 | | | | | Click HERE to view our current openings. | | | | | Contact one of our creative staffing experts. |
Best Practices in Managing Contingent Workers
American Staffing Association
|
|
|
The Position Description
Foundation of Your Hiring Strategy | back to tip sheets
The position description is the “holy grail” of the hiring process. It is the strategy “spring” from which all other activities such as advertising, interviewing, evaluating, and managing the new hire, will flow. When a new position opens up, it presents a unique opportunity to assess your department and upgrade your expectations. It would be a mistake to simply use the same position description you’ve used in the past without comparing it to the capabilities and performance of your current staff. This could result in hiring the same “weaknesses,” and can negatively impact your department’s long-term growth and potential.
Writing a position description can be challenging. It is essential that you gain a clear understanding of the objectives of the position, and how that position fits into the company’s overall business aims.
Have there been recent directional changes in the company that would impact the make-up of your team now? Your budget may indicate that you have space for another Designer, but is it really what you need? Could this money be diverted into another position that offers more ROI for the company? Make sure you really need what you think you need.
1. Define the Goals and Objectives of the Position.
Why is this position justified? What do you expect it to accomplish? Are these goals in line with the goals and objectives of the company? How will this position interface with other positions and departments? How will performance be measured? How will the job further the goals of the Department and the company as a whole? If the position is a refill, what past successes/failures are going to impact the objectives of the job?
Remember, you’re not supposed to adjust the position description to what emerges during the interview process. The position description should guide the hiring process from start to finish.
2. Understand and Evaluate the Current Position.
The average Human Resources Manager is not going to be able to keep up with today’s changing technologies. He or she won’t understand the latest high-tech buzzwords, and may even try to combine positions together inappropriately. It’s essential that you keep your HR people informed and current. This means having a clear understanding of what each functional skill actually means and expressing it in language the average lay person can understand. The more technically sophisticated the position, the more you need to get a handle on what actual skills are required. A quick conversation with the in-house “techie” is a good starting point, but ultimately you will have to delve deeper to get a true and inclusive picture of what the job is about.
You also need to know how well the job has been performed in the past. Is the current staff performing at levels below or above the performance expectations? If working below, now is the time to assess the position and determine what needs to happen to get staff back on track. What “new and improved” criteria should be developed for the new person to be successful?
3. Research the Market.
If you’re not entirely clear what is expected of a particular position, it can be helpful to check out what other companies require in terms of skills and accomplishments for similar positions. You can find this type of information through job postings, industry-related associations, trade-groups, etc. Look for the most recent surveys and publications, as industry needs and job titles change frequently. Be aware, however, of the similarities and differences between your company and the ones you are reviewing. An Art Director in a small advertising agency will most likely have different responsibilities than an Art Director in a large Fortune 500 Company.
4. Define Compensation and Career Growth.
Determine what the compensation package will be for this position, including bonuses and raises. Salaries should have a starting range from the least qualified candidates (min $) to the most qualified candidates (max $). In most cases, there will already be a predetermined pay scale for a position, so if you start a person at the very top, there may not be anywhere for him or her to go in terms of salary and position.
Will you be offering a sign-on bonus? Does the company provide parking, paid vacation? What is the benefits package? Are there unique perks such as on-site daycare, community outreach opportunities, tuition reimbursement, etc.? Define what, if any, growth potential there is. What would an employee need to accomplish in order to take the next step, and how long must he or she expect to wait before seeing advancement?
5. Research and Define Your Company.
And finally, understanding how you see yourself and how others see you can be a helpful exercise when preparing to write a position description. How are you perceived in the market? Are there specific values that your company projects that you would like to see mirrored in your employees? How do you stack up against the competition? Are there unique aspects of your work culture? These types of questions also are helpful when you begin writing and designing your targeted recruitment ads. (To learn more, see The Recruitment Ad, Part I.)
Make Use of Your Internal Knowledge Assets
Your current employees offer an invaluable resource to you in the hiring process. They are “in the trenches,” so to speak, and they know better than anyone does what the real, pragmatic departmental needs are.
Sit down with the person who currently holds the position (if there is one) to get a sense of what types of activities comprise a typical workday. You may discover that the actual day-to-day tasks of the position are quite different from the standard Human Resources verbiage. You might even ask your staff to write their own position descriptions. You may be amazed at the discrepancies between what is “ideal” and what is “real,” as well as the performance gaps that rise to the surface.
You might also consider chatting with the people the prospective employee will work with to get a sense of the interpersonal dynamics that exist in the office environment. Although you’re not hiring a “personality,” you do want to find someone who will fit in well with the office culture and general work climate.
Now You’re Ready to Write.
After you have a clear idea of your needs, your ideal prospect, the goals and objectives of the position, and how results can be monitored, you are ready to move on to the nitty-gritty details of writing the position description. Every position description should answer these key questions:
- What is the job title?
- Be sure it does not misrepresent the position
- If others have the same title, determine if the candidate will be doing the same job
- What are the performance expectations?
- Define measurable objectives
- Define a typical work week including all tasks, large and small
- What is the team “complexion” like?
- How will the employee need to “fit” with the current team dynamics?
- What are the employee’s responsibilities in relation to the other team members?
- What is the management and corporate style of the office?
- What are the logistics of the position?
- Work hours, including lunch
A poorly thought out position description will ultimately result in hiring failure, and will require you to begin this costly and time-consuming process all over again. This is your opportunity to take inventory—to uncover department needs and explore new opportunities.
back to tip sheets
|
|
