What is Job Description Management?

Job description management is a best practice used by companies to streamline and simplify recruiting, hiring, and managing the expectations for specific positions within the organization.

We all know what job descriptions are. They describe the functions, qualifications, reporting, responsibilities, and compensation related to a position within a company. Businesses use job descriptions to provide a basis for employee expectations, leveraging them during the recruiting and onboarding process and giving leadership a point of reference in performance reviews and succession planning. Job descriptions are also critical in complying with Federal and State employment regulations.

The trouble is, the larger the company, the more complex the management of those job descriptions becomes. Many job descriptions exist in a siloed state—either within departments, on shared drives, or even residing with specific personnel. This lack of governance is inefficient and ineffective, creating complexities and inconsistencies that among other things, can lead to costly hiring mistakes.

When you consider the average cost of a bad hire can be up to five times the employee’s annual salary, it is surprising that companies do not take a more meticulous approach to job description management.

Job Descriptions vs. Job Postings

Job descriptions are not the same things as job postings. Job postings are advertisements about a job, much like you’d see on job boards like Monster or Indeed. A job posting might give you a general overview of the job, but its primary function is attracting potential candidates and encouraging those with the right qualifications to apply – an advertisement for the job.

Job descriptions (JDs), on the other hand, are a broader, more detailed, empirical view of a job. They are less salesy and more straightforward, aimed at providing HR, management, and employees with clear expectations for the position.

A job description considers many facets of the position beyond the description of the work itself. It includes areas of expertise, education, soft and hard skills, abilities, certifications, licensing requirements (if applicable), the responsibilities involved, and what position the role reports to.

Why Job Description Management is Important to an Organization

Companies of all sizes have job descriptions for their most critical positions. As a company grows, so does the number of JDs. That number can become overwhelming very quickly, especially when the company is growing.

In our current employment climate, the competition for talent is intense and companies struggle to fill their open positions. Inaccurate job descriptions can really exacerbate this problem by attracting the wrong candidates and resulting in bad hires which make the situation even worse. However, without a way to manage JDs efficiently, these issues continue to be a barrier, impeding HR’s activities around recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and advancement.

Almost 80% of companies still use Word docs, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and shared drives to manage, create, and maintain JDs. Even if your organization has complete job descriptions for all positions (only 60% do), manual maintenance and a lack of control could prevent you from achieving your hiring goals.

The right technology makes the job description management process easier, more efficient, effective as well as driving other HR initiatives, like career development, training, advancement, diversity, fair pay, and succession.

Benefits of a Job Description Management Solution

Using a job description management solution simplifies the JD creation and management process. Job descriptions are democratized across the organization so that managers, department heads, and employees can review and update as needed and can access a single source for accurate, up-to-date, authoritative job descriptions. Collaboration between these roles, HR, and Compensation is essential to improving the quality of hires and reducing ambiguity around job duties.

A centralized job description management system accelerates timelines and gives HR back time to focus on higher-value tasks. In today’s job market, the ability to respond to a candidate quickly with the correct information gives companies a better chance of making the hire. Faster time-to-result gives the organization a competitive advantage.

Additionally, job description management offers a high level of transparency into the work people do, which will also help you build a positive employer brand.

Other benefits include:

• Regulatory compliance. Poorly executed job descriptions could put your organization at risk of legal action.

• Better compensation. Competitive compensation is essential to attracting the best candidates, and your valid, approved JDs are an essential prerequisite.

• Identify talent from within. Allowing employees to do their own career pathing by providing transparent access to an accurate and organized job description library helps companies encourage employees who are ready to move within their organization, reducing recruiting costs and improving retention.

• Attract and retain top talent. Accurate JDs ensure new hires and candidates know exactly what they are signing up for. You’ll both know whether they are a good fit from the start.

• Maintain consistency. Ensure your job descriptions display uniformity across departmental lines and have a consistent look, tone, and feel.

JDXpert is The Leader in JD Management

As the first job description management SaaS solution, JDXpert is a specialist in this area. We have helped many of America’s (and Global) most well-known corporations improve their job description management process. JDXpert provides an unparalleled content library to help users write job descriptions and integrates with HR information systems, recruitment, performance, and compensation management systems, making it easy to create, compare, update, share, and collaborate on job descriptions.

At JDXpert, we know that job descriptions are one of the most powerful tools in your HR toolkit. We remove the inefficiencies and complexities associated with job description management, helping you achieve better recruiting results while putting more time back into your day.

To learn more about JDXpert, the leader in job description management software, explore our resources at JDXpert.com or subscribe to our blog below.