Job Descriptions: They’re probably the dullest task in HR management—annoying to do and easy to put off. But hold on—maybe you should get to them today. Let’s see why.
“I’ve got more important things to do than going over dusty job descriptions.”
Maybe you do. But when your CEO starts screaming about retention and employee lawsuits and productivity, you’ll wish you updated those job descriptions yesterday.
Are we saying that retention problems, lawsuits, and lower productivity are all caused by poor job descriptions? Well, “caused” is probably too strong a word, but bad or out-of-date job descriptions are factors in all those challenges—and more.
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That’s because properly written job descriptions are key in three broad areas: hiring and retention, employee management, and legal compliance.
JDs and Hiring and Retention
Bad hires—those nasty situations when you know you’ve made a poor choice after just a few weeks—often stem from not clearly defining what the job requires and what it entails day to day. The result is that you put a square peg in a round hole, and get low productivity, poor morale and, eventually, termination or resignation—sometimes followed by a lawsuit.
A good job description helps both you and your applicants understand just what the job requires and what it’s like to do it. That makes for hires who become competent and happy employees. Competent and happy employees are productive, and they don’t sue you.
JDs and Employee Management
The job description is ever-present in daily management. For example, job descriptions:
- Clarify roles.
- Define relationships.
- Provide a basis for analyzing and improving organizational structure.
- Set the objectives for performance management.
- Form the backbone of the compensation system, including job evaluation, wage and salary surveys, and an equitable pay system.
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JDs and Compliance
Many a lawsuit has turned on a bad job description. You don’t want to be in front of a jury explaining that you fired someone for doing a poor job at a “key task” that’s not on the job description. (Does the word “pretext” come to mind?) And you don’t want to have to defend decisions about ADA-essential functions or FLSA exempt status without a solid job description to back you up.
By this time, you may be saying, “OK, I get it. I’ve got to work on my job descriptions. Can you get me some extra time to do it?”
Actually, we can, because we know a shortcut. We’ll tell you about it in tomorrow’s Daily Advisor.
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