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Position Descriptions

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, readers will be able to:

• Understand the importance of a properly prepared position or job description

• Conduct a position analysis • Appreciate the contribution made by a position’s incumbent • Describe the components of a position description • Create a position description

■ CHAPTER SUMMARY

Position descriptions or job descriptions are the documents upon which the day-to-day operations and activities of the employees of an organization are based. They should support the mission, goals, and objectives of the organi- zation that creates them. All job descriptions in an organization should use the same format and a common vocabulary. Well-written position descrip- tions include statements that clearly delineate duties and responsibilities and fully describe compensable factors such as the level of responsibility, the number of persons supervised, the resources controlled, and the experience and minimum level of education needed to complete the job successfully.

Case Study: Creating a New Job Description

Julie Miller, the health officer of a large suburban health department, was planning for the future. The board had discussed creating a new position for someone to conduct training for employees of the health department. Registered sanitarians are the most common classification of employees in the health department. They are not only difficult to recruit but also

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difficult to retain. Providing them with additional and ongoing training should help with retention.

Matt Jefferson has been employed as a registered sanitarian for the past six years. He recently completed a master of public health degree. He approached Julie to ask for the training position, briefly making his case that he was the best person to become the trainer. Julie told Matt that, ac- cording to departmental rules, a search would have to be conducted to find the best candidate for the position. Matt replied that if the job description were written carefully, a sanitarian clearly would be the best candidate. After thanking Matt for his thoughts, Julie began to work on the position description, which she thought could be completed in half an hour. What comments or advice would you offer to Julie?

■ INTRODUCTION

Lists of activities delineating a particular employee’s tasks are called job descriptions or position descriptions. The term job description is older and evolved from the field of industrial psychology. Position description is a newer, more inclusive designation. The two terms are interchangeable. With changes in the flow of work, position descriptions change. Fluidity of positions is especially pronounced in fields related to health. Managers must be aware of such changes and ensure that the descriptions of the activities that their employees perform remain current and accurate. This is relatively easy for supervisors to address with an annual review of the descriptions for their supervisees. Human resources (HR) must be willing to record changes in an organization’s master files.

A job analysis must precede the preparation of a position description. The format of a position description varies among and within organiza- tions. However, one general format is usually found throughout a single organization. Health departments may use separate formats for clerical, nonexempt positions and managerial, exempt positions. Exempt refers to the status of a position relative to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 and its subsequent amendments, meaning exempt from the overtime provisions of FLSA. The FLSA established the length of a working week in the United States, which is currently set at 40 hours. It requires employers to pay affected employees at a rate of one and one-half times their hourly wage for hours worked in excess of the maximum work week. All work performed in excess of the maximum working week is called overtime.

According to the FLSA a position may be designated as exempt if it meets certain requirements addressing salary, level of responsibility, and the management or supervision of others. As long as a job meets the FLSA test as professional, administrative, or executive, it is a “salaried” position exempt from the overtime requirements of FLSA. Such positions typically

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include those of managers and supervisors, and any time these employees work in excess of 40 hours is assumed to be a part of their normal job duties. Employees who are paid by the hour are fully covered by FLSA regulations; they are referred to as being nonexempt.

A position description generally has three main parts: identifying informa- tion, a job summary, and a list of the principal duties performed. The process of generating a position description begins with an analysis of the job or position.

Positions, not individuals, are classified. Occasionally, the temptation exists to write a position description for a specific individual, tailoring the requirements and experiences so that a preselected person becomes the best candidate in a job search. This should be avoided. If that person leaves the position, then the specifications will not readily change. Finding a replacement may then become difficult. It is better for all concerned that a position description be written for a job and not for a particular person.

■ POSITION ANALYSIS

A job description is the most obvious and visible output of a job analysis. Comprehensive and accurate job descriptions, developed as a result of job analy- sis, are used when selecting, training, evaluating, and compensating employees.

The basis of any employment decision is job analysis, a fundamental activity in human resource management. Accurate information about all positions is required to direct and efficiently control the activities and operations of any organization. Federal regulations and competition have both increased the importance of job analysis. HR does not produce revenue, yet HR requires significant cash outlays in an organization’s annual budget. Supervisors and managers must have current and accurate information about all positions to operate their businesses, deliver services, and conduct programs in an efficient and timely manner. Smaller healthcare provider organizations and health departments have often omitted compiling complete sets of position descrip- tions. They rely on the professional nature of many employees’ duties for guidance in supervising and evaluating professional employees.

