Effective job descriptions help organisations communicate roles and responsibilities and accountability accurately, so that they hire the right people and manage the performance and development of employees in their jobs successfully.
Additionally, job descriptions help support and justify decision-making and compliance requirements under laws and guidelines from legislative and regulatory bodies.
Yet, despite the importance of job descriptions, many organisations currently do not link them to most of their talent management processes. Here is how job descriptions can (and should) be used to support talent management programmes beyond recruiting.
Performance evaluation and development
While job descriptions help to identify the qualifications, skills, experience, and certifications/licences needed by someone in the job, they also help in other important ways. They clarify the expectations for someone working in a job, and together with competencies, help describe what it takes to be successful in a job.
In this way, job descriptions define the criteria that an employee will be evaluated against. They help provide a benchmark that managers can use to evaluate performance and determine appropriate learning activities (training, mentoring, etc.) to help employees close any skill gaps and ultimately drive higher performance.
Having solid job descriptions can support stronger learning and development programmes as well. Learning and development teams can define and develop a learning offering that meets the needs of the organisation, as well as learning paths progression in a specific role.
Fairer, more accurate compensation decisions
Since a job description serves as a foundation for job evaluation, it can be used to communicate the relative worth of jobs based on qualification requirements, skills, knowledge and any other requirements.
Job descriptions make it easier for compensation teams to compare and grade jobs fairly and consistently, and define appropriate salary scales, making compensation more transparent and equitable.
Without job analysis and a well-crafted job description, organisations can compromise their total compensation strategy, resulting in the inability to maintain a competitive edge in the labour market by being able to attract, recruit and retain top talent.
Underpinning career progression and succession planning
Job descriptions that are transparent and visible across the organisation help employees understand what it takes to be successful in a job and that understanding is not limited to the job they are in right now.
Employees who express a desire to switch roles within the company can take a look at the detailed job description of the job they aspire to, and, with HR or line management support, get a realistic view of the skills and development needed to be successful in the new role.
What are the key elements that a job description should include How can you use a job description up-to-date, and how does it reinforce your company’s core values Continue reading on page two…
Developing detailed job descriptions will assist managers and their employees in these kinds of career development discussions, which are a key part of maintaining employee engagement and motivation.
Additionally businesses are looking to fill a specific position, having well-defined, job-specific criteria in place will help you identify the strongest candidate from within the organisation. Just as job descriptions help to identify what a person needs to be successful in a key role, they can also help define the proficiency requirements for a talent pool.
When selecting and then developing participants for a given talent pool, the job description can be used to create a specific learning path for these employees. In this way, job descriptions are a foundational tool for building organisational bench strength and ensuring you have the talent ready to jump into a critical role at any time.
Reinforcing core values and keeping job descriptions up-to-date
Many organisations choose to include core competencies or values in their job descriptions. This helps to articulate the culture and define what it means to be a fit within the organisation. These are common elements that may be transferred to a job posting because they help attract the right candidates to the organisation.
For example, if delivering excellent customer service is key, the organisation should define the specific behaviours needed to achieve excellent customer service that every employee will be required to exhibit.
These behaviours, such as high levels of responsiveness, are crucial to the success of the business. They should be reflected clearly in the job description from the recruitment stage and should be part of ongoing performance review discussions.
In some sectors, such as healthcare or finance, it may be a legal requirement that certain qualifications and competencies are listed in the job description and that the organisation checks these qualifications and competencies are in place.
In many regulatory sectors, rules and regulations are changing all the time so job descriptions and training and development will need to change to reflect that.
A job description should include the following key elements:
- The qualifications, skills, certification and licences required
- The purpose and mission of the organisation
- A statement about the companys culture and core values
- A description of the company structure and a definition of the employees relationship with the organisation
- A description of what the organisation expects of the person in the role, including soft skills and core competencies
- An explanation of the role of the job description as a reference tool in performance management and grievance procedures
- Development opportunities to grow the role
Job descriptions can and should be a valuable resource that managers and employees refer to regularly and doing so can make a particular impact on mid-sized businesses. In todays fast moving economy, job roles are not static therefore the job description needs to be a living document.
Managers and employees should play a part in the evolution of the job description so that it continues to reflect the needs of the organisation while creating a development path for the individual to continue to contribute to the success of the organisation.
Dominique Jones is vice president of human resources at Halogen Software.
