Why Job Descriptions Are Changed?

Make sure job descriptions are accurate so everyone is on the same page.

Every position in any company should have a job description attached. The job description is a document that lays out exactly what a job entails, the duties that will be performed and what the qualifications of the job are. While job descriptions determine the duties of any given employee, these job descriptions are not set in stone and can be changed.

Periodic Updating

The most common reason a job description is changed is due to a simple updating of employment records. If the company is a decade or so old, the basic nature of the jobs may have changed since the company's inception. The job descriptions should be periodically looked at and updated to reflect the actual duties of each job.

Laws

Often, there can be new laws companies will have to follow. If these laws require an employee to do something in order for the company to be in compliance, their job description will need to be updated and changed to reflect this position's new duty to the law. It is important to update the descriptions for law changes as people who may be applying for this position in the future will need to know of their legal obligations.

New Duties

If the position undergoes a large change of duties, for example the taking on of a new department, the job description should be changed to reflect that. By changing the job description, you acknowledge there has been a large change that has fundamentally changed the nature of the position.

New Positions

Many times companies will add new positions or split a position into two. Each of these jobs will need to have an accurate job description. When a new position is created and duties are taken away from an existing employee, the job description of the new employee must reflect what duties are left for that position.

Change of Employee

Often, job descriptions are determined by the people who are filling those jobs. Since people have different skill sets, each employee will bring slightly different skills to the job. If an employee leaves who was doing something that might have been slightly outside of the sphere of the job, the description should change to take that task away from the position. If it is left in the description, hiring managers might have the perfect person for the job but they can't offer it because the candidate does not have the ability to perform that special duty.

References

• Ask Jan: Job Descriptions