065: Fix Your Job Descriptions with Don Berman

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Let’s Fix Work Episode 65

Up until recently, I was using the words job description and job posting interchangeably. They are two very different things. A job description is a technical document and it includes some high-level esoteric stuff, like competencies, abilities, and requirements. You cannot have a fair and equitable work environment unless you have a clear and specifically delineated job description. And well, a job posting is what you put on the Internet (or back in the “olden” days, in the newspaper).

In this episode, I speak with Don Berman, COO of HRTMS. HRTMS is evangelical about belonging, inclusion, and diversity in the workforce. You may have guessed, their perspective focuses on getting the job description right from the get-go. Because, if you get the job description right, you can't help but pay, treat, and consider people in a fair and just way.

I was so fascinated by this conversation. It’s really about getting things right and about operational and organizational excellence. So if you're looking to tackle job descriptions, find out what they really are and what they are not, then sit back and listen to this episode of Let’s Fix Work.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. The differences between job descriptions and job postings
2. Why recruiters and HR teams are not spending time and money on job descriptions
3. Writing job descriptions: the need to remove the incumbent or the person who's doing the work from the individual description itself
4. Why a job description needs to be used as a tool by which we measure performance
5. Over 70% of those surveyed said they were unhappy with the state of their job descriptions and why people have resigned themselves to the idea that job descriptions will always be a mess
6. How we can fix job descriptions for today’s workforce

“The job description has the responsibility to be the empirical piece. The piece that says this is what the job should be. And this way it gives you a way to measure people who either under or overachieve.” Don Berman, COO, HRTMS

Resources from this episode:

Thanks to our sponsor: Namely.com/podcast

Connect with Don Berman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donberman/

HRTMS website: https://www.hrtms.com

A free download of our eBook “10 Ways To Improve Your Job Descriptions” -  https://www.hrtms.com/10- ways-ebook---promo