The Best Way to Hold Employees Accountable for High Standards - Writing Job Descriptions

Write Job Descriptions , Don't ...

...Don't copy them from some web site.

We get asked all the time if our Employee Manuals include Job Descriptions.  It's a valid question, but it's simply not feasible for us to provide a job description for every conceivable job that's out there ... there are too many jobs and too many variables (environment, customer, etc) to satisfy OUR customers.

But, don't leave in search of a web site that IS marketing such a thing....

We'll link to a web site below that will give you some canned verbiage to copy... but don't go copying just yet... you need to do this right...it's very important.  So take a look at a few tips below before you leave - OK?

You need to have three types of employees in mind when you write a job description...

1. A Job Applicant / New Hire - They need to know EXACTLY what they are signing up for.

2. A Star Employee - What will your perfect, hard-working, employee do for you in this position.

3. The Bad Egg - Don't leave loopholes in your descriptions.  Imagine you're are in a room with a total slacker employee and he/she is trying to use the job description to get out of disciplinary action or termination, with an "I didn't know I had to do that" excuse; or an "I didn't know I had to lift THAT much everyday in this job!"

 

General Tips for Writing Job Descriptions

• A Quick Start....For each position, on paper, simply explain the position as if you are responding to a potential applicant.

• Get help from an expert.  Ask a few employees currently doing the job to produce a bullet pointed description of their job duties.

• Keep Job Descriptions brief and simple!  Do not go into exhaustive detail; a place for everything and everything in its place:

  • Leave the "How to" for your training material.

  • Put performance requirements in your Performance Standards document.

• Beyond a good, brief description of job duties, include:

  • Hiring pre-requisites such as certifications, experience required, etc.

  • Pay Ranges (Some companies put pay info in a separate "benefits" document)

  • Shift and Timekeeping Information

  • Department

  • Hiring Supervisor Name

  • Physical Requirements such as the ability to lift X lbs, bend, twist etc.

• Lastly, A great resource for Job Descriptions is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles DOT.  Click Here to Get Started:  http://online.onetcenter.org/

 

Written by Darin Hanks - HRIT Inc.

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Links to all articles on this topic....

What do you need to begin managing and evaluating performance? Follow the links below for a how-to article for each point......
	Job Descriptions: A concise summary of primary job duties for each position.
	Meaningful, achievable, clearly stated, and measurable Job Performance Standards.
	Formal Job Training, and a commitment to a "drip system" of continuing education.
	A commitment to coaching; monthly Informal Performance Evaluations.
	Firm, fair, and consistent Progressive Discipline practices.
	A managed, company-wide standard Formal Performance Evaluation system.

 

 

Other Topics ...   Writing Company Policy for an Employee Handbook   Employee Discipline & Correction Action

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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