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.

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.

Mergers or reengineering can be the catalyst for developing job descriptions in large-scale organizational change.  During these times, it is especially important to write effective job descriptions to reduce duplicate efforts.  By organizing, analyzing, and evaluating this data in the context of the entire organization, it can make it easier to identify and eliminate redundant tasks within the organization.

In our upcoming posts, we’ll discuss in more detail about the importance of RACI and Business Process Mapping when writing your job descriptions.

For more information from KnowledgePay about job descriptions, check out our Six Pack of Job Description Tips.