Article Summary
✅ The Internal Job Description formalizes the tasks and responsibilities associated with a position.
🛠 It is useful for recruiters, managers, the employee, and other staff members.
📋 It contains the tasks, skills, employment conditions, and growth prospects.
🔄 It must be updated regularly to remain relevant.
👥 Its drafting is a shared responsibility between HR and managers.
What is an Internal Job Description ?
An internal job description is a document that clearly defines the tasks and responsibilities associated with a position.
It is essential for recruitment and effective team management. Before creating an internal job description, it is crucial to properly define the needs in collaboration with the hierarchical manager. By clarifying roles, it serves as a vital communication tool to avoid misunderstandings and ensure good coordination within teams. It is also important to establish a direct link between the skills required for a position and the evaluation tools used.
For the employee, the internal job description is a valuable source of information on the tasks to be performed daily. It also plays a crucial role during recruitment and throughout the duration of the functions, formalizing expectations and responsibilities. In other words, it defines what the company expects from its employee, thus facilitating their integration and performance.
In summary, the internal job description is an indispensable tool for any organization wishing to effectively structure its internal processes. It allows for the formalization of expectations, optimization of communication, and ensures a clear and equitable distribution of tasks.
Usefulness of the Internal Job Description
For Recruitment
An internal job description is an indispensable tool in the recruitment process. It allows for the precise definition of the sought profile by detailing the tasks, skills, and responsibilities associated with the position. Thanks to this clarity, it facilitates candidate selection by aligning the company's expectations with the applicants' qualifications. Moreover, it serves as a guide for crafting an attractive and coherent job description or job offer, thereby helping to attract qualified candidates. Understanding the core business of the company is essential for optimizing content writing and recruitment processes. In summary, the internal job description is a key element for optimizing recruitment efficiency and ensuring coherence in human resources management processes. It should be distinguished from the recruitment scorecard, which is more focused on skills and constitutes an evaluation grid for the candidate to be recruited.
For the Employee
For the employee, an internal job description is an essential document that clarifies their tasks and responsibilities within the company. It serves as a daily guide, allowing the employee to understand precisely what is expected of them and to organize their work accordingly. By structuring and detailing specific activities, it ensures effective communication between the employer and the employee. By clearly defining objectives and required skills, it helps the employee align their efforts with those of the team and the company. Additionally, it serves as a reference point during performance evaluations, thus facilitating dialogue with managers.
For Managers
The internal job description is a strategic tool for managers as it facilitates team management and resource allocation. By clearly defining tasks and responsibilities, it allows managers to better understand the skills and needs of each team member. This contributes to an effective distribution of tasks and the identification of training needs. It is crucial that the internal job description is developed in collaboration with the hierarchical manager who expresses this need, to ensure that all essential information is considered for the recruitment process. Furthermore, it serves as a reference during performance evaluations, helping managers provide constructive feedback and plan the professional development of employees. In sum, the internal job description is an essential lever for optimizing human resources management and strengthening team cohesion.
For Other Employees
A well-structured internal job description is also beneficial for other employees within the company. It provides an overview of each person's roles and responsibilities, facilitating collaboration and communication among team members. By understanding the tasks and skills of their colleagues, employees can better coordinate their efforts and enhance team synergy. These internal job and function descriptions are essential documents in human resources management as they clarify differences in terms of content and usage. Moreover, the transparency provided by internal job descriptions helps prevent conflicts by clarifying expectations and avoiding overlaps in responsibilities. In sum, it contributes to creating a harmonious and productive work environment.
Essential Information to Include
For an internal job description to be effective, it must include the following elements:
📣 Job Title: Start by specifying the exact title of the position for which the job description is being drafted.
📋 Task Description: Detail the daily tasks and main responsibilities associated with the position.
🎯 Function Objectives: Specify the expected outcomes to guide the employee.
🛠️ Required Skills: List the essential and secondary skills with the expected level of expertise.
📍 Employment Conditions: Indicate the working hours, workplace, and any other specific condition related to the position.
