Writing a Job Description that is a Roadmap for Success
Writing a job description can be an intimidating and occasionally time-consuming task for many managers.
This article focuses on the key concepts of what they do, how they should do it, and the measurable business results. When the answers to these three foundations are explained, they outline the central responsibilities of any job that make for an effective job description.
A job title alone is not sufficient. How can you fill a job opening if you don’t know what you want the person to do? A job title and one or two random job duties do not qualify as a job description. More importantly, how can you find a good candidate if you only have a general view of what you want someone to do? Job descriptions either focus too heavily on education and work experience coupled with a complex description of duties or they’re written without effective use of the information applicants want to know.
All managers want their employees to do good work. Why not articulate the requirements in simple terms? The best job description is one that is simple. Job descriptions should act as a roadmap to good performance. When managers have a position to fill, they need to be able to articulate what someone must do in that role. This way managers can use job descriptions as a platform for performance dialogs, goal setting discussions, and measuring results. A general statement of activity and responsibility is a good starting point in a job description.
Here is an example for someone filling the role of a receptionist:
Job Title: Receptionist
General Description: The person in this position is responsible for answering a multi-line switchboard and greeting the public in a professional manner as the face of the company.
Daily Tasks:
1. Answer all incoming telephone calls.
2. Greet customers
3. Coordinate visitor contact with company representatives when they’re on site.
4. Keep notes and records of incoming calls and unscheduled visitors.
How:
a) Answer all incoming telephone calls within 3 rings.
b) Answer all incoming telephone calls with a smile in your voice.
c) Remember common customer voices and connect them to their name and the company representative they most commonly contact.
d) Know each department’s job function in the company to direct customer contact to the correct representative if the customer is unable to articulate his/her specific need.
Logging Measurable Results:
1. Customer feedback
2. % of successful calls
3. % of missed calls
4. Manager/staff/patient/customer feedback
In a real job description, every item listed in the What section would have its own additional details in the How section. Many times, the How section includes additional details for each element of the What so the employees know the quality standard they must achieve for each element of their job. It may seem unnecessary to articulate this level of detail but if this detail represents the quality of work an office manager, for example, would want from his/her receptionist, then don’t leave out any details.
When writing a complete job description, be sure to add the minimum education, certification, experience, job knowledge, skills and abilities that are unique or required for any job.
It is also helpful to consider any supervisory, budgetary and confidential information responsibilities a job may require. When considering the years of experience that may be required in a job, make sure the number of years correlates to the experience you need.
Lastly, you should answer the following question: What does “good” look like in regard to an exemplary employee? If you can imagine what good looks like–write it down. Any clarification that helps recruiters find strong candidates, employees perform their jobs better, managers manage better, and businesses serve their customers better is the critical core of a good job description. The more an employee knows what is expected of him, the greater the chance he will achieve what is expected of him. There is no such thing as too much detail when it comes to a job description.