By Nick Young
From what I’ve seen in jobs I’ve had, job descriptions can either be super vague or way too detailed. When they’re not clear, it creates confusion fast. People end up doing tasks that aren’t even part of their job, or no one takes ownership of something important because everyone thinks it’s someone else’s responsibility. I’ve experienced that especially in hospitality and retail. It just creates tension and wastes time.
One of the biggest challenges with job descriptions is keeping them up to date. A lot of times, a role changes after someone has been in it for a while. New responsibilities come in, or the team structure shifts, and all of a sudden the original description doesn’t reflect what the job actually is anymore. That’s a problem when it comes to hiring, performance reviews, and even just making sure people are on the same page.
I think the best way to fix this is to make job descriptions something that employees and managers go over together once or twice a year. That way, it’s not just HR guessing what someone does. It becomes a real check-in to make sure the role still matches what’s written down. In the class reading, Dessler says job analysis should be ongoing, not just a one-time thing, and that makes a lot of sense. It would save companies time and headaches down the line.
Clear job descriptions help with expectations, communication, and even morale. Everyone wants to know what’s expected of them, and everyone wants to feel like their role actually reflects the work they do.