Job Requirements

Job descriptions

Job descriptions are an effective means of describing the 'big picture.' A job description is a statement of the duties, responsibilities, tasks, and other significant requirements associated with a particular job. Duties, responsibilities, and tasks are commonly-used terms for describing the core requirements of a job.

Use of job descriptions

A common problem in the modern workplace is that job descriptions can be too static. They don't keep pace with job requirements. Most jobs require quick reactions to change, so those people or organisations that are bound to a single job description are often not flexible enough to keep up with customer demands.

Example one

Tama works for an Internet Service Provider. He was employed to maintain their website and add updated information when necessary. This kept him busy at first. He enjoyed the creativity and was given a fairly free hand to edit the site as he saw fit. Soon, however, this became a job that took less and less time. Tama discussed this with his manager, who suggested that he start visiting clients and selling his talents as a designer.

This was a role well outside his original job description. Tama could have stuck to his original brief and seen his hours adjusted, or become bored and lost motivation. Instead, within three months the company had to employ an assistant designer for Tama. He has proved more than useful as a marketer of his services.

Example two

Some organisations use personal work plans that effectively make job descriptions superfluous.

Aroha works for an advertising agency. She is responsible for visiting clients and listening to their needs. She then returns to work and creates campaigns that meet those needs. She is a consultant, salesperson, and graphic artist all in one. Her job often involves impromptu tasks, such as attending a weekend conference as a guest speaker in relation to a specific campaign.

Aroha's personal work plan includes details of her budgetary targets and territory management programme.

Example three

Another approach is to use limited-life job descriptions that combine personal work plans and traditional job descriptions.

Ivor is employed as a reference librarian. His job often entails being seconded to different project groups to meet specific research needs. He has a personal work plan based on his everyday activities, and tied to deadlines and outcomes he is expected to achieve. However, it is not unusual for Ivor to be given very different job descriptions, depending on the importance of his role in a project or the methods he is asked to use in his research.

Developing job descriptions

As with most things in the world of work, there is no best way to develop job descriptions. The process of designing jobs and describing them in job descriptions is not always straightforward. Many factors can affect the process, such as:

• personal attributes of job-holders
• historical factors
• personal objectives
• office politics.

Well-designed jobs have particular characteristics. Good jobs:

• incorporate variety that allows the job-holder to perform a range of tasks
• provide autonomy so that the individual has some say in scheduling work and deciding how to do it
• are a total piece of work, not a single, simple task
• provide opportunities to learn and grow
• provide feedback on performance.