Job Descriptions - "A quality job description is the secret to effective recruitment"

If you are starting from scratch, here are a few tips on creating, introducing and agreeing job descriptions:

Job descriptions are essential. Job descriptions are required for recruitment so that you and the applicants can understand the role. If you choose to outsource the role to a third party you will get the best result from the provision of a detailed job description saving considerable time and expense along the way.

Job descriptions are necessary for all people in work. A job description defines a person's role and accountability. Without a job description it is not possible for a person to properly commit to, or be held accountable for, a role. In these litigious times it also provides the flesh that supports the skeleton which is the contract of employment.

If you are a company owner it is probably the single most important thing you have to get right within HR to maximize your business effectiveness and minimize potential future disruption as it acts as a reference tool for all parties. If you loath preparing such documents outsource it but recognize it will cost you money and in reality you know your business better than any third party. We provide this option here.

As an employee you may have been given the opportunity to take responsibility for your job description. This is good. It allows you to clarify expectations with your employer and your boss. The process of writing job descriptions is actually quite easy and straight-forward. Here are some hints.

Many people tend to start off with a shopping list of 20-30 tasks, which is okay as a start, but this needs refining to far fewer points, around 8-12 is a good target.

Smaller organisations commonly require staff and managers to cover a wider or more mixed range of responsibilities than in larger organisations (for example, the 'office manager' role can comprise accounts, personnel, stock-control, order processing and other duties). Therefore in smaller organisations, job descriptions might contain a greater number of listed responsibilities, perhaps 15-16. However, whatever the circumstances, the number of responsibilities should not exceed this, or the job description becomes unmanageable and ineffective.

Any job description containing 20-30 tasks is actually more like part of an operational manual, which serves a different purpose. There is nothing wrong in job descriptions referring to 'operational manuals', or to 'agreed processes', rather than include the detail of the tasks in the job description but do avoid creating War & Peace. If you include task details in a job description you will need to change it when the task details change. What would you rather change, 100 job descriptions or one operational manual?

A useful process for refining and writing job description responsibilities into fewer points ('responsibilities' rather than 'individual tasks'), is to group the many individual tasks into main responsibility areas, such as the list below (not all will be applicable to any single role). Bold type indicates that these responsibility areas would normally feature in most job descriptions:

• Communicating/reporting (in relation to whom, what, how - and this is applicable to all below)
• planning and organizing (of what..)
• managing information or general administration support (of what..)
• monitoring and reporting (of what..)
• evaluating and decision-making (of what..)
• financial budgeting and control (of what..)
• producing things (what..)
• maintaining/repairing things (what..)
• quality control (for production roles normally a separate responsibility; otherwise this is generally incorporated within other relevant responsibilities) (of what..)
• Health & Safety (normally the same point for all job descriptions of a given staff grade)
• using equipment and systems (what..)
• creating and developing things (what..)
• self-development (normally the same point for all job descriptions of a given staff grade) plus any responsibilities for other staff if applicable, typically:
• recruiting (of direct-reporting staff)
• assessing (direct-reporting staff)
• training (direct-reporting staff)
• managing (direct-reporting staff) Senior roles will include more executive aspects:
• developing policy
• duty of care and corporate responsibility
• formulation of direction and strategy

You will find that you can cluster most of the tasks on your list into a list of far fewer broad responsibilities according to the above examples of typical job description activity areas.

Obviously the level of authority affects the extent of responsibility in the job description for determining strategy, decision-making, managing other people, and for executive roles, deciding direction, policy, and delivering corporate performance.

Wherever possible refer the detail of standards and processes to your 'operational manual' or 'agreed processes' or 'agreed standards' rather than allowing the job description to become a sort of operating manual. If your boss or employer is asking you to detail your tasks at length in a job description, encourage him/her/the organisation to put this level of detail into an operational manual - it will save a lot of time. Writing or re-writing a job description is a good opportunity to frame the role as you'd like it as well as reflect on how it is at the moment. Try to think outside of the box, if this is difficult seek the input of somebody who is less close to things. (The inspiration for this site came from a third party when bouncing ideas around).