If you've ever thought of streamlining your business having job
descriptions is a good place to start; that way, your employees and
contractors will know exactly what is expected of them. First of all,
what is a job description? Well, a job description is a document that
contains specific information about a job, what it is, who it reports
to, how it is performed, including any responsibilities, and also a
description of the ideal person for the job.
Why is it important
to have a job description prepared in advance if you are planning on
hiring someone new into your business? A job description will give your
new person a structure to operate within where they know what they
should be doing on a daily basis. It provides the parameters that they
should operate within so it becomes clear to both the
employee/contractor and the business owner (not to mention other people
who work for you) what the expectations are of the person performing the
position because they are clearly documented out in black and white.
To
prepare a job description here is the basic template you should use
which will cover all the key elements into a clear and concise document
that you should prepare well in advance of hiring someone new.
- JOB TITLE: Decide
the name of the job you're hiring for. Sounds simple enough, but you'd
be surprised the number of business owners that just pluck a job title
out of thin air without actually thinking about how it relates to what
the job actually is. The title of the job is what prospective new
employees/contacts will see first so make sure it accurately describes
what the role is.
- JOB REPORTS TO: Decide who the job reports to
ensuring that there is a relevant connection there. For example having
someone report to a person that is of the same level as them and who
performs exactly the same role may not be a good idea. Think about your
organisation chart and who reports to who in terms of a logical
hierarchy.
- JOB SUMMARY: Describe the job in 100 words or
less. This is basically a summary of the job and is essential for you
to be able to communicate in a concise way to prospective new
employees/contractors what the job is "in a nutshell"
- JOB RESPONSIBILITIES: Describe the main
responsibilities of the job. These are broad overarching statements of
what the employee/contractor will be expected to deliver - this could
include the responsibility for a particular process or set of
activities. For example "Responsible for the customer ordering process,
ensuring that customer orders are taken accurately and confirmed before
work is commenced", or "Responsible for ensuring that office equipment
is maintained and in good working order at all times"
- JOB DUTIES: Next are the duties of the job. These
are the tasks that the person will be required to perform and they are
more detailed than the responsibilities. For example "Take customer
orders", "Confirm customer orders", "Follow up with customer orders",
"Re-stock the stationary cabinet", "Greet customers upon entering"
- JOB AUTHORITY: Next include any decision making
authority that the role with have such as authority to spend money on
stationary, kitchen items, or other larger items such as computers,
phones etc.
- PERSON SPECIFICATION: Next is the Person
Specification section of the Job Description where you include a
description about the type of skills required for the job and this is
usually abound 4-7 dot points and you should be thinking in terms of
what kind of skills, experience and knowledge you would like the perfect
candidate to have.
- SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OF JOB: Finally, include any
special requirements that are particular to the job such as early
mornings, weekend work, travel with the state or outside of the state,
attending functions etc.
Once you have all the
information together you can then easily compile it into a 1 page
document, or 2 pages at most and you are well prepared for understanding
the type of person you need to hire and what they need to be doing.
This document will make it clear for you as the business owner and the
new hire exactly what is required, and what is expected
