Job descriptions are often created at the birth of a job position. When a job gets created, the job description comes with it and it is important to describe the job identification (title, FLSA status, department, position, and who to report to), as well as the job summary (why the job exists), task statements, physical and mental skills required and working conditions. (Outline – Job Analysis and Job Design, P.3) The original job description fits the job at the time it was created, but I have learned throughout the course and personal experience that jobs change and evolve with time. I recommend that businesses update their job descriptions over time to match the evolution of the job itself. In my personal experience, the company I have worked at for the past 2+ years has changed a lot. Originating as a toxicology lab, we have shifted into the virology field over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the goals of the lab changed, so did the jobs and with it the job descriptions. While still called “Willamette Valley Toxicology” employees candidates are well aware of whether or not they will be in the virology field or not, with a constantly updated job description.
Disregarding job descriptions after they are created can open a company up to risks that it may not even recognize. A great example from the article Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions by Kathryn Tyler comes from an expert who says “If you don’t keep it up-to-date and you have [an employment] claim against you, that non-updated job description can do as much damage as a good one could benefit you. It can work to help in your defense or it can work to help the employee filing the grievance.” This demonstrates how not maintaining an up-to-date job description can have legal implications, but it can also have an impact on how well your business operates. Aside from legality, it can also impact workforce planning negatively, as a bad job description doesn’t give planners an opportunity to accurately assess the resources they have at hand. Another great quote from Tyler’s article sums it up well, “Having a bad job description is worse than [having] none at all.”
References
Swift, Michele, Week 4 Learning Materials: Lectures 1-2, Job Analysis and Design
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.
