Job descriptions have traditionally suffered a poor reputation among managers and human resources professionals. In fact, job descriptions often end up being ignored – left at the bottom drawer of a file cabinet, neglected and rapidly becoming obsolete.
Why? It takes time and considerable effort to create and maintain a job description program. It means that someone must be vested with the responsibility of the program — i.e., it’s got to be part of someone’s job description.
Set that keyboard aside! Your job descriptions are already written. See why everyone’s raving about BLR’s Job Description Manager.
Once vested with the responsibility of either creating or maintaining a job description program, many HR professionals fall victim to the pitfalls that job descriptions present.
Whether you are charged with creating an entirely new job description program or just cleaning up an existing program, there are a variety of stumbling blocks. As a starting point, it’s crucial to set your program goals.
9 Questions To Ask
When establishing a new program, or revising an existing job description program, many employers fail to determine ahead of time the purposes for which the job descriptions will be written (or revised). The first task in establishing a new, or revised, job description program is to set goals for the program. In setting those goals, you may want to ask:
1. Why do we need new job descriptions?
2. What are the shortcomings of our existing job descriptions?
3. What events or conditions indicate that this is the time to get involved in a job description program?
4. To what specific uses will job descriptions be put?
5. What are the projected costs of the program?
6. Has a budget been drawn up and submitted to top management for approval?
7. Who will be involved in the preparation of new job descriptions?
More than 2,400 job titles at your fingertips — all customizable to your exact specifications.
8. Are these individuals willing and able to put the required time into the project?
9. Is top management committed to the idea?
When establishing a job description program, it is vital to first determine who will manage and who will conduct the process. Generally, the manager charged with overall responsibility for the program would be the person responsible for the compensation department or division.
In a large company, a task force might be set up, comprising the compensation director, job analysts, and middle-level to high-level representatives from the line department. In a medium-sized company, the compensation manager might be charged with management responsibilities, with the frontline work completed by a job analyst. In a small company, the entire job, from conceptualization through execution, might rest with the HR manager.
At any of these companies, an outside consultant or firm might be contracted to set up or to revise the job description program. How you handle the job depends on such factors as internal expertise, goals of the program, economics, etc.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at who should be drafting your job descriptions — as well as a resource that can help you knock off this task quickly and easily.