As little as 2% of HR professionals are happy with their job description process, and it's a problem that can throw their entire talent management lifecycle off course.  

It's not an overstatement to describe job descriptions as the bedrock of HR. Without them, organizations have no way of knowing what kind of talent they need and no way of attracting, evaluating, and developing that talent with any kind of accuracy.   

Yet all too often, this bedrock is made up of outdated information or content cobbled together from internet searches. In the worst cases, it doesn't exist at all: fewer than one-tenth of HR professionals say they have job descriptions in place for every job. 

In this blog post, we'll look at why it's still so hard to create effective job descriptions and what talent managers can do to improve the process. 

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It's not just you. Job descriptions are tricky.

In a survey of HR professionals, only 2% agreed their job description process was "great as it is," while 68% admitted the process could use improvement. 

Accurately capturing the requirements and nuances of successful on-the-job performance isn't easy. Add compliance and DEI considerations into the mix and the task gets even harder. No wonder job descriptions are often shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list. 

In some cases, it means those job descriptions just don't get created. Nearly one-third of HR professionals (35%) said they had job descriptions for fewer than half of the jobs in their organization, and only 9% had descriptions in place for every job. 

Even where job descriptions exist, they're not always up-to-date. More than half of HR professionals (56%) say they don't update job descriptions until there's a specific need, and nearly one-quarter (23%) go two years or longer between updates. 

Job descriptions can also be plagued by inaccuracies and quality issues because of the way they're created. For example, more than half of organizations (57%) source job description content from internet searches—hardly the best way to ensure accuracy. In one survey, over 80% of respondents reported at least a moderate discrepancy between the job description and the actual requirements of the job. 

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Good job descriptions are more important than you think

As challenging as it can be to tackle job descriptions, it's well worth the effort. 

On the negative side, inaccurate, out-of-date, or missing job descriptions expose your organization to too many risks, including the risk of legal action and regulatory noncompliance. 

On the positive side, building better job descriptions can have a transformative impact on the way you hire, evaluate, and optimize talent. After all, job descriptions exist to define the requirements that ensure the success of not only the employee but the entire organization. When they are detailed, validated, and inclusive, they are more likely to attract top candidates and can be used as the foundation for talent management processes such as selection, assessment, and development.

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How to create high-performing job descriptions 

The key to creating defensible, compliant, effective job descriptions is to select the right content and the right technology. It's not realistic to expect talent managers to develop job descriptions from a blank page or manage the review and approval process without the right collaboration tools.

1. Content

While the majority of HR professionals look to search engines to find job description content, it's not a best practice. Content sourced from the internet is often poorly constructed, inaccurate, and outdated. 

That's not to suggest that you need to start from scratch, either. Ideally, your job description process will start with content that has been collected from a range of trusted sources, normalized, and reviewed by experts. While AI platforms like ChatGPT do a good job of collecting and synthesizing content for a job description, they can't eliminate inherent bias or inaccuracies in that content. The content you start the job description process with needs to reflect both artificial and human intelligence. 

In addition to responsibilities, tasks, qualifications, and requirements, job descriptions should include competencies. Competencies define the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a job successfully by defining these dimensions in terms of objective, observable behaviors. Adding competency profiles to job descriptions provide a deeper level of detail about how successful employees get the job done. 

2. Collaboration

Effective job descriptions are a collective effort that includes input from multiple stakeholders. 

In addition to the oversight of the HR or talent acquisition professional, the process may involve: 

• The hiring manager who understands the responsibilities and expectations of the role
• The incumbent, who understands the day-to-day tasks and challenges 
• Team members and peers who can provide additional insights
• Stakeholders from other departments who interact with the role 
• Executives who understand the broader organizational impact of the role
• Diversity and inclusion experts who can help to identify bias

Collecting and integrating the input of these diverse contributors is an essential part of the validation process, ensuring that the job description is accurate and aligned with the needs of the organization. 

3. Consistency

A collaborative process results in a stronger, more inclusive job description, but it can also wreak havoc on the structure, consistency, and quality of the end result. HR professionals need to have a process in place that protects these qualities. 

For example:

• Is the tone consistent across all job descriptions? (An overly casual tone can increase negative impressions by 30%)
• Is the language inclusive? Language that demonstrates unintended bias can impact your ability to attract and leverage talent at every point in the talent lifecycle. 
• Are the number of skill, qualification, responsibility, and experience statements considered and consistent? Too many statements can be overwhelming, while too few can result in a lack of clarity. 
• Are the job statements structured consistently? When statements use a jumble of verb tenses or grammatical structures, they become difficult to read and understand.
• Are the competency statements structured to be consistent across jobs? Without an overarching competency architecture, career paths are difficult to navigate.

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Build a solid bedrock for successful performance

A job description is the only document that defines the talent requirements for success on the job. If it's accurate, inclusive, and actionable, it becomes a blueprint for hiring, evaluating, and developing that talent. If it's not, it winds up being just another document filed away in a forgotten folder. Don't underestimate this critical HR tool: make it a priority to establish a collaborative approach and specific quality benchmarks for every job description in your organization.