Importance of Developing Job Descriptions in Large-Scale Organizational Change

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Chris Kelley Posted in Job Descriptions

Are job descriptions an afterthought in your organization?  If so, you’re not alone.  Too often, when a manager has an opening, there is a panic to develop a job description to fill that vacancy.  A vague job description can create a large pool of unqualified applicants.  Thankfully, an increasing number of organizations are realizing that a good job description can be an effective management tool for increasig accountability and streamlining tasks instead of just recruitment.


As explained in the online video below, job descriptions play a key role in our everyday work environment.  It is important for each employee to have a clear statement of work for their job role in order to be more effective at meeting those goals and objectives on a daily basis.

Process Mapping Job Design

 


 

In order to develop effective job descriptions, each job role should be considered in the context of the organization instead of in isolation.  First, to ensure that tasks are not duplicated and that there is clear accountability, we use the principles of Business Process Mapping.  Second, in order to identify the key players for those tasks, we use the principles of RACI, which stands for responsible, accountable, consulting, and informed.
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Does Organizational Planning and Job Design Matter?

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Chris Kelley Posted in Compensation Consulting, Job Descriptions, Job Titling, KnowledgePay

The Business Case for a Disciplined Approach to Designing Jobs and Organizational Structures

Jane had been the accounting department’s top performer for 10 years, but three months ago, to her manager’s surprise, she resigned.  Her reasoning?  She was no longer satisfied with the work after a recent reorganization.

So what happened?

The company had gone through some restructuring and layoffs about six months prior because of a slowdown in the market.  Their overall financial position was still very strong, but they wanted to get lean and took the opportunity to downsize.  Unfortunately, while the financial objectives were clear about how many heads to take out of the organization, there was far less clarity around how to most effectively design the new organization and the necessary jobs.

In Jane’s case, what ended up happening as a result of the restructuring was a collection of poor decisions made by her senior management team.  The work environment, that at one time was fulfilling and engaging, now became a chaotic fire drill where the entire team’s performance suffered.  Jane tried to raise her concerns to her manager, but after a few frustrating months of inaction, Jane decided to jump ship.  Good for Jane, but with the brain-drain that slipped out the door with her resignation, the already struggling accounting department now has an even deeper hole to dig themselves out of.

So how did things fall off the rails?  We had a chance to catch-up with Jane and get her observations about what went wrong.  Here’s how she summed it up:

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Job Descriptions: A Strategic Competitive Advantage?

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Chris Kelley Posted in Job Descriptions, Job Evaluation, KnowledgePay

Let’s be honest.  Job descriptions suck.  Writing and administering job descriptions can feel like a waste of time and they take you away from the ‘real work’ that you have to do.  That is, until you step back to consider how a focused commitment to doing job descriptions well can actually set you apart as a company and become part of your competitive advantage.  If you really are engaged in a “war for talent”, you need to think about how such a mundane task like job descriptions can be such a cornerstone to human resource strategy.

Speed and Accuracy in Hiring Process

Ever schedule job interviews with applicants who turned out to be unqualified? The cost of ambiguity in your job descriptions can cost you both time and money. Clear delineation of qualifications, educational requirements, responsibilities, experience and any other positive attributes required will weed out the unsuitable applicants before they have a chance to waste your time.

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