Hiring employees is based on your operational needs. You need the additional resources and support to ensure that your business operates efficiently and to ensure that your customers are happy and keep coming back. So it’s CRITICAL that you know EXACTLY what the job is.
Even if you’re needing to replace someone who is leaving, it is important to take a step back and review the role. Consider the tasks that need to be completed, how it sits and interacts with the other roles in the business, the required work hours and the salary.
Having a CLEAR understanding of these factors upfront is KEY to getting the right person for the role in your business. A good Job Description performs a number of important functions:
- It describes the skills and competencies that are needed to perform the role.
- It defines where the job fits within the overall company hierarchy.
- It is used as the basis for the employment contract.
- It is a valuable performance management tool.
Job Title
The first fundamental element of the Position Description is the Job Title. A good job title will address the following:
- It accurately reflects the nature of the job and the duties being performed
- It reflects its ranking order with other jobs in your business
- It does not exaggerate the importance of the role
- It reflects similar jobs in the industry for comparable pay and conditions
- It is self-explanatory for recruitment and attraction purposes
A good example of this is Office Manager verse Office Coordinator or Office Administrator – An Office Manager is reflective of a medium to large sized business with 10 plus office based staff where “management” responsibilities are undertaken on a daily basis – and is likely to attract a salary of around $80K……..An Office Administrator is more likely to be the sole administrative staff member of a small business or perhaps works with a receptionist – to provide a broad range of hands on administrative and office support functions – and is likely to attract a salary of around $55K up to maybe $65K.
Duties & Responsibilities
The Position Description needs to contain a list of tasks, duties and responsibilities required as for the role. This will define the differences between roles within your business and provide the basis for “who does what”.
The level of responsibility (ie. the level of accountability, authority, control, power, leadership, management or influence) you include within the role, needs to be considered carefully to ensure that it is accurate and is reflected in the salary (more on this on my next blog). Whilst this needs to be comprehensive – don’t make it too long as it isn’t meant to be an operation manual.
Skills and Competencies
It is best to list these separately from each other, as they are two quite separate things:
- Skills are activities the candidate can perform based on what they have learned in the past, or from qualifications they have obtained (eg Professional level MYOB user). Skills can be learned through study and/or practice.
- Competencies are the traits or attributes you expect the candidate to display in the role (Strong communication and interpersonal capability). This is an innate characteristic displayed by a person.
Qualifications and Licences
Often a formal qualification is required for the role – or preferred. These may range from a TAFE Certificate in Information Technology or Administration – through to a Degree in Architecture with Registration. However, it is important that you be REALISTIC about the level of qualification you REQUIRE for the role – Does your Finance Officer really need a Degree followed by a CA or CPA?
Other critical areas to consider and must be included are the Licences and Tickets that are ESSENTIAL for the role. These may include a Blue Card for working with children, Safety Inductions, a Civil Drivers Licence, etc. If the role REQUIRES the employee to drive to client premises, the supplier’s warehouse, etc. then you must include this in the Position Description as a requirement (eg. Current clean Manual Drivers Licence). If you don’t have this as part of the Position Description and the employee loses their drivers licence – you cannot dismiss them!!!
Reporting Relationships
It is important to include reporting lines and working relationships in your Position Description.
- Reporting lines clarify the responsibilities of the position by showing whom the employee reports to and as to who reports to the employee. (Reports to the Finance Manager).
- Working relationships are the people and departments the position requires the employee to work closely with. (Work closely with Production and Sales to provide accurate and timely reports).
Salary
The salary that you pay the employee is a VERY important consideration. It needs to be reflective of level of duties and responsibilities, competitive within the market and fit within the salary structure of other roles within the business. In addition, it has to fit within your budget. By its very nature, the notion of SALARY is a highly EMOTIVE subject, for both the employee and the employer.
My next blog will look at salary and remuneration options in detail….
Make sure you’re following on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Acworth-Recruitment-185674054963527) as I’ll share some other great tips and information.
