Your Job Description

A lot of times when you are the business owner you get so involved with what is happening within your business that you lose track that you are one of the employees of your company. Do you have a job description? You should. Too many times you step in to help others, putting out fires and forget you have a very specific job to do. Here are the steps needed to create your own job description.

DRAFTING THE JOB DESCRIPTION

An example of Job description content:

1. Introduction - A brief paragraph stating the name of the position and the company.
2. Functional Role - This shall include a sentence or short paragraph to describe the overall impact the position has on the company.
3. Reporting Relationship - Indicate to what position this job reports (use the title of the position, not the individual's name). Also, indicate the titles of any positions that report directly to this position.
4. Requirements - This is an overview of the specific physical demands of the position as required by national law. “Reasonable accommodations" must be made for handicapped individuals qualified for the position and no person should be rejected simply because of a physical or mental challenge.

Knowledge and Abilities: General industry knowledge, equipment specific experience, specific software expertise, holding driver’s license or other special permits or licenses, etc.

Authority - This is the power to take action with prescribed limitations without obtaining prior approval. List the authorities and limitations of this position.

Responsibilities - Responsibilities are not necessarily what the individual does, but rather that which he or she must ensure is accomplished. The responsibilities must be results-oriented, not task oriented.

Principal Duties - List the specific tasks and duties that must be performed to accomplish the responsibilities of the position. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish a task from a responsibility; this does not matter as long as the individual realizes it is his/her responsibility.

Measurements of Performance - These must be the specific and, if possible, quantifiable measurement criteria used to evaluate the performance of the employee.
Conduct employee performance evaluations on all employees that report to this position at least annually.

Acknowledgment - State that the job description has been reviewed and is understood. It is signed by the manager and the employee receiving the guide. The document is then filed in the employee's personnel file, with a copy being provided to the employee.


Job descriptions must be regularly reviewed and revised. Annual reviews are recommended. Job duties, authorities, and responsibilities will change over time and job descriptions need to be modified accordingly. All revised guides should be dated, signed and filed in each employee's personnel record.

Welcome

Welcome to our new blog, Your Small Business- Carpe Diem!

Chuck and I have over 25 years each of business experience. We have owned our own company, worked for large corporations as well as having a great deal of business management and consulting experience in other’s businesses.

Right now with the economy in a huge state of flux a lot of business owners are trying to stay in business, grow their business and some people feel that have to start a business just because the jobs have gone away.

We want to share our experiences with you and answer questions that you may have about your business. We will be glad to answer questions and maybe we can help other businesses through dialogues with one another.

As always, you need to Seize the Day!