How many times have you heard an employee exclaim, “That’s not my job!” when confronted by issues which the employee either failed to do or neglected to do. It should be easy enough to determine the truth of that statement by going through the employee’s job description. That is, if the job description is current and has been periodically updated to reflect what the employee actually does at this time, and not what he or she was doing three or four years ago.

It would certainly be easy for employees to give such an excuse to free themselves from blame when something goes amiss if something important involving the issue has been omitted in the job description. This is why job descriptions should be exhaustive and presents an accurate picture of what the employee is actually doing, and not what should be doing. Many managers have faced a dilemma when deciding what to do in a situation where an employee is accused of misdeeds or not doing their duties and comes out with a vague or incomplete job description to prove that they have not been remiss in their duties. The manager and the employee are not on the same page nor are they looking at the same evidence of what was supposed to be a clear document stating what the manager expects from the employee and what the employee wants the manager to see. An effective job description should allow employees to apply certain actions that could be used to obtain desired results. This way, it would not be easy for them to say “It’s not my job” when they want to avoid responsibility. Letting them know that they have the responsibility for finding ways to achieve what management wants them to do will encourage them more to participate in problem solving, thus contributing more to the overall objective of the organization.

While job descriptions should be accurate and exhaustive in stating what an employee can or cannot do, it should also contain an extra note that adds another dimension to being empowered to do the job as needed: “other duties as assigned.” Some employees dislike this phrase, thinking that it sets them up for something they are not prepared to do. But in reality, this phrase opens up a lot of opportunities for them to go further in the company. It could be interpreted as a vague order from management but you could look at it in a positive way because it means you could show your initiative when tasked to do something more than what your job description says. Everything will become part of your job because you have assigned to do whatever it was, but it will also allow you to shine in your work, being able to present to management your own way of solving the problem, creatively and resourcefully.

A job description that is results-oriented and not process-oriented can greatly help employees to accomplish more beyond their assigned tasks and functions. It will allow them to consider doing a job in ways that may have seemed impossible or impractical in the past.

Author Bio: Loren Yadeski, author of this article is also interested in job descriptions and recommends you to please check out best job descriptions if you liked reading this information.

Category: Career
Keywords: Job Description, Job Descriptions, Job, Description