Position descriptions provide more than just guidance for an employee’s day. They are integral to an organization’s efforts to be fair and equitable to all employees. Organizations providing healthcare services that do not have current position descriptions for all employees become vulnerable with regard to accusations of discrimination in employment practices. One way to defend against charges of unfair employment practices is to conduct job analyses and prepare job descriptions.

A job analysis involves extensive studying of a specific position and yields information for a position description. The person conducting a job analysis gathers information about positions from several sources. These include interviews with people currently in the position (also referred to as job or position incumbents), observing their performance of the job’s

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duties or tasks, worksheets or questionnaires completed by employees, and information from sources such as the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Position analysts will compile their findings and review the resulting job analysis with the current position incumbent. Once agreement is reached with regard to the job description’s accuracy, the preliminary document is given to an incumbent’s supervisor for review. Supervisors may add, delete, or modify descriptions of duties, knowledge, skills, abilities, or other characteristics. After supervisors approve individual position descriptions, they are forwarded to upper management for final approval. A final posi- tion description is prepared, signed, and dated. Copies are given to both the incumbent and supervisor. A copy is also filed for future reference.

Role of a Position Incumbent Job incumbents have an important role in the process of generating accu- rate position descriptions. Position incumbents can assist in the process of analysis by taking time to think about their jobs. They should keep a diary of work-related activities or make notes about their job duties. These should include all activities that occur during one complete cycle of duties. Typically, a year may be required to complete all job duties. Unless job analysis occurs when budgets are being prepared, budget-related tasks may be overlooked.

At the beginning of an analysis interview, incumbents should explain their concept of the job to the analyst. The analyst should try to help the job incumbent focus on the facts. Job incumbents should avoid overstating or understating characteristics of a position, such as duties, required knowledge, skills, or abilities. Both analyst and job incumbent should remain focused and should minimize discussion of extraneous issues. Analysts are concerned only with the position. Personal performances, fairness of wages, complaints, and relationships with supervisors or coworkers are not relevant.

Senior managers determine the extent of a position’s impact on an organi- zation and the boundaries of a job. Position analysts do not determine conse- quences as part of their work. Such decisions are made by senior managers. For example, salaries will not be reduced or a position eliminated because of the analysis process. An analyst may recommend title changes or other posi- tion realignments, but the final decisions are made by senior management.

Elements of a Position Description A position description usually includes the following elements: job identi- fication information, a job summary, a principal duties performed section, and a job specification section.

Job Identification Information Job identification information must include, at a minimum, the position title, the department location, and the last date on which the content of the position description was verified. Other data, such as the title of the supervisor, help to show how the position fits within a larger organization.

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Job Summary The job summary provides an overall rendering of the purpose, nature, and extent of the tasks performed by the person in the position. In a well-constructed system, the job summary should relate to the mission statement of the department in which the position is located and to the global mission of the organization.

Principal Duties Performed This section presents job facts in an organized and orderly fashion. When pre- paring the principal duties performed section, a job is normally broken down into approximately five to eight different tasks or functions for the purpose of describing the position. The job tasks should be listed in order of decreasing frequency or occurrence. This means the task that requires the most time to complete or that is the most critical for a given position should be listed first. For each duty listed in this section, a description of the job’s activities (i.e., what is done on the job), how the task is accomplished, and why it is necessary should be provided. This is a convenient method of organizing a position description. It quickly and effectively communicates a great deal of information about a position to a reader who is unfamiliar with the job or position.

Position descriptions should be written using sentences that are complete, clear, and brief, using action verbs and the present tense. In preparing a job summary, the purpose of the position must be clearly stated. This state- ment should be as brief as possible while still accomplishing its purpose. Words should be carefully selected to convey the maximum amount of specific meaning. General or vague terms should be avoided unless they are absolutely essential as a substitute for a long and detailed explanation.

The principal duties performed section follows the job summary and includes major job tasks, as previously outlined. Many organizations include a fourth section in their descriptions that covers job specifications.

Job Specification The job specification section outlines the minimum specific skills, effort, and responsibilities required of an incumbent in the job. Job specifications provide the basis and justification for values that will be assigned to fac- tors used in evaluating a position. Factors are elements created by a job analyst and subsequently used when comparing different positions within a single organization. Job specification statements must describe the extent to which a given factor is present and the degree of difficulty encountered in the position for that factor.

When writing job specifications, individual statements should be defi- nite, direct, and to the point. Any unnecessary embellishments or compli- cated sentences should be avoided except where they materially add to an understanding of the details contained in the statement. Any specifications that apply only to occasional duties should be indicated accordingly so that the percentage of time or frequency with which the specification applies will not be overestimated.

