job descriptions

Providing Clear Direction

A proper job description helps the hiring and training processes.

TRUDI CHAREST

A well-written job description is more important than most practice owners realize. Not only does it start the new employee off properly with an overview of their responsibility, it goes hand in hand with recruiting, hiring, training and evaluating employees.

Here’s how a proper job description helps in these areas:

Recruiting

Job descriptions lead to a thorough and engaging job posting. When writing one, list the qualities and skills that you feel are required to be considered for the position. An example: “Greet patients in a friendly and professional manner while building rapport.”

Providing a clear description eliminates the number of non-skilled applicants from applying and attracts more qualified candidates. This saves valuable time and effort on your behalf sorting through resumes.

Hiring

The job description now becomes part of your interview process, as you ask pertinent questions to understand the skills and strengths of potential employees. Interview questions such as “Tell us about a time when you to deal with an upset patient,” should uncover behaviors and experience level directly related to the responsibilities and tasks detailed in the job description.

Also, job descriptions allow for a basis on which to develop compensation plans for different positions within the practice. As the position changes and grows, so does the job description, allowing for more responsibility in order to justify raising compensation. This is very important as your practice grows in size and number of employees.

Training

Since your job description outlines the position and all tasks, it is easy to discuss each task in depth and ask questions to determine the need for further education and training. Even an experienced or certified eyecare employee needs some level of introduction and orientation in his/her new environment.

The job description and training assessments should be reviewed every year to see where continued efforts and changes are required.

Evaluation

Job descriptions facilitate performance evaluations. The employer has a written account of what the employee has been asked to perform and the expectations of the role. Review the job description, and see where the employee has excelled and improved as well as any gaps in performance.

If performance gaps become an issue, review and refer to the job description and assign improvement measures. Should performance gaps not improve and discipline or termination is considered, job descriptions may become an important document for legal protection.

A clearly defined position

Like many other important business tasks, if you take the time to write proper job descriptions it pays for itself later. Employees gain clear, consistent direction to clarify their position in the office and improve efficiency. OM

TRUDI CHAREST IS THE PRESIDENT AND TRAINER FOR TOTAL FOCUS TRAINING & CONSULTING AS WELL AS PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF JOBS4ECPS, AN ONLINE EYECARE JOBSITE. EMAIL HER AT TCHAREST@EYECOMMEND.CA, OR SEND COMMENTS TO OPTOMETRICMANAGEMENT@GMAIL.COM.