Managing Job Descriptions, Policies and Procedures
SevenStar HR CEO Jackie Gernaey recently joined Alan Schoenberger on his podcast, Chasing Nickels, to discuss the importance of job descriptions, employee handbooks, and hiring the right employees. This blog post will cover some of the discussion on job descriptions, policies, and procedures.
Alan: Can a job description be too detailed?
Jackie: Yes. A job description should focus on the key accountabilities of the position - I call those the five things that if someone did them well, you forgive them for things they didn’t do well. Make sure that your job description doesn't come off looking like it's a contract between you and your employee. You can use what I call a legal job description - legal meaning it has things in it that are going to protect you from being sued for discrimination. That would be a list of what the employee has to be able to do for the job – work in freezers, lift a certain weight, handle hazardous chemicals, those kinds of things.
Alan: Having all this documentation is great because not only will it help the business operate more efficiently, but when it comes time to exit and potentially sell to an outside party, they're going to look more favorably on a company that has documented policies and procedures. I often see many companies that don't have any documented policies and procedures, or they have those policies and procedures but they haven't been updated in a really long time so they have zero reflection on reality. These documents need to be revisited from time to time - any recommendations?
Jackie: They should be looked at least once a year and updated, and again if you aren’t familiar with HR laws get your labor attorney to review. It's really important for you to do this and get started right away with something. Include how many days off employees will get, what the pay policy is –simple things like that.
Alan: Do you see companies defaulting to whatever is the norm in their industry, or do they look at the specific needs of their employee base?
Jackie: What they should do is consider the needs of their employees, because if you want to retain employees you need to be thinking about what the employees need and want. Think about what it is that will help you retain employees.
Alan: I agree. Check in with your employees on a regular basis to make sure that whatever existing policies and procedures, and job descriptions you have are in agreement, and get their input if they're not.
Jackie: Generally, I suggest a minimum of reviewing your employees (sitting down with them and going through how they are doing) once a year and that is a good time to look at your job description and see if there are major changes that have been made to keep that up to date.