Background

Job descriptions play a dual role as a legal document and management tool.  They need to spell out the essence of each role in a way that complements -- but does not overlap with -- all of the other management tools in play (think employment agreement, policy manual, operations/process and procedures documentation, job postings, supervisory oversight and automated systems). Why?  Because when a job description attempts to be all things, it undermines the legal contract between the employer and employee.  This is because employment agreements can be deemed invalid if it is deemed that a role has changed significantly without formal contractual updates.  To this end, here are some important do's and don't of job description development.

Dos

• Summarize the enduring responsibilities of the role in five to 15 succinct points. 
  • Clear statements of the 'what' the areas of responsibility are.
  • Rely on the overview and competencies sections to capture 'how' the work is completed and the values of the company - rather than trying to embed them into responsibilities.
  • Ask yourself, will this description still be true ten years from now.
• Group similar roles together where at all possible.
• Include a final catch-all responsibility of 'Perform other duties as assigned.'
• Use generic terms rather than specific ones that can change over time (ex. software platforms, brand names, job titles).
• Refer to the other management tools rather than incorporation their content in the job descrption (ex. per the policy manual or per the operations schedule etc.)

Don'ts

• Don't try and delineate 'how' the work is done (such as policies, processes, levels of service).
• Don't include soft experience and skills like 'Past experience with SoftwareX preferred.' Save these for the job posting.