5 key elements of a great job description
I was recently asked by a client how one goes about constructing a great job description.
It’s a great question!
Job descriptions are often constructed for the purpose of recruitment, and as a result have about as much to do with the reality of the role as an Instagram influencer’s stories do to their actual life! How many predominantly administrative roles are described as having great creative or strategic potential?
For me there are 5 key areas to think through and make as clear as possible when writing a job description – Task, Resources, Purpose, Boundaries and Authority.
Let’s take them in order.
Task:
Is there total clarity, and more importantly, honesty over the tasks to be performed by the individual, rather than their team or the wider organisation?
Don’t cherry pick the interesting stuff but be clear on all deliverables against which that person is accountable.
Use a time metric to separate the tasks out between daily tasks and those longer term, more future facing tasks. Consider the frequency of different types of tasks to give clarity about the percentage of working time spent on each.
Similarly split tasks between those where the individual is expected to produce the output themselves versus where they need to manage someone else’s delivery.
Be clear on the actual deliverables themselves and avoid vague terminology like ‘strategy’, ‘growth’ or ‘plan’.
Resources:
Once the task is clear, are the resources for the individual to complete the task available to them? Resources should be split between:
Operational – the necessary tools, systems and processes to deliver the task within the timeframe and to the required quality of output
Expertise - access to the required knowledge and skillsets within the organisation
Personal – the right manager and peer support access to create containment in the role
Purpose:
How does this role and its task ladder up to deliver against the team or business objectives – what is its purpose within the wider organisation.
This is important for two reasons:
It provides contextual direction that enables an individual to make the right decisions in everyday tasks – e.g. quality over efficiency
It contracts the individual psychologically and culturally to the wider business rather than just to their task or project
Boundaries:
Here I’m referring to the inter-dependent boundaries between the role and other roles or teams; and the resulting need for clarity over the role’s area of responsibility and accountability.
The modern workplace is increasingly complex especially with the advent of agile processes and hybrid working. The move away from linear working has caused a blurring of ownership and a resulting drop in accountability for the quality at each stage of a process.
Be 100% clear on the KPIs, OKRs or whatever acronym you use for measuring output and performance – and again split them between those specific to the individual and those of their team/department.
Authority:
There’s an important distinction to be aware of:
Authority refers to the right to make decisions which are binding on others
Power is having the resources to be able to enact and implement decisions
It’s possible to have authority without power, but not to have power without authority.
Ensure clarity over what authority to act the role has – what decisions are they responsible for making?
And be clear on what powers the role has to decide how things are done – do they need to follow a defined process, or within a values framework, or are they able to do it however they see fit.