🥨 Hierarchical Relationships: Clearly define to whom the position holder must report and with whom they must collaborate.
🚀 Growth and Prospects: Provide an idea of career advancement opportunities and future prospects for the position.
💶 Salary Range: Indicate an estimate of salaries, if possible, to give an idea of financial expectations.
🏞️ Work Environment: Describe the setting in which the employee will operate, including available tools and resources.
Steps to Create an Internal Job Description
- Initial Discussion: Engage in a discussion with the hierarchical manager to analyze recruitment needs and understand the position's expectations. Establish a direct link between the required skills and evaluation tools to improve the recruitment process.
- Define the Format: Create an internal job description format that includes the job title, responsibilities, and required skills to organize information clearly.
- Collaboration with Teams: Compile an inventory of tasks by consulting managers and employees to obtain a precise overview of tasks. This will help complete the internal job description.
- Review and Validation: Have the internal job description reviewed by the hierarchical manager to ensure all information is correct before final validation.
Who is Responsible for Drafting?
Drafting an internal job description is a shared responsibility. Generally, the Human Resources department handles this task, but it may also involve different managers depending on the specific needs of the position. The hierarchical manager of the position plays a key role in this collaboration to ensure the document's accuracy. Collaboration between business managers and HR teams is essential to ensure that internal job descriptions accurately reflect the skills and tasks associated with different jobs.
It is crucial that the internal job description is signed by the employee and the manager. This signature formalizes expectations and minimizes the risk of future conflicts. Moreover, the validation of internal job descriptions involves meetings with managers and human resources to ensure their compliance and clarity.
In summary, drafting an internal job description is a collaborative process that requires the involvement of several stakeholders to be effective and relevant.
Importance of Regular Updates
Internal job descriptions should not remain static over time. They must be updated regularly, at least once a year or when there are position changes. Regularly planning updates, every six months or annually, is recommended to maintain their relevance.
Updates should reflect changes in the work environment and the company's objectives. Updated job descriptions contribute to a better understanding of roles and foster employee engagement.
Internal Job Description Example
📣 Job Title: Field Sales Representative
📋 Task Description
The Field Sales Representative is responsible for prospecting and developing the client portfolio within a defined geographic area. They must identify new business opportunities, negotiate contracts, and ensure the follow-up of existing clients. Their tasks also include participating in trade shows and representing the company at commercial events.
🎯 Function Objectives\
- Achieve or exceed monthly and annual sales targets.\
- Expand the client portfolio by 20% per year.\
- Maintain a customer satisfaction rate above 90%.
🛠️ Required Skills\
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills.\
- In-depth knowledge of the market and products.\
- Ability to work independently and manage time effectively.\
- Prior experience as a field sales representative preferred.
📍 Employment Conditions\
- Flexible hours, with frequent travel within the assigned region.\
- Position based in [Specific City/Region].\
- Driver's license required.
🥨 Hierarchical Relationships
The position holder reports to the Sales Director and collaborates closely with marketing and customer support teams.
🚀 Growth and Prospects
Possibility of advancing to a Regional Sales Manager position after 3 years of successful experience.
💶 Salary Range
Annual gross salary between €35,000 and €45,000, with a performance-based bonus system.
🏞️ Work Environment
The Field Sales Representative will operate in a dynamic environment, with cutting-edge digital tools to facilitate client and sales management. A company vehicle is provided for professional travel.
FAQ
Why is an internal job description important?
An internal job description is essential because it clarifies tasks, skills, and responsibilities, facilitating recruitment and talent management. By clearly defining the role, it aligns expectations between the employee and the employer.
Who should draft the internal job description?
The internal job description should primarily be drafted by the human resources department, involving managers to ensure its accuracy.
What should an internal job description include?
An internal job description should include responsibilities, objectives, required skills, and employment conditions. This clarifies expectations and better targets candidates.
How often should internal job descriptions be updated?
It is recommended to update internal job descriptions at least once a year or in case of significant changes in the position. This ensures that descriptions remain relevant and accurate.