Summary: Developing Staff Position Descriptions from an Organizational Perspective

Cross-posted from http://itsm.is.wfu.edu/node/179.

Zane Phipps and Matthew Silverman from George Mason University gave this presentation on "Developing Staff Position Descriptions from an Organizational Perspective."

Position descriptions are often developed to address short-term needs rather than long-term strategic goals. They may also not be revisited often enough; for example one job description referenced a technology that hadn't been used since 2003.

Their five step process for standardizing job descriptions, removing "slack," and ensuring that all jobs were clear and not overlapping was

1. Inventory current job duties, identifying overlaps and duties no longer needed.
2. Create a hypothetical organization based on the FTEs available (dream state).
3. Distribute the new duties to people.
4. Receive feedback from staff, supervisors, peers, and clients. Also advise HR.
5. Communicate widely, once this roadmap has been established.

Key takeaways:

• People might see job description changes as punitive rather than an organizational correction
• Make sure "other duties as assigned" is under 10% of the total workload
• Use peer pressure to ensure that people are on the same page with what their job is
• Provide training but set a higher standard once training has been completed