Make Those Meaningless Job Descriptions Disappear (Part 1 of 2)

Part 1 of 2. Read Part 2 of Make Those Meaningless Job Descriptions Disappear.

 

Let's face it, a job description in this day and time is about as useful as an extra toe.  Still, you need something that will define better what a person with a specific role is supposed to do and how to do it.  You need something that will serve as the foundation for consistent, high performance.  The job description is just not the right tool.  On those occasions when you imagine yourself saying the magic words to make the perfect tool appear, you ask it to:

• Enable any employee performing in that role to be successful. 
• Carify learning needs. 
• Define selection and recruitment criteria. 
• Help individuals and teams interact with the rest of the organization. 
• Assist in improving retention and employee satisfaction. 
• Make the output of the role consistent without stifling creativity and innovation.

Is this too much to ask?  On the surface it may sound like prestidigitation is the only way to produce such a tool, but specialists in the growing area of human performance technology (who have nothing up their sleeve) have developed what could be a solution.  This tool comes under different names, but we can call it a role definition.  It describes the following components of a project role:   Outputs, Value to Organization, Initiation & Inputs, Processes Involved, Conditions and Constraints, Feedback and sometimes others.

Outputs
This part of a role definition describes the products, services, deliverables that the role has been designed to create.  For a project manager, this would include items such as a project plan document, schedule, required reports, successfully completed project, etc. 

Value to Organization
A link to the vision, mission and values of the enterprise gives the worker performing the role needed perspective and background so that he or she can see beyond the role and become better at helping the organization meet its goals.  The worker will also be able to participate more effectively in process improvement efforts.  This role definition section should also enable the worker to see how his or her particular project fits in with other projects.  

Initiation & Inputs
To produce outputs with the expected quality, a worker performing a role must get the proper inputs in a timely fashion.