Job Description Audits: Outdated Job Descriptions Are a Quiet Liability
When was the last time you read your company’s job description?
Not when you post a position. Not when you change an employee’s name at the top of the document. I mean, really read them.
If the answer is “I’m not sure,” you are probably not alone.
Job descriptions tend to be one of those HR documents that get created, saved in a folder, and forgotten. Meanwhile, the actual job keeps changing. New technology has been introduced. Responsibilities are added or changed. Teams get smaller or larger. Employees start wearing more hats. Before long, the job someone performs every day may look very different from the job description sitting in their personnel file.
That may not seem like a big deal.
Until it is.
The Quiet Liability
An outdated job description usually does not cause an immediate problem. No alarm goes off when a job description turns five years old.
The problem comes later when the company needs to rely on it.
Maybe an employee requests an accommodation, and you need to determine the position’s essential job functions. Maybe you are evaluating whether a position is properly classified as exempt or nonexempt. Maybe an employee is struggling with performance, and suddenly there is disagreement about what the employee was responsible for doing.
Perhaps you are terminating an employee for failing to perform duties that are nowhere in the job description.
That is when an old job description can become an uncomfortable piece of evidence.
A good job description should reflect what’s happening in the workplace, not what happened three reorganizations ago.
Start With What the Employee Actually Does
One of the easiest mistakes employers make is reviewing job descriptions from the top down.
HR looks at the description. The manager looks at it. Everyone agrees it looks reasonable, and it goes back into the file.
Instead, ask the person doing the job.
Employees and supervisors can often identify responsibilities that have quietly been added over time. A position that originally involved basic administrative work may now handle customer issues, financial information, scheduling, reporting, or even supervision.
Those changes matter.
During an audit, compare the written job description with the position’s actual day-to-day responsibilities. Look for duties that have disappeared, duties that have been added, and responsibilities that have significantly increased.
The goal is not to document every tiny task an employee might perform. You want an accurate picture of the position and its primary, essential responsibilities.
Pay Attention to Essential Job Functions
This is one of the most important parts of the audit.
Job descriptions should clearly identify the position’s essential functions. This becomes especially important when addressing disability accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If an employee requests an accommodation, one of the questions may be whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.
A job description written before a hiring decision can be helpful evidence of what the employer considers essential. But simply labeling every duty “essential” does not make it so.
Ask practical questions.
Why does this position exist? Which responsibilities must this employee personally perform? How often is each function performed? What happens if the function is not completed? Could the responsibility reasonably be reassigned?
Those answers will tell you much more than an old list of duties.
Check Physical Requirements
Physical requirements are another area that can easily become outdated or overly broad.
Does the employee really need to lift 50 pounds? How often? Does the position actually require standing for eight hours? Is driving truly an essential function?
Sometimes these requirements were copied from another job description years ago, and no one has questioned them since.
Be specific and realistic.
Instead of automatically stating that a position requires lifting 50 pounds, determine what employees actually lift and how often. The same applies to standing, walking, climbing, reaching, driving, and other physical demands.
Accuracy matters, especially when evaluating accommodations, return-to-work situations, or workplace injuries.
Review Exempt and Nonexempt Classifications
A job description audit is also a good opportunity to review wage-and-hour classifications.
A fancy title does not make someone exempt from overtime.
Neither does a job description that says the employee “exercises independent judgment” if the employee does not actually have that authority.
When reviewing exempt positions, compare the employee’s real responsibilities with the applicable exemption requirements. Pay particular attention to decision-making authority, supervisory responsibilities, discretion, and the type of work being performed.
If the written description and the real job are telling two different stories, that deserves a closer look.
Do Not Overlook the Basics
Job descriptions do not need to become six-page legal documents.
In fact, simpler is often better.
A solid job description should generally identify the job title, reporting relationship, overall purpose of the position, primary responsibilities, essential functions, qualifications, physical requirements when appropriate, and classification information.
It can also include language explaining that the description is not intended to list every possible responsibility and that duties may change based on business needs.
This gives the company flexibility while still giving employees a clear understanding of their role.
How Often Should You Audit?
A good practice is to conduct a formal review at least annually and whenever the position changes significantly.
Promotions, reorganizations, new technology, staffing changes, mergers, acquisitions, and major changes in responsibility are all good reasons to pull out the job description.
Another easy opportunity is during the performance review process. Ask managers one simple question:
“Does this job description still accurately describe what this employee does?”
You may be surprised by the answer.
One Last Step: Get the Employee Involved
Once you update a job description, review it with the employee.
This does not mean the employee gets to negotiate every sentence. It simply creates an opportunity to make sure everyone understands the position and expectations.
Having employees acknowledge receipt of an updated job description can also help establish that expectations were communicated.
More importantly, it starts a conversation.
Sometimes that conversation uncovers workload problems, duties that have shifted between employees, unclear reporting relationships, or responsibilities management did not even realize someone had taken on.
That is all useful information.
Employees should not perceive job description review as a threat or an implied disciplinary action. Too often, job descriptions are pulled out only when a negative action or change is being considered. Letting employees know you’re reviewing roles and positions across the board can help reduce that anxiety.
The Bottom Line
Job descriptions are easy to ignore because they rarely feel urgent.
But they touch far more areas of HR than most employers realize. Hiring, compensation, accommodation, performance management, overtime classifications, workers’ compensation, and termination decisions can all eventually lead back to one basic question:
What was this employee hired to do?
Your job descriptions should answer that question.
If they cannot, it may be time for an audit.
Pull a few job descriptions out today and compare them with the jobs your employees are performing. You do not have to fix every description overnight.
Just start looking.
Because when it comes to HR compliance, the documents sitting quietly in the background have a funny way of becoming very important when something goes wrong.
If you have questions about job descriptions, want help auditing what you have, or need help creating new ones, HR Service Inc. can help ensure your job descriptions accurately reflect current roles and responsibilities.