Job Description Status : Confused

How elemental is it for organisations to specify and answer with clarity the inevitable question, “What would my job role be?” during an interview? The interview stage becomes a platform for prudent deliberation as it is during this stage that one is informed about their job description (read: essential information concerning the accountabilities, duties, and responsibilities of the job seeker) and it is post this stage that the hired employee is faced with the varying reality of the said job role.

“It is critical the candidate is given a clear role description. In the event of non-clarity by the organisation, it creates a gap in the trust factor between the employer and employee at the entry level, which is not sustainable in the long run,” informs Bobby Kuriakose, GM HR, Forbes Marshall. Chaitali Mukherjee, country manager, Right Management India feels, “The job of the HR manager is to understand the role clearly and then float it in the market to get the right candidate. This is also important for lateral hires, where the individual hired is expected to deliver within a stipulated time frame.”

If a predicament regarding disparity crops up, what can an HR manager do once they have hired an employee who feels their job role varies from the job description they were provided with? Rita Verma, senior VP, organisation development, DDB Mudra Group feels, “It is important for the HR person to personally explain to the candidate what the role is and what is expected from this position.” From an organisational perspective, what could be the adverse ramifications of providing (consciously or subconsciously) a prospective hire with an ambiguous job description? At the interview stage, Mukherjee points, “The negative ramifications could be that the employee may not get enough clarity and may choose not to join.”

Providing us with a bird’s eye view of such a situation surfacing post the hiring stage, Kuriakose voices, “The obvious negative ramification is infant attrition (loss of the candidate in the first three months of joining). This is not only a huge loss of time, but also has a bearing on the organisation’s brand, as infant attrition always results in negative branding.” Thus, the impact of not aligning work to the job profile can be dire and resorting to the right managerial fixes at the right stage can ward off any long-term adversity. After all, a stitch in time does save nine.

lynn.lobo@timesgroup.com
Ref: Ascent, Times of India
Date: 3/10/2012