Archive for August, 2008

Dog psychologists, kitty counselors, painting authenticators, and consultants for horse saddles, kosher certification and feng shui. So, what do these people do?

That’s not what to ask. Better to ask them what they will accomplish for you. What is the result that you want from them?, and then define it.

It’s undoubtedly fascinating to let them tell you how they are going to approach their assignment, but it will be more valuable to you to understand what they will give you at the end of their assignment.

Our friends used a kitty counselor when they introduced a third cat into their family. In a results-oriented manner, the counselor’s job description is:

INTEGRATES NEW CAT INTO FAMILY

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analyzing current and new cat behaviors; evaluating change options; recommending change strategies and tactics; evaluating outcomes; recommending adjustments.

How do you teach employees about their organization’s values? Well, you can have separate orientation and training programs, but why not put the values at the point of employee contact with the organization—in the job description.

For starters, get the notion out of your head that a job description is filed away in the human resources department. No, it is a living document that should be used to guide on-the-job plans and actions.

A job description should focus on results to be accomplished not only on duties and tasks to be performed. In this way, the value of the action is described. Not, “Introduce yourself to guests,” but instead,

WELCOMES GUESTS

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extending a greeting; introducing self by name.

Use the graphic three lines with boldface and capital letters to create the emphasis.

Add job standards: Guests will be welcomed immediately. Or, Guests will be acknowledged within 15 seconds if busy with another guest.

If you have key vision and value words (buzz words or mottos) in your organization, put them in the job description, perhaps as a banner or in a “Values” Section. For example, if your routine reminder is, “Guests are Always Happy,” put this phrase in your job description.

Better yet, use your vision and values language in the results and duties portion of the job description.