Writing Job Descriptions (Gary Dessler)

The most important product of job analysis is the job description. A job description is a written statement of what the worker actually does, how he or she does it, and what the job’s working conditions are. You use this information to write a job specification; this lists the knowledge, abilities, and skills required to perform the job satisfactorily.

There is no standard format for writing a job description. However, most descriptions  contain sections that cover the following:

1. Job identification
2. Job summary
3. Responsibilities and duties
4. Authority of incumbent
5. Standards of performance
6. Working conditions
7. Job specification

Job Identification

The job identification section contains several types of information. 

The job title specifies the name of the job, such as telesales representative, or inventory control clerk. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) status section identifies the job as exempt or non exempt. (Under the FLSA, certain positions, primarily administrative and professional, are exempt from the act’s overtime and minimum wage provisions.) Date is the date the job description was approved.

There may also be a space to indicate who approved the description and perhaps a space showing the location of the job in terms of its facility/division and department. This section might also include the immediate supervisor’s title and information regarding salary and/or pay scale. There might also be space for the grade/level of the job, if there is such a category. For example, a firm may classify programmers as programmer II, programmer III, and so on.

Job Summary

The job summary should summarize the essence of the job, and include only its major functions or activities. For example, the telesales rep “is responsible for selling college textbooks. . . .” For the job of mailroom supervisor, “the mailroom supervisor receives, sorts, and delivers all incoming mail properly, and he or she handles all outgoing mail including the accurate and timely posting of such mail.”

While it’s common to do so, include general statements like “performs other assignments as required” with care. Some experts state unequivocally that “one item frequently found that should never be included in a job description is a ‘cop-out clause’ like ‘other duties, as assigned,’” since this leaves open the nature of the job. Finally, make it clear in the summary that the employer expects the employee to carry out his or her duties efficiently, attentively,  and conscientiously.

Relationships

There may be a “relationships” statement  that shows the jobholder’s relationships with others inside and outside the organization. For a human resource manager, such a statement might look like this:

• Reports to: Vice president of employee relations.
• Supervises: Human resource clerk, test administrator, labor relations director, and one secretary.
• Works with: All department managers and executive management.
• Outside the company: Employment agencies, executive recruiting firms, union representatives, state and federal employment offices, and various vendors.

Responsibilities and Duties

This is the heart of the job description. It should present a list of the job’s significant responsibilities and duties. For example, list each of the job’s major duties separately, and describe it in a few sentences. For instance, the job’s duties include “achieve quantitative sales goal . . .” and “determine sales priorities. . . .” 

Typical duties for other jobs might include making accurate postings to accounts payable, maintaining favorable purchase price variances, and repairing production-line tools and equipment.

This section may also define the limits of the jobholder’s authority. For example, the jobholder might have authority to approve purchase requests up to $5,000, grant time off or leaves of absence, discipline department personnel, recommend salary increases, and interview and hire new employees. How does one determine what the job’s duties are and should be? The answer first is, from the job analysis; this should reveal what the employees on each job are doing now. Then (second), to determine what other duties this job might be expected to include, the manager can review various sources of standardized job description information. For example, the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) (www.bls.gov/soc/socguide.htm) classifies all workers into one of 23 major groups of jobs, such as “Management Occupations” and “Healthcare Occupations.” These, in turn, contain 96 minor groups of jobs, which, in turn, include 821 detailed occupations, such as the mar

keting manager description. 

The employer can use standard job descriptions like these to identify a job’s duties and responsibilities, such as “Determine the demand for products.” (Theaccompanying Managing the New Workforce feature addresses some legal aspects.) The employer

may also use other popular sources of job description information, such as www.jobdescription.com . O*NET online is another option for finding job duties. We’ll turn to this in a moment

Standards of Performance and Working Conditions

A standards of performance section lists the standards the company expects the employee to

achieve for each of the job description’s main duties and responsibilities. Setting standards isnever easy. However, just telling subordinates to “do your best” usually does not provide enough guidance. One straightforward way to set standards is to finish the statement, “I will be completely satisfied with your work when. . . .” This sentence, if completed for each listed duty, should result in a usable set of performance standards. Here is an example:

Duty: Accurately Posting Accounts Payable

1. Post all invoices received within the same working day.
2. Route all invoices to proper department managers for approval no later than the day following receipt.
3. Allow an average of no more than three posting errors per month.

The job description may also list the working conditions involved on the job. These might include conditions such as noise level, hazardous conditions, or heat.

Source : Gary Dessler. Fundamental of Human Resource Management. Third Edition. Pearson. 2014

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