GATE Exam

Rebecca Regan
http://www.ReganHR.com



The Single Most Important Tool You Need to Practice Sound HR Management
When I began my consulting practice, I had no idea just how
many organizations operate without the most critical tool
necessary to practice sound HR management; the lowly,
neglected and often unused job description. Wrongly
considered unimportant by many and non-essential by some, a
well-written job description is truly the cornerstone in
building your HR and compensation infrastructure. Let's
take a few minutes to review why they're so important in
managing HR and how they should be used every day in HR
departments.

1). Impacts Your Ability to Recruit Quality Candidates
While Minimizing Discriminatory Hiring Complaints.

When you have a quality job description that truly reflects
the knowledge, skills, abilities and minimum qualifications
of the job, you're able to develop job related questions
that help you and your managers effectively recruit for
open jobs. You'll use the job description to develop job
advertisements, postings, and interview questions for use
when recruiting. Through using the job description as a
recruiting tool, your managers will learn to ask applicants
objective job-related questions versus subjective questions
that are illegal or irrelevant (and can get your company in
trouble!).

2). ADA and Worker's Compensation Accommodation.

Because of the ADA, you are charged with writing job
descriptions that clearly identify the essential job
functions of each job in your company. As a part of the
mandated interactive process in returning an employee to
work while accommodating their disability and/or medical
restrictions, a well written job description is a critical
tool.

Having a well-written job description that identifies the
required essential job function, physical requirements, and
work environment is essential for participating in the
interactive process as required by law.

3). Measuring Employee Performance in Your Performance
Appraisal Process.

Your managers will use the job description as an objective
basis of measuring their employees' performance over the
past year and setting goals for the following year.

4). Answers the Critical Employee Question, "How Do I Fit
Into the Organization?"

This issue is HUGE!! How can an employee contribute to the
organization's goals and objectives if they don't
understand their role in the company? They can't!

Writing a quality job description creates linkage between
the employee and the company by identifying what's expected
of them in their job. Establishing an organizational
structure with well-written job descriptions builds
alignment within and between departments that's positively
leveraged to contribute to your organization's goals and
objectives.

5). Managing Performance Problems in Employees.

Unfortunately, in every company there are a few bad apples.
The job description again serves to map out performance
expectations and sets the stage for performance improvement
discussions and potential disciplinary action.

6). Establishes Career Paths for Employee Development.

One of the most frequently cited reasons departing
employees provide for leaving to join another employer in
exit interviews is that they didn't believe there were
promotional opportunities for them, i.e., "nowhere to go."
By building job families and career ladders to formalize
your organizational structure and internal promotion
system, you'll help to retain staff and lower your turnover
costs.

7). Market Pricing Your Jobs.

With the huge shift in the employment market during the
recession, you'll want to keep your eye on the market to
track the rebound and return of inflation in late 2010.
It's essential to base your market pricing project on job
content, not job titles. You'll need well-written job
descriptions to be able to produce sound market pricing
results.

8). Evaluate FLSA Job Status to Properly Classify Your Jobs
as Being Exempt or Non-Exempt.

Now more than ever, because of all of the class action wage
and hour litigation for misclassified jobs, you must know
how your jobs should be classified. These class action
lawsuits have cost many employers dearly, and could have
been completely prevented had the companies conducted their
own internal FLSA audits.

Job descriptions certainly can't be considered "sexy," are
misunderstood, unused and/or neglected by many, yet remain
the cornerstone of sound HR and compensation management for
every organization. Isn't it time for you to revisit
writing or updating them in your company? With the huge
shift in market pay practices that's occurred during the
recession, you'll need to track the marketplace to pay your
people right.  Now's the time to make sure you're ready....

copyright 2009 Regan HR, Inc.


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Becky is passionate about designing Human Resources
programs and compensation plans that build organizations.
Her approach? Support individual HR professionals with
consulting and continuing education, delivered online at =>
http://www.ReganHR.com , via information products through
the teleseminar format, plus coaching and mentorship
programs. She can be reached at Becky@ReganHR.com.