JOB DESCRIPTION: To do or not to do?

A job description is a written statement which describes a job or a position, its essential and nonessential functions, job qualifications, and other information on the job. It primarily describes duties, skills, responsibilities of the job, as well as the education and experience required to perform the job; may also indicate environmental and working conditions specific to the job

A job description may also include information on tools and equipment used and relationships with other jobs.

Many people may hold the same job and, therefore, use the same job description. But it is important to remember that a job description describes the job, not the person, or persons, who hold that job.

Some of the issues that should be taken into consideration when writing a job description:

• Don’t exaggerate or downplay the importance of the job. Each job has its own weight and importance in a company. Don’t write something on the job description that would make it more or less important that it is supposed to be. If applicable, indicate decision-making aspects of the job.
• Create a measure or indicator that would serve as a gauge of a successful job performance or lack thereof.
• Either fails to focus on the job incumbent’s actual behavior or it defines required behavior in ambiguous terms.
• Indicate worker requirements or characteristics that are needed for the job so that the applicant or position holder will know what area to develop in order for them to succeed in that job. Focus on and define behavior needed for the position/job.
• A job description must contain all basic information that will answer some of the basic questions that a person coming into the job might have.
  

A job or position description contains some basic elements: (a) job or position identification, (b) job summary or purpose, which is a brief, narrative picture of the job that highlights its general characteristics, (c) essential functions and additional responsibilities, (d) accountabilities, (e) job specifications/requirements

Basic Rules in Writing JD: brevity…accuracy…objectivity…

• Start the job summary with an action word (verb). Use active verb in the third person.

Example: Performs preliminary design
Conducts training on operation and maintenance…
Recommends improvements on…

• Explain the job’s requirements; in other words, tell what is done. If possible include all essential function which indicates the following:

- Regular day-to-day functions.
- Duties that occur at irregular intervals but that are of a recurring and essential nature
- Quantity and quality of supervision received.
- Quantity and quality of supervision exercised.
- Amount of human interaction required (in teaching, counseling, coaching, training, etc.)
- Extent of contacts made both inside and outside organization.
- Responsibility for maintaining specific records.
- Responsibility for organization of funds
- Degree of accountability for human and material resources.
- Office machines or equipment that must be operated.
- Other unusual demands.

Use technical jargon only to add significance, example: Conducts organoleptic tests or experimental beverages and dairy products and trains the panel of tasters. (Tests involving the various senses).

• If necessary, explain the what’s, why’s or how’s of the job, in other words, its purpose. If it is necessary or helpful to do so, use an example.

Examples: Conducts special studies such as stress cracking of plastics, possible treatments for mineral water prior to bottling and corrosion tests on crowns.
Plans scheduling of deliveries (what) taking into consideration the size of the warehouse, frequency of shipment, depletion rate and stock positions (how) to ensure continuous stock position (why)

• If possible, cluster duties. Clustering involves describing a job description into main activities with its corresponding sub-activities in which the sub-activities serve as detailed explanation for each main activity.

Example:
Prepares the monthly cost report for the departments major projects for submission to various project proponents (main activity or duty).

Sub-activities:
- analyzes, classifies and codes various transactions into structure, budget areas and cost items.
- verifies and checks the validity and propriety of all expenditures chargeable to major projects.
- process all projects store and accounting documents for submission to Computer Center.


Guidelines in the presentation of information in a job description

• Criticality or importance. Example: from operations activities to consultancy activities
• Amount of time spent on the cluster of activities. Example: from activities done daily to activities done monthly or annually
• Sequence in which activities are carried out. Example: from planning activities to implementation and monitoring activities
  

Organization of information may be done using the following approach:
1. The “sequence of operations” approach.
2. The “major duty” approach.
3. The “relative importance” approach.