Top 5 Job Description Mistakes

One key to getting them done right is to give someone responsibility—and put it in his or her job description!

BLR’s editors have observed the following five commonly made mistakes in job descriptions:

Mistake #1: Mismanaging the Job Description Program

Often, job description programs suffer from a lack of attention. Answering these questions will help you to give your job description program a firm footing:

• Why do we need new job descriptions?


• What events or conditions indicate that this is the time to get involved in a job description program?


• What are the shortcomings of our existing job descriptions?


• To what specific uses will job descriptions be put?


• What are the projected costs?


• Who will be involved?


• Is top management committed?

Most organizations perform a regular review of job descriptions. Also consider revising job descriptions when:

• The job content changes (perhaps due to a new technology, for example) or there is a change in essential functions


• There is an organizational structure change


• The employee or his or her supervisor requests a review


• The only incumbent leaves the job


• There are continuous problems in a department or division

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Mistake #2: Omitting Critical Elements of a Job Description

If key elements are missing from the job description, its effectiveness suffers. Most job descriptions contain the following elements:

• Job identification—Describes the job in a word or two


• Job summary or purpose—A brief narrative of the job that highlights its general characteristics


• Essential functions and additional responsibilities—Those duties that must be performed in the job


• Accountabilities—Not only the end results achieved when job duties are performed satisfactorily but also specific standards for measuring performance


• Job specifications—The specific job requirements in terms of “compensable factors” (During job evaluation, a point score is assigned and a wage rate or salary level is set accordingly.)

Mistake #3: Failing to Accurately Describe the Job

The typical job description is deficient in at least one of the following ways:

• It exaggerates or downplays the importance of the job.


• It fails to pinpoint the critical elements that differentiate between successful and unsuccessful job performance.


• It ignores the decision-making aspects of the job.


• It either fails to focus on the job incumbent’s actual behavior or it defines required behavior in ambiguous terms.


• It describes worker requirements or characteristics that are not really needed to succeed in the job.

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Mistake #4: Failing to Use Job Descriptions Correctly (or at All!)

Some employers think of job descriptions only in terms of wage and salary administration, or as a necessary evil when it comes to complying with certain employment laws. But these are only two of the many practical uses for job descriptions. Consider:

Wage and Salary Administration

Any compensation system requires that jobs be classified and evaluated in terms that make comparisons possible.

Legal Compliance

Job descriptions can be key evidence of legal compliance (or noncompliance) under a number of federal employment laws.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (essential functions)


• Fair Labor Standards Act (who is “exempt” and “nonexempt”)


• Equal Pay Act (fighting discrimination lawsuits based on pay)


• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (fighting discrimination lawsuits based on performance)

Collective Bargaining

Job descriptions have also been used by employers to defend themselves against what they feel are unjustified union demands for uniform rates.

In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll cover Mistake #5, and we’ll take a look at an extraordinary tool that gives you a leg up with your job descriptions.

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