The use of clear job descriptions within a company is foundational to having a successful HR management function. Jill Bidwell from Job Worth Doing discussed how she preaches “to all our mangers and HR staff that the job description is the mother of all HR processes. Everything from recruitment and training to performance evaluations and compensation all stems from that document (Tyler, 2013, Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions).” The document by itself is important, but the process and the conversations that stem from trying to create it help to make it even more useful. I’ve experienced the challenges that come from leaving a job undefined firsthand. I work for my Father-in-Law within his construction business as a project and office manager and have been here for over 4 years. During that time, I’ve worn and continue to wear many hats. This is common in ours and many other family businesses because the company is not large enough to support an inordinate amount of job specialization. While I understand my job clearly, we have never taken the time to officially write out my responsibilities. When something needs to be done that falls within my sphere of influence, I take care of it. However, this lack of clarity sometimes causes miscommunication. For example, where there are job overlaps between me and other members of our team, the lack of clear boundaries has sometimes caused tasks to fall through the cracks, leading to mistakes and issues that could have been avoided if our roles were better defined. At the same time, we are beginning to move in a new direction. Part of this year’s goals are to clearly describe the roles and responsibilities of everyone within our organization. In doing so, it will create a launch pad for discussions around job performance, compensation, mission and vision. Simply quantifying what it means to be successful in each role will create standards by which managers can hold their employees accountable. Just as described in our readings, for this work to be effective on a ongoing basis, it will be crucial to refer back to this information regularly. Some businesses reported changing it three times in the same year. No business is perfect, but ours is striving to improve and make clear changes like this to position us for future success.
