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Finding new employees is one of the hardest parts of running a business. There are so many things to consider when looking for that “right person” and how to draw them in. Frist, you have to start with the job design: what you are hiring the person for as well as what they are going to do as a part of the company. Once you have an outline of what the new employee will be doing then a job description needs to drawn up.

There are several methods of how to build a job description, but I believe that one of the best ways to design it from the bottom up. The article, A Job Worth Doing explains this method very well and I agree that this is a very effective way of building a job description. If there are already employees in said position, then ask for them to write up a description of what they do during their workday. Next, have a manager sort through combine and refine the job descriptions. Lastly, send the description to HR for final review.

The hardest part of a job description is keeping it current, active, and interesting to perspective employees. If you have a higher up position start the job description, it might not be very accurate. A lot of the time a higher up employee may be to far detached from what the job may entail. This separation might make it difficult to write and maintain an accurate job description. For instance if an HR manager tries to create a job listing for warehouse employee, they may say that the job includes heavy lifting, spending the day on your feet, and working around equipment. The HR manager might not realise that the employee need to be able to operate the equipment. This might pose problem because equipment operators need to be a certain age or might need a special license. This simple oversight could lead to applicants that are not within the bounds of what the job entails.

The writing and upkeep of job descriptions is a vital part of a business, one that needs to watched and maintained with a watchful eye.

Citations:

Tyler, Kathryn. “Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions.” SHRM, SHRM, 11 Apr. 2018, https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/Pages/0113-job-descriptions.aspx.