There’s much news about the DOL’s aggressive
approach to ensuring organizations have workers classified properly. With an increased level of dedicated DOL resources, employers are coordinating self-audits to ensure they have properly classified employees and are not subject to penalties and fines.

Job descriptions can be an excellent tool for:

• Recruiting and hiring
• Salary calculations
• Establishing job titles and grade levels
• Declaring exempt/non-exempt status
• Focusing orientation and training requirements
• Preparing performance goals
• Conducting performance evaluations
• Career planning
• Supporting reasonable accommodation requests
• Complying with employment regulations

However, unless they are kept up-to-date, job descriptions can negatively impact the employment cycle.  In a climate of misclassification audits, finding the time and resources to ensure job descriptions are current is imperative.

Job Analysis

The process of updating or creating job descriptions starts with a well-organized job analysis process.  Often the tool used for this process is referred to as a PAQ – Position Analysis Questionnaire.  This questionnaire guides the HR professional in collecting the appropriate information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes and work functions of each job.  

The job analysis process produces the following:

• A thorough understanding of the essential job responsibilities of current employees in the position
• A listing of duties and responsibilities benchmarked with other similar jobs outside the organization
• Analysis of the duties, tasks, time spent on each, and responsibilities for effectiveness and efficiencies
• The job’s relative importance in comparison with other jobs within the organization
• The knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the job
• The conditions for the work to be completed, including physical and mental requirements
• Articulation of the most important outcomes needed from this position

Often a third-party is used to collect and analyze the data to ensure an unbiased and fresh look at the position, and to make sure the position is being evaluated not the person doing the job.

The job analysis can be performed in a variety of ways, but all require an open and honest approach with the employees, managers and other stakeholders.  Most commonly the process will include:  interviews with the employee, supervisors and managers, completion of the questionnaire, completing a desk audit of activities performed, and general observation.

Job Descriptions

There is some controversy these days about job descriptions.  Some organizations suggest that things change too quickly anymore and that they are better off without them.  Others don’t want to be constrained by the document, and want to ask anyone to help with a project. 

My passion is all about improving workplace performance and alignment.  To do that, I believe some type of documentation is needed to communicate performance expectations that influence the recruiting, hiring, performance, training, and development functions of an employee’s career.  Without it, the employee and the processes suffer.  

Job descriptions do not, and should not be written in stone.  But they should articulate in some way, shape or fashion:

• An overall summary of the position with general areas of responsibility
• Essential functions of the position, including a few examples
• Required (not nice to have) knowledge, skills and abilities
• Required (not nice to have) education and experience
• A description of physical and mental demands, as appropriate
• A description of the work environment

The more information that can be gathered during the job analysis phase, the more accurate the reflection of the job.

Don’t wait for the DOL to call.  Take the appropriate actions to ensure your job descriptions are accurate and up-to-date and that the corresponding titles, salary, exempt status, and job grades are appropriate and defendable.