“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else” – Yogi Berra

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Perhaps the most important part of maintaining a productive remote workforce is ensuring that everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to be doing, and what outcomes are expected.

By people understanding what is expected of them, you can keep them accountable and allow them to perform at their best.

The two key ways that you can clearly set expectations with your employees is through:

Up-to-date and clear Position Descriptions

With the ever-changing environment, make sure you are reviewing peoples Position Descriptions and making sure they know exactly what work is expected of them.

Right now, people need clarity and certainty more than ever before. And organisations need to be able to transparently and objectively hold their employees accountable for the delivery of work.

What is a Position Description?

A Position Description, or “PD”, is a document that provides details of a specific role. It provides a clear purpose and clarity regarding accountabilities for each role. It articulates why a role is required and how it fits into the team and organisational structure.  

Position Descriptions provide role clarity for employees by providing a clear understanding of their tasks, responsibilities and processes at work, as well as those of their colleagues. It provides alignment between people and tasks to achieve team and company goals, and it drives a high performing and productive workforce.

What are Position Descriptions Used for?

PDs can be used in many ways across the business, for example:

– Clearly articulating the position, accountabilities and performance requirements;

– Assisting in the identification of training and development needs for a person performing the role;

– Providing applicants with the position’s requirements and selection criteria during recruitment; and

– Job evaluation and data on which to evaluate the “size” of the role for remuneration purposes.

How do I write a good Position Description?

Poorly defined roles are destined to set employees up for failure.

Poor role clarity can come from a lack of definition in role purpose, inconsistent expectations and responsibilities, misalignment with co-worker expectations, and a misunderstanding of the accountabilities of the person undertaking the role.

A good position description should have the following basic layout:

– Clear job title

– Job Purpose – (WHY it exists. Think of it as an elevator pitch, or a quick overview of the job)

– Reporting lines (both who they report to, and who reports to them)

– Relevant Modern Award and Classification level (if applicable)

– Key Accountabilities (max 3-4 – these are the CORE areas where the role has ultimate accountability for completion and/or final decision-making authority)

– Core Responsibilities of the role / key tasks to be performed

– Requirements for the role, such as skills, experience, knowledge or qualifications (both those that are essential as well as those that are desirable)

– Key interactions with external and/or internal stakeholders

It should be role specific – not written for an individual, and it should be able to be picked up by anyone and clearly understood.

Relevant and achievable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

As a business, it is important that you regularly consider – have the key deliverables of your employee’s role been clearly communicated to them – i.e. do they know what they should be doing?

What are key performance indicators?

KPI’s are the critical measures that show us our progress toward an intended result.

– They can be strategic high level company measures

– They can be team based, a collective effort

– They can be individual

How do I set clear KPIs?

Meaningful performance measures start with measurable goals.

The SMART approach supports us in developing meaningful and effective KPIs. 

Specific – well defined, clear

Measurable – specific criteria that measures progress toward the KPI

Achievable – attainable, achievable

Realistic – Within reach and relevant to the role

Timely – clearly defined timeframes i.e. start and finish dates, by end of month etc

Robust KPIs must be relevant, clear, unambiguous, or quantitative. They are specific and provide objective evidence as to whether performance is meeting required levels or not, and whether or not goals are being achieved. They need to be measurable and trackable.

Examples of measurable KPIs

Some examples of clear KPIs might include:

– Operating Profit Margin – (Operating income/Net Sales = Operatring Profit Margin)

– Cost Reduction targets

– Sales by region or division

– Sales growth ((Current Sales/Past Sales)/Past Sales = Sales Growth)

– Employee turnover %

– Net promoter score

– Customer Satisfaction Score

– # calls answered within an hour

– Accuracy rates

Make sure you are continually reviewing your employees KPIs to ensure that they are relevant, and that they drive the performance you want in your organisation right now.

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At Common Goal Consulting, we partner with Operational Leaders, CEO’s and Directors, HR Managers, and other Consulting businesses nationally, to develop broad people strategies that support the delivery of strong operational outcomes.

We are highly skilled and trained in drafting, revising, and reformatting Position Descriptions and KPIs. If you need some assistance with Position Description and KPIs for your team, please get in touch via our Contact page, or call Nikki Jenkinson (Director) on 0472 545 584.