Job descriptions are the duties and requirements that are necessary for the recruitment of an employee. It is a list of general chores, duties and role of the employee for a specific and general job. Without job description a person cannot perform his role accordingly. In simple words job description is the basic or main responsibilities that an employee is supposed to perform for any organisation or company. Any job description must contain these things;
- A job summary: Detailed information regarding the general tasks and duties of the job.
- A list of job functions: List of those functions and duties that an employee needs to perform his duty.
- Requirements: For different jobs there are different requirements. The job description must contain the specific requirements for the job.
- Other requirements: If there are any other requirements for a specific job a job description explains those relevant requirements.
Preparing a job description is vital to an organization to put up boundaries for a role and helps as an interaction between the employer and employee to make sure of a clear understanding of expectations. A task description should be clear, concise and define a specific job function and expectations that gives the potential employee a sense of the priorities involved. It not only offers a readable image of the situation for potential candidates, but is likewise a utilitarian instrument for appraising performance and a critical reference in the consequence of disputes or disciplinary matters.
Job Description Types
There are two types of job descriptions one is known as general job description and the other one is known as specific job description. The difference between both is described as under.
General Job description is a list of general duties and functions that are required for a position. In general job description we will straightway get the knowledge that we need to contact for applying a job and we also do not need to read extra details about the company or the job. If an ad of a job is short and brief and does not explain any specific duty that a person needs to perform then it comes under general job description. For example if there is an ad that says that a company needs a manager, but does not explains any details regarding the requirement of the job. It comes under general job description.
In specific job description the employee needs some specific qualifications or skills to perform his/her job. Sometimes it also explains some extra information regarding benefits, allowances and nature of the job. For example if there is an ad that says company needs a manager who must have computer skills, needs some experience in public dealing and also explains the information regarding pay, tax, working hours, then its comes under specific job description.
Job Description Purposes
The purpose of job description is to have the clear summary of liabilities and tasks. Job description plays a very important role in organizational resource management. It develops an organisation in managing and improving the abilities of the people in the following ways:
- It provides the origin of assessing job performance.
- It explains that what an employer is expecting from his employee in the performance of his duties.
- By job description the grading and pay systems can be organised honestly and rationally.
- If there is any dispute or issue of employer/employee job description provides necessary reference tools for that purpose.
- Job description describes the necessary reference implements for discipline matters.
- It describes the clear role of the candidate for the job.
- It describes the structure, rules and regulations for a company or an organization to guarantee obligatory deeds, liabilities and tasks.
- It provides foundation to measure performance of a job.
- It provides necessary ideas for development and training.
- Job description enables an organization to organise its function in a constant mode and by this way an organisation can increase its effectiveness and success.