To most people, job descriptions are just a brief window into whether a job might be a good fit, but from an HR perspective, they are much more. Job descriptions are the blueprint for almost every HR function, it influences recruitment, performance management, and even legal risks. Jill Bidwell (senior HR generalist at Sauer-Danfoss) calls the job description “the mother of all HR processes” (Tyler, Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions, 2013). When done well, it gives employees a clear understanding of their purpose and how their work supports the organization’s goals.
I think the hardest part, however, is keeping them accurate. Life is ever evolving with new technology, organizational changes, and shifting responsibilities and resources all make it difficult to keep descriptions relevant. As Cathy Maddox explained in the same article, updating them is often “the last thing on the list to tackle because there are so many other issues that require HR’s time and attention” (Tyler, 2013). But when companies neglect updates to the job descriptions, it can negatively impact morale, pay, and trust.
I’ve seen the consequences to neglecting proper job description firsthand through my boyfriend’s experience at The Greenery (a construction landscaping company in Georgia). He was initially hired as a project manager, but when the company landed a multimillion-dollar Hyundai plant job, he was suddenly reassigned to “the safety guy” because they needed someone in that role immediately. Wanting to be a team player, he took it on, but his original duties never disappeared. He was still drafting AutoCAD designs and managing projects while handling safety compliance for an entire jobsite. After the project ended, he quietly slid back into project management, only to discover a year later (through a company wide email might I add) that he was just now being promoted to project manager. It left him frustrated and feeling underpaid for doing the same job all along.
His experience perfectly reflects Tyler’s warning that failing to maintain clear, updated job descriptions “can do as much damage as a good one could benefit you.” (2013) To prevent this, organizations need to treat job descriptions as living documents. Reviewing them annually and whenever duties shift. HR, managers, and employees should all collaborate to ensure they reflect reality. When employees know exactly what’s expected and how it connects to their growth and pay, they can thrive within a company–not be looking for a way out, which is exactly the position my boyfriend is in now.