Other Duties as Assigned: The Importance of Keeping Up-To-Date Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are of great value to all leaders as they contain critical information such as the duties and responsibilities of the position as well as the qualifications required for jobs.  Accurate, complete and up-to-date job descriptions are important to establish selection criteria for hiring, create job ads, set expectations and objectives for employees, assess performance, assign and manage employee workload, and manage organizational changes.

Prospective employees look at job descriptions in vacancy ads to determine if there is a match between the qualifications required and their experience and skills. New employees then look to their job description to understand what they are expected to do and what knowledge and skills need to be applied in their work. Existing employees expect that their job descriptions are updated to reflect changes to their jobs. When looking at changing organizational structures and roles it is vital to have up-to-date information about the work being carried out by employees to make good decisions on changing roles and responsibilities.

Regular review of job descriptions allows you to identify when:

• duties and responsibilities for jobs are no longer required
• new duties and responsibilities should be added
• there is a transfer of duties and responsibilities from one job to another
• changes to duties and responsibilities require different skills  and knowledge or a different level of skills and knowledge, which may require action such as a reevaluation of the position or a development plan for the employee
• too many or too few duties and responsibilities create an imbalance in workload

Most job descriptions identify a small portion of the job as “other duties as assigned”, usually around 5-10%. However, you may unintentionally add so many items that the employee is actually spending 50% of their time on these “other” duties. When job descriptions are not kept up-to-date and do not accurately reflect what employees are actually doing, it can make them feel that they are not being appropriately recognized or rewarded for their work, especially if “other” duties create a workload issue, making it difficult for them to maintain work-life harmony.

An up-to-date job description can help prevent any misunderstandings between you and your employees regarding what their job entails and help to keep your valuable talent engaged. Preliminary results from our recent People First survey indicate that only 63% of employees feel their job descriptions accurately reflect the work they are doing.

For all of the above reasons, Human Resources recommends that you review job descriptions every year. It is not just a good idea, it is an essential component to your success as a leader.

For more information about job descriptions, contact your Total Compensation Specialist.