5
Job Descriptions
This isn’t nearly as dull and dry as it sounds. There are lots of good reasons why organizations invest the time to research and write job descriptions. An executive who recently completed a year-long process to finalize job descriptions for the more than 100 employees in a large medical practice is now seeing the value of job descriptions. She said, “Now we have a basis for our performance review process and a valuable tool that will help new hires become productive quicker. It took us a while to do it but it was worth the effort!”
Job descriptions start with a job analysis, which is a systematic study of positions in order to evaluate what activities a position should contain and how each position in the organization relates to other positions. A job analysis looks at what qualifications are necessary to succeed in the position and the conditions in which the job is performed. It is important to remember that a job analysis is about the job—not the person doing the job.
The best time to do a job analysis is before you have employees; however, that’s not always possible. Ideally, start with an idea of what needs to be achieved, and then think about how that job would be accomplished.
There are three main elements included in a job analysis that are frequently abbreviated as KSAs:
Knowledge—body of information necessary to perform the job.
Skills—level of proficiency needed to perform the job.
Abilities—capabilities necessary to perform the job.
Some of the information collected and analyzed in a job analysis includes:
Job purpose.
Work environment.
Where in the organizational structure this position fits.
Duties and responsibilities.
KSAs required to succeed in this position.
Performance criteria.
The information gathered in a job analysis is used in many HR-related activities, including:
Recruiting.
Developing a job description.
Workforce planning.
Training and employee development.
Succession management.
Organizational design and development.
Leadership development.
Performance management.
Compensation management.
Legal defense.
Affirmative Action planning.
Determining reasonable accommodation (ADA) issues.
Job Descriptions
A job description is a tool that describes the duties, tasks, responsibilities, and functions of a particular position. It outlines the purpose of the position, where it fits into the mission of the organization, the details of how work is to be accomplished, and the requirements necessary to do this particular job. It is not intended to be specific to the incumbent; it describes the job, not the employee who does the job. Every position in the organization should have a job description—even senior-level positions.
Job descriptions must be based on facts, so when developing them, it is best to start by gathering the information necessary to ensure the description is accurate.
One of the many ways organizations successfully use job descriptions is to on-board a new employee. A well-written job description is extremely valuable to anyone starting a new job—even when people get promoted or transferred within an organization. A job description is a road map as to what is expected and can be extremely helpful to anyone who wants to quickly become productive in a new position.
There are several types of data-gathering methods that can be used to generate the needed information to write a job description, including:
Questionnaire. Ask incumbents and managers to answer open-ended questions about the work. This is especially effective when there are a lot of jobs to be analyzed with minimal resources. If the questionnaire is crafted well, this can be your best method of getting the information you need. The questionnaire can be sent electronically with clear instructions as to why the information is being requested and with a reasonable deadline for completion. In today’s busy world, some people may see this as an inconvenience, but if you’re clear as to how it will be used and you don’t make it too long, odds are most people will work with you on this.
Interviewing incumbents. Conduct face-to-face interviews, using predetermined questions, to gather information about knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the position. This can be time-consuming and may create unrealistic expectations that the final description will include all their ideas; however, as opposed to using the questionnaire to gather the information, you’ll be able to ask follow-up questions to enhance your learning.
Observation. Watch incumbents actually doing the job. This provides a realistic view of the daily tasks and responsibilities. This is also time-consuming and may alarm employees who think you are doing a time and motion study to determine which jobs are necessary, but if you set it up properly, you may be able to gather valuable information. You may also want to combine observation with the questionnaire described previously.
Work journal. Ask incumbents to record work including the frequency and timing of tasks. Information gathered is analyzed and translated into duties and responsibilities. This method, though it can be effective, collects data that is difficult to analyze because the person doing the job analysis has to interpret the information in the journal. If you use this method, consider also using the observation or interview methods in conjunction with the journal.
What to Include in Job Descriptions
Once the job analysis is completed on a position, the next step is to draft a job or position description that summarizes the most important functions of a job and includes a description of the work; a detailed task list; what knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are needed to perform this position; and the reporting structure. Job descriptions must include physical requirements for ADA compliance and should also include the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) status of the position. At a minimum, a job description should include this information:
Position title.
Supervisor/manager.
Geographic location of the position.
Date prepared.
FLSA status: exempt or non-exempt.
Summary: a four- or five-sentence overview that states the purpose of the job, the results the incumbent is expected to achieve, and the degree of autonomy the incumbent has.
Responsibilities or essential duties: tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job and why the function is necessary, which will be useful for evaluating ADA compliance.
Non-essential duties.
