{"id":5293,"date":"2014-08-12T08:47:10","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T15:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=5293"},"modified":"2023-05-10T06:47:29","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T13:47:29","slug":"do-your-employees-suck-check-your-job-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/do-your-employees-suck-check-your-job-descriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Your Employees Suck? Check Your Job Descriptions."},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Sharapova, who can hit a tennis ball well enough to earn a pretty good living, once famously said: \u201cI can’t please everyone. That’s not in my J.D., you know, not in my job description.\u201d\u00a0 Lucky Maria, she knows what her job is well enough to be able to confidently tell people what it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 So what does Maria have that many of we mere mortals don\u2019t?\u00a0 Apart from astounding talent, good looks and a heap of money in the bank that is!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty simple really.\u00a0 She has a clear goal and a coach to help her get there.\u00a0 She knows what is expected of her, what she has to do to achieve the desired outcome and has performance checkpoints along the way \u2013 in the world of professional sport, her win:loss ratio tells her when she is getting it right and when she is not.<\/p>\n

Knowing what is expected of us is the first step to having half a chance of \u201cgetting it right\u201d, while not knowing is a major contributor to stress in our day to day lives.\u00a0 As young children we knew the joy of pleasing our parents when we met, or exceeded, their expectations.\u00a0 And what happened when we didn\u2019t!\u00a0 At school we had clear direction on what was expected of us and our school reports provided the feedback we needed.\u00a0 Then there are Churches, law-makers and governments giving us rules to live by, with very clear consequences should we break them.\u00a0 Even magazines and social media platforms present us with a bit of a roadmap of sorts, even if it is related to what one should wear, cook or look like to be in the winner\u2019s circle of life!<\/p>\n

Research tells us uncertainty around performance expectations and lack of feedback are major contributors to job stress, low job satisfaction and staff turnover and clearly spells out the cost to productivity and profit when these negative conditions are present in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Free Guide:<\/strong> This article outlines how to write a job description that is clear, concise and accurately defines the role \u2013 in 5 simple steps. Download Now!<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

It is a no-brainer to me then, that in order to achieve productivity and profit targets, we would make sure each of our employees clearly understands what is expected of them, has the skills and tools to do the job, and is provided with feedback to enable them to improve and achieve at every opportunity.\u00a0 The same research tells us that the mechanism by which we achieve this is a Job Description, or JD as it is known.<\/p>\n

If this is so well known, why do so many employers not clearly spell out what is expected of each of their employees?\u00a0 Are they sub-consciously setting a new hire up to fail because it makes them feel good?\u00a0 Or perhaps it gives them the pleasure of having some of their prophecies fulfilled – you know the ones where they whine about no decent staff being available, no decent recruiters who know what they are looking for (see Paul\u2019s open letter to hiring managers<\/a>) and the one about how they just seem to be mopping up after new staff all the time because they are useless.<\/p>\n

The most important thing about a JD is that it provides clarity \u2013 for everyone in the hiring and performance management process.\u00a0 Employers have a clear understanding of what they need and the employee has a clear understanding of what is expected of them.\u00a0 When employers are clear about what they need, attraction and selection strategies can be established, recruiters and\/or hiring managers can be accurately briefed, setting the stage for a successful hiring outcome.\u00a0 If everyone is working blind, we end up with three blind mice and we all know how well that went!\u00a0 A clear JD ensures your new, appropriately skilled and experienced employee gets up to speed quickly, which is great for productivity and profit.<\/p>\n

So, \u201cwhere do I start?\u201d, I hear you say.\u00a0 There are literally hundreds of articles about how to write a JD and numerous formats you can choose from and the whole thing can be a bit overwhelming (I won\u2019t go on to say most of these are written by HR Consultants who want you to think it is too hard to do yourself).\u00a0 The truth is, it is not as difficult or time consuming as many of you think.\u00a0 The easiest way to build a JD is to simply ask yourself a series of questions and write down the answers:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 What do I need the person to do?<\/h3>\n

Make a shopping list of the tasks that the employee will be expected to do on a day to day basis.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget to include the less enjoyable ones, like making sure the kitchen is clean and tidy if that is what you wish them to do!\u00a0 The important thing is that you don\u2019t make the job out to be something that it is not.\u00a0 Everyone loses<\/a> in this scenario.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 What skills and experience will they need to have?<\/h3>\n

Look at your shopping list and be honest about what skills and experience the person will need to be able to perform well in the role.\u00a0 While you will probably wish them to be degree qualified and perhaps even have a couple of years experience, does a Junior Accountant really need to be CPA qualified?\u00a0 Perhaps that could be further study they undertake in order to be considered for a promotion in the future.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 What type of person works best in our organisation?<\/h3>\n

Warning – this is not an invitation to breach the Anti-Discrimination Act!\u00a0 Apart from the legal consequences of excluding certain people from the process based gender, age, race or any other number of discriminatory items, I wrote recently about the economic disadvantages of stereotyping<\/a> when hiring.\u00a0 But it is OK to be honest about the personality type that seems to get along better than others in your workplace.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 How many hours per day\/week do I need them to be here?<\/h3>\n

This is important.\u00a0 Is the job really full-time?\u00a0 Perhaps you really only need someone 20 or 30 hours a week?\u00a0 Or on the other hand, are you expecting this person to do the work of two people and the hours of work will be more like 50?\u00a0 Again, be clear about what the expectation is here.\u00a0 I’ll give you a friendly heads-up though – working people into fatigue and anxiety isn\u2019t smart business.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Who will they be working with?<\/h3>\n

Be clear about the key relationships you expect the person to have.\u00a0 If they are in an admin role but need to liaise regularly with the Head of Logistics about delivery dockets being checked off, then make this clear to the person from the outset.\u00a0 It will save you time, \u00a0money and a lot of angst down the track.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Who will they report to?<\/h3>\n

This is a key decision to be made.\u00a0 This is the most important workplace relationship an employee will have – employees need to know who they are being evaluated by and who they can seek assistance from in their efforts to be the best they can be in the job.\u00a0 And just as importantly, the reporting manager needs to clearly understand who he\/she is \u201cresponsible\u201d for.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 How will I reward them?<\/h3>\n

Clarity around remuneration is critical for everyone concerned.\u00a0 If you are unsure about the salary the role should attract, ask your recruiter (if you are using one) or go online \u2013 most countries have industry associations which provide guidance about remuneration packages on their websites.\u00a0 If you already have similar roles in your organisation, then benchmark the new role against those, taking into account skills and experience.\u00a0 A good idea is to have a salary band attached to each type of role in your company and have skills, experience and company tenure linked to each salary point in the band.<\/p>\n

Imagine what your company can achieve if everyone in it knows what they are there to do and has the skills to do it?<\/p>\n

Game, set and match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research tells us uncertainty around performance expectations and lack of feedback are major contributors to job stress, low job satisfaction and staff turnover and clearly spells out the cost to productivity and profit when these negative conditions are present in the workplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":8960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,73],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo Your Employees Suck? 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