Good Job Descriptions are essential. They tell the recruiter, the job holder and their manager exactly what the purpose of the role is, the responsibilities and outcomes and how these will be measured.

Here are 7 things you must include:

1. Role Summary.

This should be an accurate, concise and detailed statement of why the job exists. It should summarise the overall role of the job from the organisation’s point of view. One sentence should be adequate for this.

2. Role Responsibilities

This section should identify what needs to be done and why, (NOT how). They should be written in the form: What is to be done, to what and with what outcome. Be precise and realistic (If you have more than 8 you probably have too many)

3. Success Measures.

This is how the organisation will know how well the responsibilities have been undertaken. For example the success measure for a customer services manager could be the number of customer contacts to resolve an issue. You do not have to have a success measure for each responsibility. One success measure may relate to a number of responsibilities, (don’t include numerical targets as these can and should change)

4. Behaviours and ATTITUDES.

Think about what type of person would be best suited to this role. For example someone who works in a very structured way, following detailed instructions and procedures may excel in a quality control role but may not be well suited to a more unstructured role in which they must use there initiative to solve multiple and varied problems. Think about who your top performers are in this role and the personal qualities they possess which may help them to be super successful in the role. (Look for some more like this!)

5. Skills Knowledge, Experience and Qualifications.

Ensure that these are genuine requirements. For example if the requirement is time bound, you require the job holder to have 5 years’ experience, make sure that this is objectively justified. (What can someone with 5 years’ experience do that someone with 4 years could not?) Research has shown that previous experience has no bearing on success in future roles.

6. Training.

Identify any training on in house systems, processes, and policies or requirement for continued professional development etc.

7. Context.

Provide additional information about the role, for example a requirement to travel overseas, shift pattern or geographical area covered by the role, key relationships or partners. (You should also provide an organisational chart.)

If you’re a business owner in the West Midlands, come and join us at our FREE Bitesize HR for Small Business workshops during October and November.