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Keeping Job Descriptions Simple

April 13, 2006

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If you're hiring one person, perhaps your first employee, you don't need to go to all the trouble of writing a formal job description unless you want to. Still, some of the uses of a job description can be helpful to you.

The way to get the benefit without all the trouble and time is to return to basics. A big part of creating a job description is common sense. Figure out what you need or want the position to do, and then figure out what someone needs to know and understand to do it well. If you're writing your first job description for your first employee, you will have to start from scratch. What do you need done? Sit down and make a wish list and go from there.

If you're doing a job description for a position that already exists, you might want to look at some methods of job analysis. There are some simple job analysis methods you can employ if you don't want to spend a lot of time.

Don't think only in the short term. If your business grows or gets more customers, which tasks would you like your employee or employees to do that you may not need done right now?

Step-by-step. Here's a technique to help you figure out what you need and want in an employee. Use it as a guide for recruiting and interviewing.

1. Just jot down a key word or two for each task that will clearly mean something to you when you use this information to write your job description. For example, a task would be "greeting customers."
2. Rank the task in terms of its importance.
3. List the activities involved in doing each task. For example, using "greeting customers" as the task, activities might include answering phones, welcoming customers into the office, and answering questions.
4. List the skills necessary to perform that activity. Using the example above, skills might be "pleasant phone voice," "strong speaking skills," "good organizational skills," and "a working knowledge of the business."

Need more information? Check out a case study to give you an idea of how it's done.

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