A job description need not account for every task that might ever be done. Here are the most critical components of a good job description.Heading Information
This should include job title, pay grade or range, reporting relationship (by position, not individual), hours or shifts, and the likelihood of overtime or weekend work.
Summary Objective of the Job
List the general responsibilities and descriptions of key tasks and their purpose, relationships with
Qualifications
State the education, experience, training, and technical skills necessary for entry into this job.
Instant 24/7 access to all your job descriptions. Start with our 2,400-description library. We store — you customize, print, download, e-mail.
Special Demands
This should include any extraordinary conditions applicable to the job (for example, heavy lifting, exposure to temperature extremes, prolonged standing, or travel).
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Only two features of job responsibility are important: identifying tasks that comprise about 90 to 95 percent of the work done and listing tasks in order of the time consumed (or, sometimes, in order of importance). The first task listed should be the most important or time-consuming one, and so on.
Employers can cover 90 to 95 percent or more of most tasks and responsibilities in a few statements. It’s more important to list what must be performed and accomplished than how, if there is more than one way to do it. Being too specific on how to accomplish a duty could lead to ADA issues when an employee asks for an accommodation.
Job Descriptions Are Fundamental
Job descriptions are in many ways the basic HR tool. But they’re neglected in many organizations.
It’s not hard to see why — job description maintenance is easy to put off, and it’s not exactly glamorous work. But that doesn’t mean it’s not critical.
What’s the best way to manage a whole company’s worth of job descriptions? We asked the editors at our parent company, Business & Legal Resources, and they came up with an amazing program called the Job Description Manager.
Job Description Hassles a Thing of the Past
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- Available to download and print or even e-mail your job descriptions
The Job Description Manager is the most comprehensive and useful job description tool on the Web. And we’ll stand behind that pledge: If you are not totally satisfied at any time, we will refund your entire subscription cost.
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