Log in Job Descriptions Job descriptions are required for recruitment so that you and the applicants can understand the job role. Job descriptions are necessary for most people in work. A job description defines a person's role and accountability. Without a job description it is usually very difficult for a person to properly commit to, or be held accountable for, a role. This is especially so in large organisations. As an employee, you may have the opportunity to take responsibility for your job description. This is great, as it allows you to clarify expectations with your employer and your boss. The process of writing job descriptions is actually quite easy and straight-forward. Many people tend to start off with a list of 20-30 tasks. This is okay, but this needs refining to far fewer points - around 8-12 is the ideal. Smaller organisations commonly require staff and managers to cover a wider or more mixed range of responsibilities than in larger organisations. For example, the 'office manager' role can comprise financial, HR, stock-control, scheduling and other duties. Therefore, in smaller organisations, job descriptions might necessarily contain a greater number of listed responsibilities, perhaps 15-16. However, whatever the circumstances, the number of responsibilities should not exceed this, or the job description becomes unwieldy and ineffective. Any job description containing 20-30 tasks is actually more like a part of an operational manual, which serves a different purpose. Job descriptions should refer to the operational manual, or to 'agreed procedures', rather than include the detail of the tasks in the job description. If you include task detail in a job description you will need to change it when the task detail changes, as it will often do. What would you rather change, 100 job descriptions or one operational manual? Similarly, lengthy details of health and safety procedures should not be included in a a job description. Instead, put them into a health and safety manual, and then simply refer to this in the job description. Again, when your health and safety procedure changes, would you rather change 100 job descriptions or just one health and safety manual? A useful process for refining and writing job descriptions responsibilities into fewer points and ('responsibilities' rather than 'individual tasks'), is to group the many individual tasks into main responsibility areas, such as the list below (not all will be applicable to any single role). Bold type indicates that these responsibility areas would normally feature in most job descriptions: Bold type indicates that these responsibility areas would normally feature in most job descriptions: Communicating (in relation to whom, what, how - and this is applicable to all