Hiring a new employee is one of the most important and time-consuming tasks a manager can undertake. Firing an employee is an emotional draining and difficult action, no matter the length of service or level of responsibility. You will be investing a lot of time and money in this new employee and it is essential you do it right.

Starting out right with new employees requires some good planning and documentation. Most employers mean well, but all too often the formal Job Descriptions quickly evaporate after hiring. This is especially true for small businesses where employees wear many hats that change constantly. It is important to put your vision on paper to avoid any misunderstandings down the road.

If you do not currently have Job Descriptions then you really are affecting your chance of success in recruiting the right people for your organisation whether you search for candidates yourself or with the help of an agency. The primary reason being that you do not have a “map” in terms of the type of person you are seeking, when you do develop it, do not only include competencies and past experiences in terms of your needs, remember that in this incredibly tight labour market attitude can be one of the most important determinants.
Employers often hire based on skills and experience and fire based on attitude. What you should be doing is hiring on attitude because most skills can be taught and it can be very difficult to change someone’s attitude.

In addition, once you write the Job Description there is a number of ways that you can use them directly or indirectly:

• Establish performance requirements
• Assign occupational codes, titles and/or pay levels to jobs
• Counsel people on career opportunities and their vocational interests
• Train employees
• Check for compliance with legal requirements related to equal opportunity, equal pay, overtime eligibility, etc
• Make decisions on job restructuring
• Suggest ways to enrich the work experience

Where to start?
Title - you need to have a job title for the new position. This is usually just two or three words that define who the person is. Avoid using "Director" unless the person is a high-level decision maker in your business.

Beneath the title, you want to include important information related to the job such as the status (exempt vs. non-exempt) and to whom the new employee will report.

Job Overview - this is a summary of the job. Make sure that this section is not more than three to four sentences long and explains the basic nature of this job position. There is no need to get too specific here, since you will be outlining details of the job in the following sections.

Duties and Responsibilities - here is where you should be specific. As a matter of fact, put down all the tasks that the new employee will be doing in this position. If someone is already acting in this role, ask him or her to keep a daily log of his or her tasks. Remember that the job description is the work that you need to be done now and also the work that will need to be done as your business grows. Be flexible in writing the duties and responsibilities to accommodate this growth. In the future, this section will be the reference point for the employee. It is easy to refuse to do work by saying that the task was never outlined as his or her responsibility. Be clear, concise, and complete.

If you are creating a job description for a position that is already filled, you should complete the duties and responsibilities section with your employee.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - these are basic qualities that the new employee should possess. These requirements are the essential ones that are often overlooked when hiring because employers are more task-focused. They could include:

Knowledge of computer software, including PowerPoint, Excel.
Skilled at performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
Ability to relate to people and make them feel comfortable.

Credentials and Experience - here is where you list the level of educational and professional experience you would like the candidate to have. You may want to be flexible in this area so as not to disqualify potentially good employees. Allow for additional experience to make up for the lack of an educational degree. This may not be possible if you are hiring for a highly technical job that requires specific skills.

Salary - for new positions, you will want to include this information. It is wise to put a salary range so that if turnover occurs, you are not locked into a specific amount.

After you have completed the Job Description, set it aside for a day or two. Coming back to it after a few days may allow you to make revisions that you could not have done at the first sitting. It is also a good idea to have someone else look it over and offer input (consider a co-worker familiar with the job responsibilities, a friend, your spouse). A copy of the Job Description should go into the employee's file, once he or she is hired. If you do not have Job Descriptions in some form, I would suggest you reconsider why you do not and remember that the relatively small amount of time needed to develop these is a very productive exercise in improving your business success.

Please feel free to contact us at Frontline Health with any recruitment requirements - we are here to help.