description which impact other jobs are noted and can be dealt with in the real world; the expectations of management for the job holder are clear and concise; you allow some flexibility in order that the position has room to grow. Ask Others in the Organization to Review It Be sure to make the language in the job description easy to understand. Any ambiguity will later come back in the form of a complaint from the job holder (Thats not what it says in my job description!), or from the manager (Hes just not able to live up to my expectations!). Describing job tasks should be in short, precise sentences, using active verbs like: to implement or to design and develop.

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BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

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Likewise, the verbs should have a direct object. For example: To implement a quality assurance manual for employees, or To design die-cutting heads for use in our manufacturing process. Let those who helped reconfigure the job description see the final draft before it becomes official. Doing so gives them a chance to make fine adjustments and, more importantly, makes them feel their input matters.

Update and Review Periodically Changes in the nature of the organizationsize, staffing, products or services offeredcompel you to commit to annual review of all job descriptions. Naturally, when positions are vacated, thats another good time to overhaul the job descriptionand doing it that way will lessen the burden of doing all of them at once. Its also a good idea to provide new employeesand new job descriptionswith a quality review after three or four months. That way, whatever minor adjustments that need to be made can be done before errant patterns become bad habits. Using the Job Description for Recruitment Online Increasingly, job descriptions are used as the basis for recruiting applicants via the Internet. Passive job seekers may become so intrigued by an exceptional posting that theyll consider applying, even when they had not really intended to. Active seekersmany of whom will have to relocate great distancesmay need additional encouragement to apply, and thus the job description may also need to describe the community and surroundings, and the attributes of both (such as climate, recreation, schools, low crime rate, demographics, and so on). If you do decide to begin using the Internet to attract and recruit new employees, research how best to list your job vacancy, and where. Listed below are links to companies with more information and services. Here are some pointers about using your job description as a recruitment tool: Include an executive summary at the outset. You must hook the reader quickly or theyll move on. Include the salary range, benefits package, and secondary benefits (flex time, continuing education, etc.) Avoid jargon that wont be understood outside your organization List job tasks as challenges in order to pique interest, even in passive readers. Add the qualifications and skills needed to accomplish the jobbe specific. Talk about the company, its history, vision, role in the community, and philosophy about employees. Compare the organization with competitors, why it excels and attracts the best people. Include information about its size, staffing, perhaps even brief summaries of budget and non-proprietary sales information. That gives readers a better sense of whether the company would be a good fit. Encourage readers to check out your Web site, but make sure your site is up to date, that it reflects the image and style youve outlined in the job description, and wont in any way contradict what the advertisement says.

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BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

October 2005 Upgrade 37

Common Mistakes
Attracting Too Few Applicants for Advertised Jobs Perhaps you have written the job description too narrowly, due to the specialized nature of the job. There are a couple of ways to approach finding a solution. First, you might need to widen your recruitment net farther to attract those with the right balance of knowledge, skills, and experience. That could mean more expensea longer recruitment period, for example, hiring a head hunter, and placing more ads in a larger variety of media, including specialty trade publications and on the Internet. That avenue might also mean offering a better compensation package to attract such talent from afar. The other solution may be to train from within. The job description, in that case, could be written to attract someone with the right characteristics and attributes, rather than the precise experience you desire. On the upside, that might allow you to hire someone locally, perhaps with less experiencebut who would command a lower salary. On the downside, the extensive training time needed for the new person to achieve competency may be just as expensive. Seeing Job Descriptions as Isolated Documents Jobs are the foundation for organizations; people are the cohesive element holding the foundation together. If job descriptions dont reflect the dynamic relationship between individuals within and between departments, there may be a tendency to allow silos to exist, where individuals and departments become isolated from one another, with little regard for how things should work together to accomplish organizational goals. Left neglected, dormant job descriptions cause employees to lose their fire, managers to lose sight of one another and their objectives, andeventuallyexecutives to lose market share.

For More Information

Books: Cushway, Barry. The Handbook of Model Job Descriptions. London: Kogan Page, 2003. Fowler, Alan. Writing Job Descriptions. Woodstock, NY: Beekman Publishing, 2000. Plachy, Roger J., and Sandra Plachy. More Results-Oriented Job Descriptions: 226 Models to Use and Adapt. New York: AMACOM, 1997. Web Sites: ExecSearches.com: www.execsearches.com HRnext (Human Resources): www.hrnext.com NationJob Network: www.nationjob.com Small Business Administration, Online Womens Business Center: www.onlinewbc.gov

A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2005