Say Goodbye to Hiring Mistakes: The Right Way to Craft Job Descriptions

Last week, I shared the best way to develop a Company Structure that scales.

As a sort of "Part 2" to that resource, I want to connect the dots between creating all of the functions you need to scale and actually communicating to your team what those functions are responsible for.

Without providing absolute alignment with your teams on "who is doing what," you will have challenging conversations ahead.

This week, let's talk about job descriptions that are actually helpful (not the ones with 500 skills required listed–as if anyone actually checks those).

Tired of Hiring the Wrong People?

Effort In = Results Out, right?

Sort of...but I'd argue that formula isn't complete. What's missing is the skill (or smarts) behind the effort.

I can put a lot of effort into digging a hole with a toothbrush, but it ain't producing results.

It's the combination of effort plus the skill behind it that maximizes results. Switch the toothbrush out for the proper tool, and you'll get the results you're looking for.

The same is true for hiring and managing your teams.

If you recruit and hire someone based on a generic job description with 50 responsibilities and 75 skills required, you won't get the results you're looking for.

If you keep hiring this way, you'll leave too much complexity or ambiguity in what is expected from each of your team members.

The result? 

Lack of ownership, uncomfortable HR meetings, constant resetting of expectations, a total lack of accountability, and a team that gets very little accomplished.

1 Function, 5 Roles

Last week, we discussed creating a scalable structure for your business based on a function-first, people-second approach.

That is, thinking through the specific functions needed to make your business thrive and then layering in the right people to the unique functions.

We polished the structure off by listing the 3-5 Roles and Responsibilities of each function, giving you absolute clarity on who is responsible for which aspects of your business.

Now, we need to finish this process by creating Job Descriptions that provide clarity in the hiring process and can be used in your teams' quarterly coaching and Annual Reviews.

By connecting these pieces together, you'll eliminate the ambiguity of "who does what" and have the tool you need to hold each of your team members 100% accountable for their job.

Creating Clarity for Each Team Member

Below, I've listed a link to a Functional Job Description Template that you can copy and use for absolutely free.

But before we get to that, I want to paint the picture of how all of these tools work together:

1. Your Core Values help you find, attract, and hire the right people.
2. Your Company Structure helps you determine what functions are needed to scale your business. Each Function has 3-5 Key Roles listed, so everyone in the company can see who is responsible for what at a glance.
3. Your Functional Job Description elaborates on each of those 3-5 Key Roles with additional details on specific tasks, metrics, and areas of responsibility. You'll use this to help you recruit and hire the best people for the job.
4. The Quarterly Check-in uses these 3-5 Key Roles to provide your managers with opportunities to coach each of their team members quarterly to ensure people stay on top of doing their jobs with excellence.
5. Inevitably, when someone is not the right fit for your company or lacks the competency to do the role well, the 30-30-30 Method helps you easily and effectively get them back on track or off your team.

These resources make up the foundation for building a healthy, effective, and scalable team.

You can access my Functional Job Description Template here to begin providing absolute clarity to each person on your team.

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Have questions on all of this, or want to provide hyper-accountability to your team? Book a 1:1 Call with me.

I've spent the past 15 years sorting out how to build scalable teams so you don't have to. Let's discuss how we can get you where you're going quicker.