Three Essential Job Description Writing Tips

Believe it or not, job descriptions play a big role in both talent acquisition and HR compliance.  As part of my presentation at the Ohio Parking Association Conference this week, I reviewed sections of a job description and the purpose they serve for the company and employees.  Whether you’re drafting a parking attendant job description or General Manager, below are tips for writing three specific sections and their value. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This section of the job description is used to detail the core responsibilities of the role.  When well constructed, this provides clear expectations of an employee of what is expected day to day as part of their position.  Keep in mind when creating essential duties and responsibilities:

1. Each should be clear and concise. Avoid getting into too many details that are better served in company policies and procedures.
2. They should be ranked in order of priority. For example, if a position is classified as salaried/exempt, the responsibilities of the job that relate to the role’s exemption status should be listed first.
3. Avoid the kitchen sink approach by using the 80/20 rule. It can be tempting to list every last thing a role may be asked to do, but it’s best to keep this list relatively short, focusing in on those essential responsibilities.  If a responsibility comes up rarely, move it into the Non-Essential Duties section. 

Minimum Requirements

Include the qualifications a candidate must possess in order to perform this role such as experience and education level.  This section is extremely valuable when filling an open position, because it provides the person recruiting for the position a way to evaluate candidates to determine if they should be interviewed. 

1. Focus on minimum when establishing requirements for a role. If the requirements are greater than needed, it could attract great candidates and potentially push the role into a higher salary band than needed.
2. Evaluate candidates consistently against the minimum requirements. It’s possible to inadvertently discriminate against some applicants when they are disqualified because they don’t meet a minimum requirement, while others are moved forward overlooking a requirement because there is something else compelling on their resume.  It’s difficult to argue that it is truly a minimum requirement if it isn’t applied to all candidates.
3. It’s possible to evaluate whether the minimum requirements are valid when you reach the interview stage. If you end up interviewing candidates who are too senior or too junior, this is a great place to start in terms of reevaluating the job description for the role.  

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Many parking and valet jobs require employees to stand for long periods of time, work outdoors in a variety of challenging climates and expect employees to run or lift heavy objects as part of the role.  Any requirements along these lines should be spelled out in the Physical Demands and Work Environment sections of the job description. 

If these are missing, employers have no basis to disqualify a candidate or take disciplinary action against an existing employee who cannot meet these requirements. 

When you’re ready to draft or update your company’s job descriptions, we can help.  Drop us a line at letsconnect@marlyngroupllc.com to schedule a complementary one hour consultation or visit the Marlyn Group blog for more parking industry trends related to talent acquisition, human resources and employee training.