In a previous position, when I was hired it was a team of eight. Slowly people began leaving for one reason or another, and their job duties began dispersing to the rest of us. Then as my skills grew, I started getting additional projects that were previously not in my assigned role. Before I knew it, we were down to a team of three and I was doing everything. At this point I did ask for my position description and compensation to be reviewed because I had absorbed five people’s jobs. Long story short, HR for this employer did not see the additional roles as being outside my job scope and the phrase And other duties as assigned covered any basis for the extra projects that had come my way.
After reading about the importance of building a clearly defined job description and reviewing it at least annually, I realize I could have saved myself so much hassle. A well defined job description helps an employee to know what is expected of them and what they are responsible for. As these new projects came my way, if I had an awareness of my job description, I could have prompted my supervisor that maybe it was out of my job duties. Additionally, reviewing a job description regularly can help point out any changes that need to be made whether it be with the position or within the company. Maybe we need to hire additional help for XYZ, or maybe this person should be considered for a new position since their skills have outgrown this job description. Job descriptions are valuable for workers to refer back to and have a better understanding of what their role within the company is.