Required skills and experience: education, years of experience, qualifications required.
Desired, but not required, skills and experience.
Managerial responsibilities, if applicable.
Physical demands and work environment. Include any undesirable situations.
Success factors: personal characteristics that will enable someone to be successful in this position.
Statement such as “other duties as assigned” or “the organization has the right to modify this job description at any time.”
Signature of incumbent and date signed.
Format for Job Descriptions
There is no legal definition of what a job description should contain or look like. Resources organizations can use to draft descriptions include the O*Net, the Occupational Information Network. Many trade associations or membership groups have sample job descriptions to be tailored to your organization. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has a toolkit to assist with preparing job descriptions that can be found at www.shrm.org.
There are common elements that a job description should include:
Summary—a short paragraph that summarizes the purpose of the job and includes the primary responsibilities of that position, the results required for success, and what level of supervision the position is under.
Essential functions—tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the position that should be listed in order of importance and may be weighted for performance management purposes. Should include a statement such as “other duties as assigned” to allow for management flexibility.
See Chapter 25 (Performance Management).
Supervisory responsibilities.Does this position supervise any functions, and, if so, which?
Working conditions—type of working atmosphere. This is the place to list any unpleasant or dangerous conditions.
Minimum qualifications.What is required to do this position (education, years of experience, certifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities)?
Success factors—personal characteristics that will contribute to being able to succeed in this position.
Tips for Writing Job Descriptions
Job descriptions must be based on the specific duties and responsibilities actually performed:
Accurately describe what the job does and title it appropriately.
List FLSA status. (Is the position exempt or non-exempt?)
Keep the summary brief.
Be sure all functions are job-related.
Include disclaimers such as “other duties as assigned” or “job description can be revised by management as needed.”
Use appropriate titles for the position and your organization.
Don’t use gender-specific titles such as “salesman” or “waitress.”
Use action verbs in the present tense.
Only use explanatory phrases that add meaning or clarify the why, how, where, or frequency.
Eliminate gender terminology by structuring sentences in a way that pronouns aren’t needed or use neutral pronouns.
Spell out acronyms wherever possible.
It is a common practice to include a phrase such as “other duties as assigned” in a job description. It is generally agreed that this is not sufficient for describing essential functions; you must spell them out.
It is critical that job descriptions be kept current and that every employee is given a copy. One way to ensure job descriptions are kept up-to-date is to require managers to review and update them at the time they do a performance review on that particular job.
Appendix: Sample Job Descriptions.
Legal Implications of Job Descriptions
Federal regulations and guidance governing the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) do not require your organization to have job descriptions, but if you do have job descriptions, you should be aware that the ADA has a significant impact on format and content. Because the employment provisions of the ADA focus on essential functions, you must ensure that all essential functions are covered in a job description. A single job task may be essential, and if it is, it must be covered in the job description. Another requirement is that if you choose to describe non-essential functions of a particular job, you must distinguish them as non-essential. There are several ways to accomplish this:
Indicate the time spent on each function to show that a non-essential part of the job requires a small percentage of the employee’s time be spent on that function.
Put asterisks around non-essential functions.
List non-essential functions as a footnote.
Essential Job Functions
Because the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) uses “essential job function,” it is important to define what an essential job function is in order to determine if a person can or cannot perform those functions.
Essential functions are distinguished from other non-essential or marginal functions that are part of the job but are incidental or ancillary to the purpose and nature of the job.
The ADA does not mandate that employers eliminate or lower valid job standards. All job applicants, whether disabled or not, should satisfy the skill requirements, experience, and education. The law does not suggest that employers ignore mental abilities, physical effort, psychomotor skills, and/or other job-related criteria required to perform the essential job functions. However, the ADA does require that employers look beyond the traditional means and manner of performance.
Be sure you can defend any statement you make regarding the essential job functions, as they are subject to scrutiny by federal compliance agencies.
Checklist for Determining Essential Job Functions1
Does the job exist to do this function?
How many times a day/week does the incumbent do this function?
What are the minimum qualifications for this position?
What critical skills are required?
Do others doing this same function have these required skills?
What equipment is used to do this function?
Are there other employees who could do this function without harm to the organization?
Would eliminating this function be detrimental to the organization?
Did the previous incumbent perform this function?
Is this function essential?
Discussion Questions
1. Name some of the HR functions that use information collected in a job analysis.
2. What are at least two ways to gather information to do a job analysis?
3. Why is it important to list essential job functions on a job description?
4. How can you ensure employees don’t say, “It’s not in my job description”?
5. What are some of the questions you would ask to gather information for a job description?