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Educational requirements for a position description must be supported by the analysis of actual duties. Higher educational requirements may legally be included if they are such that the skills or training can be acquired only through formal education or if it is only through formal education that an individual can acquire a particular license or certification that may be required to pursue the given occupation. Minimum levels of schooling must be used. For example, the formerly encountered requirement for a “high school diploma” has given way to the necessity for one to possess the ability to “read and write and understand simple instructions.” Artificially high educational requirements have been judged to represent a form of discrimi- nation. They are not only illegal but unethical. Skills must be supported by position analysis. These are factors that are linked to compensation. Other factors that must be compensated include the level of responsibility expected of an incumbent, the number of people supervised, the amount of funds managed, and the resources controlled.

Job specifications are then translated into position descriptions. These descriptions are for specific job categories, for example, Secretary 2, Nurse Aide 1, Sanitarian-in-Training, or Environmental Supervisor 1. The title indicates the major duties of a position. The number after it may indicate the level of the position in the organizational hierarchy. Higher numbers usually denote more senior or more responsible positions. Whereas job specifications may be recorded for individual incumbents, position descriptions are developed for general categories of jobs. Well- written position descriptions should contain the items listed in Table 6-1. An example of a completed job description in the described format appears in Appendix 6-A, which can be found at the end of this chapter.

Table 6-1 Position Description Components

Component Explanation Title Specific title for the job Status Exempt or nonexempt Summary of duties Major tasks to be performed Salary range The minimum, midpoint, and maximum

for the job Knowledge required Specific training needed to perform the

job; specific experience, both type and amount needed to perform the job

Skills required Specific skills expected Effort required Both mental and physical; any heavy lifting Responsibility Consequences of an error Working conditions Hazards or other poor working conditions General statement Other duties as required

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A position description becomes a vitally important HR management document for managers and supervisors in that it sets out the major duties and responsibilities for persons in specific positions. In many cases, the position description may be detailed to the level where it can be used for performance appraisals and employee evaluations.

The preparation and verification of a position description and its speci- fications compose the first step in developing a base salary compensation program. The next step in the process involves rating positions, or job evaluation. Job evaluation is essentially a comparison of available infor- mation for each position with rating scales that have been established to assist in determining order among many different positions. Job evaluation establishes the relative position of each individual position with respect to all jobs in an organization. Typically, an HR department performs the job evaluation. If it is a new or highly controversial position, then an interdis- ciplinary job evaluation committee, composed of members from various sectors of an organization, may evaluate a job.

■ CONCLUSION

Many people consider position descriptions to be dry and uninteresting. Regardless, however, they are important documents for any organization. Position descriptions should be closely linked to organizational goals and objectives. They are used when determining compensation levels. Job descrip- tions must employ a regular format, style, and language, and they should be prepared with care and reviewed periodically for accuracy and currency.

Case Study Resolution

Returning to Julie, the health officer who began to write a job description for the new training position, a pause is in order. Job descriptions are not essays. They are based on an analysis of the new position. A thorough position analysis usually requires more than 30 minutes to complete.

Julie apparently intended to specify a master of public health degree as the minimum level of education for the job incumbent. While such a deci- sion might appear to create a good opportunity for the sanitarian, formal schooling is not the only place where expertise in training can be obtained. An employee with several years of work experience who has had some leadership responsibilities should be able to become a successful trainer. Artificially high educational requirements are a form of discrimination. Julie should be reminded that job descriptions are written for positions, not individuals. To ignore this advice is to court problems when seeking a replacement for the proposed employee.

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Reference Hill, K., & Meyer, B. (1998). The worker of the future: A system outlines the

competencies its employees will need. Health Progress, 79(2), 29–32.

Discussion Points

1. What is the principal difference between “exempt” and “nonexempt” employees?

2. What are the main provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act? 3. What is a job analysis? 4. Why is a job analysis important? 5. Briefly describe the main elements of a position or job description. 6. What, if anything, does a job incumbent contribute to a position

description? 7. How is the education level required for a position established? 8. Describe several uses of a position description. 9. In addition to actual duties performed, what other information is con-

tained in a properly prepared position description? Why is it included? 10. Why is the statement “Job descriptions are written for positions, not

people” important?

