Definition: Job design is the process of grouping the responsibilities and tasks that better describe a job position as well as the qualifications required to adequately perform it. Job design aims to properly divide the whole work needed in an organization to accomplish its mission among the structured positions and to define the key capabilities that each occupant should have.
What Does Job Design Mean?
Job design must follow job analysis and should produce job descriptions. When designing jobs, the company distributes all activities that must be done among well-defined positions. Key responsibilities must be clearly stated as well as secondary tasks that also have to be accomplished. Job design aims to properly assign tasks under a logical, coherent way.
The process likewise should contain definitions of the most relevant skills and aptitudes required in each job position. A proper job design supports adequate organizational climate because every employee knows accurately what others expect from him. It similarly facilitates hiring processes due to concise requirements that should be met by the applicants.
It also allows appropriate performance evaluation and training because each job position points to well-defined standards.
Example
Allan James is a young professional recently graduated in Business Administration. He attended a job interview at a well-established multinational manufacturer. The interviewer clearly described the job that Allan would do thanks through a complete job description that showed a comprehensive job design. Allan knew that his primary responsibility would be to evaluate effectiveness and cost of marketing campaigns developed by marketing departments operating at eight subsidiaries around the world.
He likewise had to recommend changes, to define best practices, to unify methods and to train people personally in relation to the redesigned procedures. Reports, relationships and complementary activities were carefully described as part of the job design. The recruiter finally selected Allan as the most adequate applicant because of the key qualifications required by the position were satisfactory found in him.
