Filling a role can be a pain. You have to give it some thought and if you work in a larger organisation you will probably have to create a job description and a person specification which will be used in the associated adverts and recruitment process. So where do you start? You could get a blank sheet of paper and think hard about what you would expect from that person and build up a description of their role from the ground up. Alternately you could take the job description of the last person who filled the position and make a few changes so that it looks like you have bothered. Being human it is more likely that the second option is the one that you will choose.
In this way you will advertise a post based upon either a guess of what this person will do or on the assumption that they did what their job description said. After all, who looks at their job description ever unless they are looking for a new post or they are under threat of being ousted?
Help is at hand however. Someone told me of a much better way but unfortunately I cannot remember their name and so if it is you then please accept my apologies.
It’s quite simple really and is based on the unusual but obvious perception that the best person to describe a role is the person who is currently doing it. (I know, odd isn’t it.)
For all of the roles that currently report to you, you should create a form that helps you to understand exactly what is required from that role. Periodically, everyone in that role would complete the form and this would add to your (and the organisations if you share it) general knowledge. The form should be completed in a single go without too much pondering over the answers and would have the following questions (I have put some examples in brackets):
– What 5 things do you need to know to do your job? (A list of customers, product margins, ability to work from home, smartphone etc.)
– Which 5 systems or processes are key to you doing your job? (Payroll, financial system, production control etc.)
– Which 5 key people do you interact with in order to fulfil your role? (Betty who can arrange appointments, Tony who knows everyone, Bill who pulls all of the strings etc.)
– What 5 things do you wish you had been told before starting your current job? (What the aims of the organisation are, how governance works, who has the best coffee etc.)
With this information you have a ready-made job description and person specification for all of your jobs, written by experts. Every time you take on a new member of staff you will have a ready-made induction. By reviewing this information regularly it will build up to become a comprehensive record of that role as it changes over time.
As people leave the organisation, vital information is lost and as new staff start, vital productive time is lost as people struggle to understand their key role. This proposal gives a self organising approach to solving these problems. Never again will we have to invent paperwork and never again will you not know what you expect your new employee to be doing.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 