Job descriptions and their challenges

Having well developed job descriptions that clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the employee is vital to having a successful management team. Accurate job descriptions provide managers with an outline to compare potential hires, serve as a performance metric, and what I believe to be the most important function, provide written expectations of your employees. However, performing job analyses and creating and maintaining job descriptions has its challenges.

The article a Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions provides a great way to think about the significant challenge of keeping job descriptions updated. The article says:

“Unfortunately, job descriptions often aren’t viewed as living documents. Once completed, they may be relegated to dusty three-ring binders or long-unopened text documents.”

With the constant stream of new technology, industry standards evolve, and rapidly changing job roles in the modern workforce, job descriptions may quickly become outdated. To overcome this, organizations should regularly review and update job descriptions to reflect current responsibilities and skill requirements.

The challenge to keep job descriptions current can present further challenges, such as communication. Developing job descriptions requires effective communication between HR, managers, and employees. Misunderstandings or a lack of input from the people in these roles can lead to inaccuracies and delays in getting the task accomplished. Regular communication and collaboration can help refine descriptions and ensure that they reflect reality.

Personally, I’ve experienced these challenges firsthand as the last company I worked for there were absolutely zero written job descriptions for any role within the company. And no, it wasn’t a startup. The company has been in business for 30 years and has well over 100 employees in Oregon. I had taken notes on employee tasks to help familiarize myself with the company when I first started and turned those into the first draft of job descriptions. For the better part of a year, I fought with the HR and upper management about how job descriptions could help organize the company and would have an impact.

Sources

Tyler, Kathryn. “Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions.” SHRM, SHRM, 1 Jan. 2013, www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0113-job-descriptions.aspx.