At Recruit Smart we are often called upon to assist clients in circumstances where they are looking to recruit or reallocating duties. Our starting point is to request and view the position description and frequently this does not exist, is incomplete or ambiguous.
Just as a builder doesn’t start construction without a plan and vision – how do employers define and communicate their expectations of people. A small time investment in developing a comprehensive position description will provide clarity and direction and save costs in the long run.
A position description (PD) is the structured document of what you require people to do, what skills they need, what outcomes they are going to deliver and most importantly how you are going to measure their performance. PD’s are not intended to cover every type of task in a position but should accurately describe the duties and responsibilities.
A position description should include:
- Position title
- Permanent or casual, full or part time, or contract tenure
- Workplace location
- Award Relevance
- Where the position fits into your structure (i.e. Who it reports to )
- An overview statement of what the position is and outcomes
- A list of the specific responsibilities / accountabilities including work safety obligations
- Performance measures and expectations
- Training or qualifications to do the job
- Specific skills required to do the job
- Specific personal attributes required to do the job
- This document can be supplemented with a specific task list of duties and frequency
Position Description are vital documents which support a number of HR processes including:
- Recruitment
- Interviewing
- Position / Job Evaluation and Classification
- Performance Management of Staff
- Career Planning
- Training and Development
At Recruit Smart we able to create or assist you to develop new or update existing Position Descriptions to improve your HR processes.