Developing Effective Job Description
- By Loren Yadeski
- Published 05/9/2010
- Jobs
- Unrated
Loren Yadeski
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Hiring the best people for a particular job starts with a well-written job description. It is a crucial component in the hiring process. You wouldn’t want your employees to believe that the job you are offering is worth applying for and then when they are hired, they will find out that the job they have is totally different from what you led them to believe. A job description should be able to present to the prospective employees a clear picture of the work they will be doing. It should contain information about what skills and knowledge are required, and the working conditions, equipment and tools they will be handling. If they don’t get this picture, they will become disappointed and dissatisfied. Such employees can be difficult to motivate and keep in the long run, even if they turn out to be the best people for the job. For this reason, it is important that you are able to develop a particular job description so that it clearly reflects the dynamic nature of the job. It is very common for managers to fail in understanding that the roles of their employees have a tendency to change and evolve in accordance with their talents and skills they posses.
One weakness of traditional job descriptions is that they become static documents as soon as they are put into writing. In contrast, today’s working environment is quite dynamic, fast-paced and usually driven by what the customers are demanding, which means a constantly changing job. With this in mind, it is important to complement your job description with opportunities for development and dynamic goal-setting, preferable on a regular monthly basis. This requires that you meet with your employees so you can establish the next objectives with specific and measurable results.
An effective job description allows for flexibility. This means employees, in spite of what is written as limits and boundaries of their duties as stated in the job description are still able to “work and think outside of the box.” Employees should be made to feel comfortable about helping others accomplish their tasks and make decisions on their own in order to help their clients. Your employees must not fall into thinking that because a particular task is not within the scope of work stated in their job description, they can evade responsibility by saying “That’s not my job.” You don’t want employees who shrink from expanding their work responsibilities. You want employees who are open to cross-training so they can widen their knowledge and capabilities. The most effective job descriptions are not simply written to please readers but are documents that evolve with time and necessities, as the job itself also evolves and develops demands for new skill sets from employees.
A job description should be able to help employees determine how they are to spend their time at work. It is an actual tool that can help you the business owner to objectively measure and evaluate the productivity of your employees, especially if you want to use it as a determining factor in giving bonus and salary increases.
One weakness of traditional job descriptions is that they become static documents as soon as they are put into writing. In contrast, today’s working environment is quite dynamic, fast-paced and usually driven by what the customers are demanding, which means a constantly changing job. With this in mind, it is important to complement your job description with opportunities for development and dynamic goal-setting, preferable on a regular monthly basis. This requires that you meet with your employees so you can establish the next objectives with specific and measurable results.
An effective job description allows for flexibility. This means employees, in spite of what is written as limits and boundaries of their duties as stated in the job description are still able to “work and think outside of the box.” Employees should be made to feel comfortable about helping others accomplish their tasks and make decisions on their own in order to help their clients. Your employees must not fall into thinking that because a particular task is not within the scope of work stated in their job description, they can evade responsibility by saying “That’s not my job.” You don’t want employees who shrink from expanding their work responsibilities. You want employees who are open to cross-training so they can widen their knowledge and capabilities. The most effective job descriptions are not simply written to please readers but are documents that evolve with time and necessities, as the job itself also evolves and develops demands for new skill sets from employees.
A job description should be able to help employees determine how they are to spend their time at work. It is an actual tool that can help you the business owner to objectively measure and evaluate the productivity of your employees, especially if you want to use it as a determining factor in giving bonus and salary increases.
