Writing and Maintaining Job Descriptions

Although many assume job descriptions are created mostly for employees, their value to businesses cannot be overstated. For companies, maintaining job descriptions and writing them should always top concerns for a successful recruitment process and for keeping teams aligned with company goals.

Companies should review job descriptions at least annually, much as they routinely review budgets, policies, and systems. This guarantees they reflect industry trends, current role standards, and provide clear salary ranges, so directing the business toward its goals.

Interested in improving your job descriptions? Let’s chat!

Maintaining Job Descriptions

Regular Updates: Job descriptions should be reviewed at least once a year to ensure they remain relevant and represent any changes in the role or sector trends.
Employee Feedback: Involve present staff members throughout the process. They can offer an analysis of the job description’s accuracy and recommendations for any required changes.
Consistency: Make sure job descriptions for comparable positions around the firm line up. This preserves equity and clarity.
Legal Compliance: Make sure job descriptions comply with relevant labor laws and regulations. This can help mitigate risks and limit liability.

By following these guidelines, you can create effective job descriptions that attract the right candidates and support your current employees’ success.

Writing Job Descriptions

Clear and Simple Language: Simple, clear language helps to keep things easy. Describe job responsibilities and needs using plain English. Steer clear of complicated language and jargon that may confuse possible applicants.
Job Title: Make sure the title clearly and fairly captures the responsibilities of the full-time role. It should follow industry norms so candidates may understand the nature of the employment.
Company Overview: Add a brief summary of the goals, culture, and advantages of your organization. This clarifies for candidates what distinguishes your organization.
Job Summary: Give a quick overview of the position’s purpose and your main responsibilities.
Detailed Responsibilities: List the main duties and responsibilities. This helps applicants to understand the daily nature of their employment.
Qualifications and Skills: Specify exactly what is needed in each regard. This guarantees that you attract the ideal candidate and helps weed out unqualified applicants.
Growth Opportunities: Point out any chances for internal corporate development and expansion. Many times, candidates are seeking jobs where they might start a long-term career.

Example of Specific Job Requirements

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or a similar degree. One must be CPA certified; a Master’s degree in accounting is preferred.
Minimum of five years of experience in accounting, two of which have been in a senior or supervising capacity.
At least three years of practical experience combined with advanced accounting software knowledge—QuickBooks or SAP.
Excellent knowledge of financial reporting guidelines and GAAP, generally accepted accounting principles.
Proven knowledge of financial audits, including financial statement preparation and analysis guaranteeing compliance with laws and regulations.
Practicing financial analysis, forecasting, and budgeting for use in decision-making.
Outstanding analytical and problem-solving aptitude able to see patterns and propose enhancements.
Capacity to clearly, orally and in writing present financial data to non-financial stakeholders.
Managing month-end and year-end closing procedures provides experience guaranteeing punctuality and accuracy.
Excellent Excel knowledge including pivot tables, sophisticated calculations, and data analysis tools.
Proven history of proactive reconciliation and monitoring helping to lower variations in financial reporting.

Being detailed helps possible candidates know whether they are a suitable fit for the position and helps to lower the volume of unfit applications.

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Underestimate the Importance of Job Descriptions for Employers

Here are five key reasons companies should establish a good practice of writing and maintaining up-to-date and relevant job descriptions:

1. Job descriptions ensure you’re recruiting the best candidates.

A good job post will go far with an employer’s recruitment and onboarding efforts. It helps the hiring manager gather a pool of qualified candidates and ensures potential candidates know if the position is right for them. In the end, the more details job descriptions include can be better for attracting and retaining high-quality employees who will love their jobs.

2. Job descriptions help ensure your expectations are established and met.

A well-written job description will establish a solid set of expectations for employers to communicate to their employees. When employees have a concrete understanding of their responsibilities, they will work more efficiently and effectively in their day-to-day roles. An awareness of expectations for employees also helps employers properly evaluate performance.

3. Job descriptions support greater employee accountability.

Especially when it comes time for a performance review or evaluation, a well-written job description can help employers maintain accountability to a position’s needs and demands from employees. If a job description is vague or open to interpretation, it will be more difficult for an employer to address a lack of performance or areas of improvement when it comes time for constructive critique or review.

4. Job descriptions promote greater productivity.

When employees understand the specific demands of their jobs, chances are that productivity will be higher. Well-written job descriptions can be the key to employee motivation and happiness on the job, and it’s no secret that happy employees are productive employees who not only accomplish their required tasks but often go above and beyond.

5. Job descriptions mitigate risk and limit liability.

Though there’s no law requiring job descriptions, they can serve as helpful legal documentation if an employee files a lawsuit against a company. A detailed description of the working conditions and expectations can justify decisions in the event of an employee lawsuit or wage classification issue. In fact, job descriptions have been used successfully by employers against employees. For this reason alone, there’s an excellent case for employers to create and maintain the most accurate and updated job descriptions possible.

Also, while job descriptions alone will not determine whether an employee should be classified as exempt or nonexempt under applicable wage and hour laws, they can and should help to justify an employee’s exemption status in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Let LBMC Employment Partners Help with the Heavy Lifting

Good job descriptions are not only essential for potential employees to understand the demands and needs of an open position, but they are a must for employers to properly hold employees accountable to the roles they are hired to execute.

As your business continues to grow and evolve, are the job descriptions up to date, accurate, and relevant to your employees’ responsibilities? Our team at LBMC Employment Partners is ready and willing to offer some helpful tips for developing and maintaining job descriptions that best fit your business needs. Interested in improving your job descriptions? Let’s chat!

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LBMC Employment Partners, LLC, a member of the LBMC Family of Companies, is a world-class professional services firm. LBMC Employment Partners provides a comprehensive suite of human resource related services to businesses including Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services, HR Outsourcing (HRO), Payroll, Human Resource Consulting, Employee Benefits, and ACA Compliance Consulting. For more information visit www.lbmcep.com.