The importance of maintaining Job Descriptions
Job Descriptions can be a unique component associated with HR and Management because what you say in that description may either attract new talent or scare them off. So, it’s essential that you give accurate and thorough information. This summer I got the opportunity to intern at Columbia Bank as an intern where I worked closely with an HR intern who worked to understand which were my tasks or duties on a regular day. Her goal was to keep the job description as updated as possible. So by the end of my internship she emailed me a survey to analyze if the description was the most accurate. Now that I can reflect, it’s clear that Kayla was doing a job analysis on me.
Cathy Maddox an HR coordinator at Lincoln Surgical Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska says “Updating descriptions is sometimes the last thing on the list to tackle because there are so many other issues.” And it makes total sense because it’s not a rising problem at the moment. But I think the best approach HR can take to handle this issue is creating a planned survey every time something significant changes, that asks managers and staff whether their job descriptions have changed. Because like what Kannisto said in the article Job worth doing: Update descriptions, with the compliance environment and legal implications the stakes are higher for job descriptions to be precise. Other challenges associated with Job Descriptions can be timing. Sometimes smaller HR departments that aren’t growing as much can be prone to using the old template they used last to hire an employee. And I think that scheduling consistent reviews with employees to see if they are doing anything can help alleviate any future problems. As mentioned in our lectures, if we ever fall into a position where we are required to make job descriptions we must do a job analysis, which would require us to analyze KSAOs. We must collect as much data from interviews, questionnaires, or observations. The better our job description are, the simpler it will become to find an employer who fits our organization the best. Human resource director for industrial explosive, Lindsay A Nienhuser also believes that doing reviews as frequently as possible can help fix the issue of Job descriptions. As from previous experience, I think nobody other than employees can give you the best insight to what each job does.
