Tips For Employers. A Case of “Chicken & Egg”?
Most instances of employee appointments make reference to a specific job title or employment position – it would be very unusual for an employee not to be appointed to a specific position which also has a related job title (sometimes position and job title are fused) But what about a job description? Should that be formulated before the employee’s appointment or afterwards? Does it matter?
Perhaps equally important is, how should a job description be formulated? In many cases, it often depends on the type of employment post or position and sometimes also depends on the job level.
Although employers often outline the job role upfront, in some situations, it may be necessary to formulate a more refined or in-depth breakdown of the job role and related duties after the appointment – and possibly in consultation with the employee.
In my view, especially with higher level employees (upper management), or perhaps with more specialized positions, it’s useful to work towards an agreed job description – that way, there is hopefully a degree of “buy-in” or “ownership” taken by the employee, regarding the applicable job description formulation. This approach also assists with developing applicable performance criteria, when it comes to assessing and evaluating job performance and related outcomes.
However, in other instances, there is perhaps less of a need to reach consensus on a related job description – the employer simply formulates the duties and responsibilities, as required.
Regardless, in my view, it is important to break down any job position or job role into it’s basic duties and responsibilities, right at the outset of an employee’s appointment, even to the point of including that breakdown (however basic) into the appointment letter or employment contract terms. I hold this view, because in as much as employers are ostensibly entitled to expect employees to perform duties that are intrinsically or reasonably connected to the job position, it is useful to obtain upfront (contractual) agreement on the specifics, to avoid misunderstandings or disagreements later on.
Again, this also assists with developing applicable performance criteria, where employee performance is to be assessed and evaluated, within a performance management process. These considerations are especially relevant to employee probationary periods, where performance assessments and evaluations become vital for determining a newly appointed employee’s eligibility for continued employment.
