Top 5 Job Description Mistakes

Today’s blog post is courtesy of HR BLR.

Job descriptions—just the thought brings tears to your eyes. Yet job descriptions are central to hiring, compensation, and appraisal (not to mention avoiding lawsuits). Today, BLR editors reveal the top 5 mistakes managers make with job descriptions.

One key to getting them done right is to give someone responsibility—and put it in his or her job description!

BLR's editors have observed the following five commonly made mistakes in job descriptions:

Mistake #1: Mismanaging the Job Description Program

Often, job description programs suffer from a lack of attention. Answering these questions will help you to give your job description program a firm footing:

• Why do we need new job descriptions?

• What events or conditions indicate that this is the time to get involved in a job description program?

• What are the shortcomings of our existing job descriptions?

• To what specific uses will job descriptions be put?

• What are the projected costs?

• Who will be involved?

• Is top management committed?

Most organizations perform a regular review of job descriptions. Also consider revising job descriptions when:

• The job content changes (perhaps due to a new technology, for example) or there is a change in essential functions

• There is an organizational structure change

• The employee or his or her supervisor requests a review

• The only incumbent leaves the job

• There are continuous problems in a department or division

Mistake #2: Omitting Critical Elements of a Job Description

If key elements are missing from the job description, its effectiveness suffers. Most job descriptions contain the following elements:

• Job identification—Describes the job in a word or two

• Job summary or purpose—A brief narrative of the job that highlights its general characteristics

• Essential functions and additional responsibilities—Those duties that must be performed in the job

• Accountabilities—Not only the end results achieved when job duties are performed satisfactorily but also specific standards for measuring performance

• Job specifications—The specific job requirements in terms of "compensable factors" (During job evaluation, a point score is assigned and a wage rate or salary level is set accordingly.)

Mistake #3: Failing to Accurately Describe the Job

The typical job description is deficient in at least one of the following ways:

• It exaggerates or downplays the importance of the job.

• It fails to pinpoint the critical elements that differentiate between successful and unsuccessful job performance.

• It ignores the decision-making aspects of the job.

• It either fails to focus on the job incumbent's actual behavior or it defines required behavior in ambiguous terms.

• It describes worker requirements or characteristics that are not really needed to succeed in the job.

Mistake #4: Failing to Use Job Descriptions Correctly (or at All!)

Some employers think of job descriptions only in terms of wage and salary administration, or as a necessary evil when it comes to complying with certain employment laws. But these are only two of the many practical uses for job descriptions. Consider:
Wage and Salary Administration
Any compensation system requires that jobs be classified and evaluated in terms that make comparisons possible.

Legal Compliance

Job descriptions can be key evidence of legal compliance (or noncompliance) under a number of federal employment laws.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (essential functions)

• Fair Labor Standards Act (who is "exempt" and "nonexempt")

• Equal Pay Act (fighting discrimination lawsuits based on pay)

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (fighting discrimination lawsuits based on performance)

Collective Bargaining

Job descriptions have also been used by employers to defend themselves against what they feel are unjustified union demands for uniform rates.


Mistake #5: Forgetting Format, Organization, and Grammar
To achieve the two primary goals of job description writing—accuracy and brevity—you must check and double-check the words you have chosen to describe each job activity. Here are 15 guidelines regarding the use of words in a job description:

1. Use a terse, direct style throughout the description.
2. Keep sentence structure as simple as possible; omit all words that don't contribute necessary information.
3. Be clear and use nontechnical language whenever possible. A good job description explains the objectives, duties, and responsibilities of a job so that they are understandable even to a layperson.
4. Avoid imprecise words such as "situation," "facilitate," "interface," etc. Ask yourself if the word you have used might be interpreted differently by two different people.
5. Begin each sentence with an active verb, third person singular. Always use the present tense.
6. Wherever possible, describe the desired outcome of the work, rather than the method for accomplishing that outcome. For example, instead of "writes down phones messages"—a task-oriented approach—you might say "accurately records phone messages."
7. Focus on essential activities. However, remember that a task that is performed frequently throughout the day may not be as essential to the job as something done only once or twice a week.
8. Avoid the narrative form. You are writing a job description, not a story.
9. Be consistent when using terms like "may" and "occasionally." Their meanings should be spelled out to avoid confusion. For example, make sure that if the word "occasionally" is used in the essential functions section of the description, the occasional work performed truly is essential to the job.
10. Avoid words that don't tell specifically what the employee does, such as "handles." Others you may want to avoid: "checks," "prepares," "examines," "sends." If these words are the most accurate and specific ones available, it may be acceptable to use them. But if a more specific term would describe the task more clearly, use it.
11. Refer to job titles rather than people. For example, "Reports to Human Resources Director" instead of "Reports to Estrella Simpson."
12. Be precise in defining responsibility. The degree of responsibility given indicates the importance of the job and is a vital factor in evaluating it.
13. Qualify whenever possible. Don't just say that a file clerk "files" materials; say that the clerk "files alphabetically."
14. Stick to a logical sequence in describing duties and responsibilities whenever possible.
15. Remember that the length of a job description does not indicate the importance of the job. The job description for the president of a firm can be put into one sentence: "Responsible for the successful operation of the company."