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Well-Written Job Descriptions Can Help Ensure that Senior Management and the Team are on the Same Page...
According to Mike Bowers, a nationally recognized organizational development consultant, “Over ten years or so, I conducted Organizational Reviews of at least sixty dealerships. I have yet to find one in which the employees did not indicate a need for good clear job descriptions. In these studies, we always started by asking employees to complete a questionnaire describing their workday activities. (see below)
Then we interviewed each of the workers eliciting more information about their answers. In order to do an effective review of this type, the answers to two questions were critical. The first is “What do you do?” The second question is “Why do you do it?” or similarly, “What is the purpose of your job?”
This information typically gave us more insight into the dealership organization,
its condition, character, and culture, than the rest of the study combined.
Before we get to the Questionnaire, let’s detail some “Do’s” and “Don’ts” in preparing the job descriptions:
DON'Ts
Don’t include the employee’s name. This is a functional description only. Don’t personalize it.
Don’t get overly detailed. Do not list times of day when tasks are to be done. Do not list work hours.
Don’t include the pay plan for the position. Complicated job descriptions must be rewritten frequently. Experience shows that the more often a description must be changed, the more likely the re-write is to be deferred or forgotten.
Don't be vague about physical requirements. But stick with the actual position functions. If the job requires driving for instance, then include it. The ability to drive to work, however, is not a legitimate job requirement in most circumstances.
Don’t get overly restrictive and paint yourself into a corner.
Don’t write descriptions that are designed to apply to only one individual. If you do, you will be changing descriptions as often as you change people.
DO's
Do include the position title and reporting relationships
Do include FLSA status: Exempt or non-exempt for overtime compensation
Do include the Purpose of the position
Do include essential job functions
Do include marginal job functions
Do include physical requirements, if any
Do include any defined qualifications
With these understandings, move on to getting feedback from your current management team:
Questionnaire for Current Managers and Supervisors
DEFINE THE MANAGER AND POSITION IN THE DEALERSHIP
Name:
Title:
Department:
Location:
Length of time in present job:
Length of time with Company:
Supervisor’s Name and Title:
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYEE/MANAGER
Read entire questionnaire before you begin.
Describe your job as accurately as possible. Try not to understate or inflate your responsibilities.
Consider your most normal assignments and activities.
If more space is required, additional sheets may be used.
(Provide space to answer each question.)
1. PURPOSE OF YOUR POSITION: Briefly state, in your own words, the reason your job exists...
2. PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS: Carefully think through the activities you regularly perform and those you carry out on a periodic basis. In order of priority, list the principal activities for which you are primarily accountable...
3. GENERAL POSITION INFORMATION:
What are the most important aspects of the work you do?
What is the most time consuming activity of your position?
4. ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
What positions (by title) report directly to you?
What positions (by title) report indirectly to you?
What positions (by title) report to your supervisor?
5. RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY.
What is the scope of your responsibility for taking action on the following:
Company expenditures:
Personnel Actions (Hiring, Firing, Compensation, etc.):
Changing Company Policy:
Types of Decisions made without reference to higher authority:
6. RELATIVE POSITION IN ORGANIZATION:
From what positions within the company could employees be promoted to your job?
For what higher positions should your job prepare you?
7. EDUCATION REQUIRED:
What is the minimal educational requirement for this position?
What special training or certifications are required?
8. EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
What kind of, and how much, previous experience is required?
Where IS that experience typically obtained?
The best way to employ this questionnaire is to have both the Manager and their direct Supervisor both answer the questions and then compare. You will learn much about how well aligned you are on goals, processes and individual responsibilities;
DealersEdge has a Guide from which the above was adapted. This guide contains over 100 actual job descriptions as created for over 30 dealership positions from auto dealers from coast to coast. A USB flash drive with Word files of each is also included so that you can borrow and then edit to your own needs.
To learn more about this DealersEdge Guide, please see below...
A powerful dealership management tool to help you:
Align management and employee priorities
Align management and employee expectations
Boost employee satisfaction and reduce turnover
Eliminate hours wasted on low-value tasks
Head off costly legal issues
Hire winners and get them up to speed quickly
Avoid overstaffing and task duplications
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