How to Write a Good Job Description including Roles and Responsibilities

Jill Leviticus reports:

"A good job description provides information that helps both supervisors and employees understand what tasks the employee will and will not perform. Tasks are described in detail in the roles and responsibilities section of the job description. Taking the time to research individual tasks will help you ensure that the roles and responsibilities section is comprehensive and complete...Before you begin the final draft of the job description, you must first determine which duties the employee performs. If an employee is currently working at the job, ask him to describe to you the functions he normally completes in the course of a week or month. If you plan to create a new position, decide what duties the new employee will handle. Give each duty a description and place it on your job description task. List the most important duties first...Look at each duty on your list and write detailed information about the tasks needed to accomplish the duty. RecruitLoop.com suggests that you limit descriptions to no more than two or three sentences, and include an action, object and purpose. If the duty is 'Prepare Monthly Sales Reports,' write the steps the employee will need to complete the report...While you won’t need to include every minor step needed to complete a duty, the description should provide enough information to adequately portray the scope of the employee’s involvement...Include a roles and relationships section that explains how the employee will interact with other employees or departments. The roles section might say the employee will manage other sales representatives and be responsible for ensuring the department meets its quotas...If the employee is to serve as a mentor to other employees or provide training, mention these facts as well...Avoid using jargon when writing job descriptions. Write the description in simple language that clearly explains the tasks, roles and responsibilities. Be sure to include specific information regarding frequency of tasks. Write that the employee will spend 20 percent of the day updating the database, rather than noting that the database often needs updating. Don’t assume that the job will be performed by a certain gender. The U.S. Small Business Administration website suggests using 'he/she' in descriptions and advises that you find a way to write sentences that don’t require the use of gender pronouns."