Job descriptions communicate job expectations. A Results-Oriented Job Description sharpens the communication by putting an end result as an exclamation point.

Don’t just tell people what you need them to do for the organization. Tell them what they need to accomplish in order to move the organization forward.

Focusing on organization results gets employees more involved in organization processes—and makes their contributions more meaningful.

The auto makers haven’t done this. Their business model is out-of-date. Oh yes, they gave customers what they wanted, but they shouldn’t have. Management should have been smarter. We don’t need all of the models offered. We don’t need last generation technology. We don’t need all of the dealerships and inventory. We don’t need bloated bureaucracies. And we don’t need the UAW wanting more and more of everything.

When cars replaced horses, carriage makers and horsewhip makers went out of business. Sure, business is more complex than a century ago, but get with the times.

Not only do the auto makers need to be clear about the results they propose, they need to propose the right results.

Now only $8.75!

Now, performance is what counts. And not just performing job tasks, all of the things that need doing, but actually accomplishing job results. “I did everything you told me to do, boss.” “But you missed opportunities here, and here, and here. You didn’t look up from your job duties and see the big picture.”

Organizations need employees who see where their job fits in terms of the larger scheme. “That’s not my job” is definitely out.

Organizations can teach employees to think more broadly by focusing jobs on the RESULTS THAT NEED TO BE ACCOMPLISHED and then specifying the duties that must be performed in order to accomplish the results.

What a wonderful basis for a performance appraisal.

Because executives operate at a strategic level—five, seven, ten and more years—make pay adjustments retroactively over these time frames to maintain fairness to the executive and to the organization.

Certainly, executives should command big salaries; they have big jobs. They make far-reaching decisions, much more so than technicians, professionals, administrative staff and operatives. O.K., as a base, give them more for the bigger demands but not for lousy results.

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.

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.

Who will see their bare legs? An offended customer? An excited co-worker? What is the issue here?

On the day that we read the news article about hose, we visited with a nurse (BSN level) who helped us greatly with care options for Roger’s mother—very professional. She wasn’t wearing hose. Now, if the nursing profession can move from starched white caps and uniforms and standing up when a doctor entered the nursing stations to bare legs, the rest of the workforce can surely relax.

Hey folks, let’s focus on job results and forget the little stuff.

A results-oriented job description charts an organization responsibility that defines goals to be accomplished, and invites employees to apply their talents in pursuit of the organization purpose.