Write Job Descriptions - Finding Employees

I DON’T NEED TO WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION! It’s my small business and I know every job very well.

I’VE BEEN IN MY BUSINESS FOR 20 YEARS AND I KNOW WHERE TO FIND GREAT EMPLOYEES! Famous last words!

Every business owner should know the particulars of every job within their company. But knowing the job and being able to effectively communicate that to new employees requires different skills.

As a standard practice some medium and most large companies will write some sort of a job description. In my experience writing job descriptions is a lost art for most small companies. It’s very common for the owner to handoff the new employee to one of the seasoned staff members to train. That’s all well and good, but a percentage of new employees don’t last more then 90 days. Why? There could be numerous reasons, but one common reason is the lack of a cohesive job description for a particular position.

 

The following is a sample process to write a cohesive job description:

 

n      Summary- write a short general paragraph that summarizes the job from qualifications to tasks.

n      Job Responsibilities- this section should explain what the employee will do on a day-to-day basis.

n      Reports to- list the title of person who this employee reports. Briefly describe the role of the supervisor.

n      Required Qualifications- this section explains the skills required to successfully complete the job tasks. This could include education, job experience, computer skills, interpersonal skills, etc.

 

HOW DO YOU FIND CAPABLE NEW EMPLOYEES?

Now that you have a comprehensive and cohesive job description the next step is to find great employees. How do you find them?

The following are some sources to find candidates:

 

n      Friends and Family- network with everybody you know to surface potential candidates.

n      Local Employment Office- make contact with his office. There will be people on unemployment who are looking for a job, including people who are receiving unemployment insurance.

n      Chamber of Commerce- Networking at the chamber monthly meeting can surface referrals from chamber members.

n      Online- Websites like Career Builder, Monster, Indeed, etc. are full of potential candidates. There’s a cost attached to these options.

 

HAPPY HUNTING!

 

Eric Mankuta - SCORE Counselor

visit us at www.scoresouthflorida.net