Why do you need to write position descriptions for your employees?
Why do you need to write position descriptions for your employees? You’re ready to hire an employee. You are really looking forward to future business growth. You pour your heart into building your business – this is a big step!
Here is why you need to be fully prepared for that new employee with a clear and complete position description.
Why do you need to write position descriptions for your employees? Hiring your first employee is a huge step for every small business owner. You’ve increased your business to the point where you can afford to pay someone to add more hours and increase productivity. What next …? Deciding what that person should exactly be doing, and how to measure the milestones for success – that’s what’s next. That is where the creation of your employee’s position description comes in.
It can sometimes come as a shock for business owners that hiring employees comes with regulations and requirements. The better your business processes are right from the start, the smoother your journey toward becoming a successful employer and growing your business will become.
Creating meaningful position descriptions for your employees can often seem like extra work for small business owners: the busiest people on the planet. You really just want a new employee to crack on with the work and take the pressure off you. However, it is important to understand that employees – if left undirected, may take a track other than what you are expecting them to.
A correctly written Position Description provides clarity on the job you need done and the key performance indicators for the job.
One of the first things that employers learn is that what may seem clear and obvious to you may not be clear to others. It is absolutely essential to be clear about what you are hiring someone to do. Often when employers sit down to write a position description they actually have to think really hard about the job first. If it’s taking time for you to consider what exactly should be in the position description, it definitely needed to be written!
If it’s a newly created position, you need to think about how the new role will help you grow your business and how you will be able to measure if the role is working as you intended.
The goals of the role could include increased sales, reduction in customer complaints, faster delivery times or many other functions that are key to your success. However, if you don’t think this through and write it down you might end up paying someone for performing tasks that don’t achieve your overall purpose for hiring them.
If you are replacing someone who is leaving, the creation of a new position description is the perfect opportunity to review the role. Do you need to change some of the responsibilities or KPIs according to how your business has changed? What you needed twelve months ago from this position may not be what you need now.
A correctly written position description helps ensure you hire the right employee
A well thought out position description will help ensure you hire an employee with the right skills, experience and disposition to perform in the role, and achieve your business goals.
A customer service person may need to bring a lot more to the table than a good telephone manner and helpful personality. Do they need specialist skills such as the ability to manage a CRM system, the ability to assess cost implications of different customer issues, to come up with creative solutions?
Writing what exactly you require for skills and disposition in a position description will help enormously when you are interviewing candidates for the role and help you to find those additional skills and qualities that will really ensure their success.
A complete and well written position description can reduce potential miscommunication
In a small company, most people need to be versatile and turn their hand to a variety of tasks, but a lack of clarity about what you expect from an employee or the parameters of their role can lead to confusion and stress for everyone. For example, can the person authorise a refund without your sign-off? Can they make purchases for the business and if so, for how much before they need your approval? You don’t want to be bothered with every tiny little detail but when do you need to be informed of a problem?
Clarifying these areas in a job description will help you have a happier, more functioning team. Employees enjoy knowing exactly what you expect from them.
Creating a meaningful position description doesn’t need to take hours and hours but a little time spent at the outset, before you actually hire somebody can ensure you get the best out of your employee and save you a lot of time and trouble over the course of the employment relationship.
Even easier than writing your own position descriptions: try our formatted Job Description documents, which you will complete in no time, and be on the fast track for successful business growth through proper employee management.