Month: January 2026

Challenges with maintaining and developing job descriptions. And solutions!

The maintenance and development of up to date job descriptions is often an overlook but critical piece of HR functionality. Job description are the “foundation of nearly every HR function” (Kathryn Tyler. Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions).

One challenge is gathering accurate and detailed data on each position within a company. For recruitment and internal monitoring it is key to have a descriptions that reflects reality. Due to the descriptions coming from someone who is not in said position or coming from one person in the position, the real duties and needs of the role are not fully captured. A solution to this is to have a wide range of sources for the data on the role. HR could use a combination of interviews with the holder of the role and their managers, as well was observations from peers to gather more data on what is being by the role and what needs to be done by the role.

Another challenge with creating description for roles is determining the different task need from the role, as well has the attributes the person in the role needs to have. The effective analyze a HR employee can separate the elements of work need (tasks) and then use the KSAO strategy to find the attributes need from the employee (Nathan Thompson. What Is a KSAO, and How Does It Impact Assessment). KSAO is defined as Knowledge: information learned from school, experience, books, etc. Skills: learned behaviors, that can be learned on the job or from the predecessor. Abilities: innate talents the employee has. Other Characteristics: personal traits that make the employee good for the role or certifications like CPR trained. With these definitions in mind, HR has a clear path to define everything needed with a role.

If HR can over come these two challenges with these solutions in mind they can be smooth sailing to having clear descriptions from the companies roles. Constantly updating and adjusting these descriptions will make recruiting and management far easier for years to come.

Sources:

• Tyler, K. (2023, December 21). Job worth doing: Update descriptions. Welcome to SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/hr-magazine/job-worth-update-descriptions
• Nathan Thompson. “What Is a KSAO, and How Does It Impact Assessment?” Assessment Systems, 23 Apr. 2025, assess.com/ksao-and-assessment/.
  
  

This week we’ll be looking at the human resource practice of three Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For. 

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated, has been ranked one of the best companies to work for six years running. While the restaurant industry experiences a high rate of employee turn over, Cheesecake Factory is a rare outlier that is able to retain employees. “The major factor driving the high turnover rate in most restaurants starts with “not having training and bad supervision,” David Scott Peters” (Rachel). Cheesecake Factory has accomplished the perfect balance of training staff so they feel competent in their role and enough supervision to bread a high quality environment. The company has used data from other companies to refine this median so they do not become a high turnover restaurant like most of the industry.

Adobe Systems Incorporated, uses the catch phrase “Adobe for All”. This phase is meant to empower employees at every level of the company to make an impact. To keep the company at the top end of best places to work, Adobe is a leader in fair wages and payment practices. They also have a large focus in supporting employees well being not matter what role they have. These work life incentives cause Adobe to be a leader in best places to work.

Scripps Health, is the rare chase of a health company that is ranked on best places to work. Normally, the health industry suffers from a high stress environment. Scripps say “One key has been the Scripps Leadership Academy, a yearlong training program for middle managers”. It’s clear that creating an environment where a manger can feel confident in their position will cause the rest of the company to be a better place to work. If a manger does not feel confident their employees will not feel confident in their role either.

References:

Taylor, Rachel. “The Cheesecake Factory Puts the Focus on Employees.” FSR Magazine, 8 Apr. 2025, www.fsrmagazine.com/growth/finance/cheesecake-factory-puts-focus-employees/.

“Adobe for All.” Adobe For All, www.adobe.com/adobe-for-all.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.

“What Drives a Unified Workplace Culture.” Scripps.Org, 14 May 2025, www.scripps.org/news_items/7960-a-look-at-what-drives-a-unified-workplace-culture-at-scripps.