In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered the first 4 deadly sins of managers; Today, Envy, Greed, and Sloth, and some very good news: your job descriptions are already written and updated.
[Go here for sins 1 to 4 and a bonus sin]
Sin 5. Envy
Envy makes managers do things that aren’t appropriate for the company. For example:
- Empire building. Trying to add more positions that aren’t important for the company to achieve its goals.
- Copycatting. The other department head has a French-speaking assistant; I want a French-speaking assistant. Or, the other department head just reorganized, I’d better reorganize too.
Sin 6. Greed
One way managers and supervisors show the sin of greed is in their quest for information about people’s lives. This starts in the interview with questions about:
- Childcare
- Family plans
- Church
- Health
- Age
- And any number of other non-job-related questions
These questions are often asked innocently, but they all can cause problems if there’s a lawsuit. The court will assume that you asked the question because you wanted to use the answer in making your hiring decision.
Say you ask a woman about her plans for a family or need for childcare, and then hire a man who wasn’t asked the questions. The woman sues, and the court wants to know, why did you ask that question?
And then there’s the over eager prying into employees’ health issues. As they say, “You can’t unring the bell.” If you later want to take action against the employee, there will be a certain amount of protection around him or her. You may be accused of discrimination on the basis of a disability.
Set that keyboard aside! Your job descriptions are already written. Click here to see why thousands of managers have a permanent place in their offices for BLR’s classic Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
Sin 7. Sloth
We don’t know any HR managers who aren’t busy, and we’d be reluctant to accuse any of sloth. But we do know many that have put basic upkeep chores on the back burner. For example, are your policies up to date? Documentation? All in a row, complete, legible, signed, dated?
And how about those job descriptions? Essential skills delineated? Mental, physical, and environmental requirements all there? Ready to back you up in court?
If not—or if you’ve never even written them—you’re not alone. Thousands of companies fall short in this area.
It’s easy to understand why. Job descriptions are not simple to do—what with updating and management and legal review, especially given the ADA requirement of a split-off of essential functions from other functions in the description. Wouldn’t it be great if your job descriptions were available and already written?
Actually, they are. We have more than 700, ready to go, covering every common position in any organization, from receptionist right up to president. They are in an extremely popular BLR program called the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
First created in the 1980s, the “JDE” has been continually refined and updated over time, with descriptions revised or added each time the law, technology—or the way we do business—changes.
Prewritten job descriptions in the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia now come with pay grades already attached. Click here to try the program at no cost.
Revised for the ADA, Pay Grades Updated
There was a major revision, for example, following the passage of the ADA. In fact, BLR editors reviewed every one of those 700 descriptions to ensure they were ADA-compliant.
Another enhancement was the updating of pay grades for each job. According to our customers, this is an enormous time-saver, enabling them to make compensation decisions even as they define the position. You can see a sample job description from the program by clicking here. (Yes, it is the one for HR Manager—Pay grade: 37.)
The BLR Job Descriptions Encyclopedia also includes an extensive tutorial on setting up a complete job descriptions program, and how to encourage participation from all parts of the organization. That includes top management, the employees, and any union or other collective bargaining entity.
Quarterly Updates, No Additional Cost
Very important these days, quarterly updates are included in the program as a standard feature—key at a time of constantly changing laws and emerging technologies. We’ll send you new or revised descriptions every 90 days. And the cost is extremely reasonable, averaging less than 43 cents per job description … already written, legally reviewed, and ready to adapt or use as is.
You can evaluate BLR’s Job Descriptions Encyclopedia at no cost in your office for up to 30 days. Get more information or order the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
Download product sample
Download list of job descriptions included