SPOTLIGHT ON CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer Service and Position Descriptions

Data obtained from a convenience sample of 42 position descriptions from a number of different healthcare and public health organizations revealed that only one of the descriptions contained a reference to customer service. Holdings of the National Library of Medicine were checked. The search query stipulated the presence of two search terms, “customer service” and “posi- tion description.” This approach identified 14 articles. One of the identified articles mentioned including customer service on position descriptions (Hill & Meyer, 1998).

If every position description in an organization included “provides good customer service,” three criteria would be realized:

1. The single goal of addressing customer needs is clearly expressed in the program’s name: customer service.

2. An organization requires only one customer service program. 3. Customer service is a priority activity that should be shared by all

employees.

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Resources

Books Byars, L. L., & Rue, L. W. (2003). Human Resource Management (7th ed.). New

York: McGraw-Hill. Cushway, B. (2006). The Handbook of Model Job Descriptions. London: Kogan

Page. Farr, J. M., Ludden, L. L., & Shatkin, L. (2001). Dictionary of Occupational Titles

(2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works. Mader-Clark, M. M. (2006). The Job Description Handbook. Berkeley, CA:

NOLO. Wilson, M. (2004). Volunteer Job Descriptions and Action Plans. Loveland, CO:

Group Publishing.

Periodicals Conway, J. M., & Peneno, G. M. (1999). Comparing structured interview ques-

tion types: Construct validity and applicant reactions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 13, 485–506.

Fooks, C. (2005). Health human resources planning in an interdisciplinary care environment: To dream the impossible dream? Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 18(3), 26–29.

Hall, A. (2005). Dialing for jobs: How to make the most of a phone interview. Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology, 39(5), 377–378.

Kristof-Brown, A., Barrick, M. R., & Franke, M. (2002). Influences and out- comes of candidate impression management use in job interviews. Journal of Management, 28, 27–46.

Rosse, J. G., Stecher, M. D., Miller, J. L., & Levin, R. A. (1998). The impact of response distortion on pre-employment personality testing and hiring decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 634–644.

Smaglik, P. (2005). Seeking soft skills. Nature, 438(7069), 883–885. Van Iddekinge, C. H., Raymark, P. H., Eidson, C. E., & Attenweiler, W. (2004).

What do structured interviews really measure? The construct validity of behavior description interviews. Human Performance, 17, 71–93.

Van Iddekinge, C. H., Raymark, P. H., & Roth, P. L. (2005). Assessing personality with a structured employment interview: Construct-related validity and suscep- tibility to response inflation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 536–552.

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Appendix 6-A

Sample Position Description

Job Title: Community Practice Facility Controller

Unit or Section: Administration

Status: Exempt

Department: Finance

Salary Range: (intentionally left blank)

Basic Function: Plans, directs, and coordinates, on an efficient and eco- nomical basis, all facility accounting operational activi- ties, including cost accounting, financial accounting, general accounting, information systems, and general office services

Scope: Work encompasses involvement in a broad range of accounting activities that are essential to the mainte- nance of facility operations and the dissemination of financial information to the board, senior managers, and owners

Summary of Duties:

1. Coordinates all essential accounting operational functions in a timely and accurate manner, developing methods geared to providing man- agement with information vital to decision-making processes.

2. Directs the development of methods and procedures necessary to ensure adequate financial controls within each of the facility’s operational areas.

3. Performs analysis and appraisal of the facility’s financial status. 4. Prepares recommendations with respect to future financial plans, fore-

casts, and policies. 5. Works closely with the chief executive officer on confidential financial

matters and expedites such matters to conclusion. 6. Directs this operation within the accounting parameters established

by facility, third-party provider, state, federal, and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), rules and regulations.

7. Manages the organizational area in a manner that fully complements and interfaces with all other coordinating agencies or business partners.

8. Performs other duties and responsibilities as directed by the CEO.

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Number of Supervision Exercised: Employees: Direct: General supervisors in operational areas 2–3 Indirect: Other facility supervisors, administrative and clerical personnel 15–20

Training and Education:

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) required; graduation from an accredited program

Experience:

Must have at least five years of experience in accounting with some supervisory responsibility

Responsibility:

Budget of $3,500,000 per year All required insurance for hospital State and federal filings for tax and other financial purposes

Effort:

Minimal physical effort required; no lifting Mental effort requires ability to concentrate on numbers for long periods

of time and to occasionally work under severe deadlines

Working Conditions:

Well-lighted office; No exposure to hazards in the normal course of work

The above constitutes a general summary of duties. Additional duties may be required.

Approvals:

Supervisor: Date:

Department manager: Date:

HR Department: Date:

Reviews:

Person: Title: Date:

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