Menu
Log in
Forgot password


 International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association

  Storm Damage Update 12/14/25  - We are experiencing high call volume. To find a certified water damage restoration service near you please click here. 


Featured members

10 Lessons Learned in Creating Job Descriptions

16 Jul 2025 2:07 PM | Courtney Lee (Administrator)

Executive Job Description Update Project

Things That Worked Well, Problems Encountered, & Recommendations

1.     Begin by learning your organization - When starting this project, it was important to first learn about the organization, its structure, major divisions, who the executives were and their roles. Several helpful sources were found: org charts on intranet, department information, and the Service Catalog. HR also provided previous job descriptions, executive profile summaries, job postings, and salary survey job descriptions. These published sources were useful in determining high-level job functions, responsibilities, and relationships - things helpful to understanding each executive's role and responsibilities.
 2.     Meet with the most familiar and most tactical executives first- Since this is a complex technical organization, it was helpful to 1) focus on the familiar and 2) meet with the more tactical, hands-on level executives (AVPs). The first executive meetings were set up with HR, Finance, Procurement, and then Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The executives in these departments provided not just an overview of their roles, but also an explanation of the groups they support, the types of things they are accountable for, their level of influence, and how they collaborate. These informative discussions helped prepare me to meet with the technical groups as well as the more senior level executives (VPs & SVPs).
 3.     Prepare for your meetings - In most cases, it was helpful to prepare a job description draft before meeting with each executive. Current job information was searched for and if available, it was used directly to create the draft. If no documentation was available, the meeting was approached as an opportunity to discuss the executive's current roles and responsibilities and capture it in an entirely new description. Having a draft prepared beforehand provided a good starting point for the process and the conversation. It also helped the executives see what information we needed to focus on - which were the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and leadership expectations of the position. The organization’s Competency model and Advanced Leadership Principles (ALPs) were incorporated to give structure to the essential duties and responsibilities section. They were standard expectations of the executive positions.
4.     Create structure and purpose for the meetings - A thirty (30) minute meeting was typically scheduled with each executive, either in person or by phone. At the beginning of each meeting, an overview of the project was provided, goals discussed, collaboration needed, what to expect, and next steps. The approach was to keep the discussion conversational, using open-ended questions, similar to interviewing job candidates. Most people will gladly tell you about their jobs and what they do. It was important to be clear that the purpose was to discuss job duties, responsibilities, leadership expectations, and required qualifications for the position - not the individual's accomplishments or successes. Follow up was mostly done by email, with questions and comments. Some, but few follow up meetings were needed to get the drafts completed.


5.  Ask for help - Talking with leaders is perhaps the best way to learn about an organization. Asking for help was effective and lead to informative discussions on how departments and divisions interact, how work flows, and how groups provide support to others throughout the corporate organizational structure. Interactions were explained, as well as terminology and major initiatives and were helpful in putting the puzzle pieces of the organization together. I learned that many groups reach out beyond their division, and support system-wide functions, enterprise-wide initiatives, and customers.
 6.     Be clear on timeframe and next steps -Asking for a response by a certain date was the most effective way to get an executive's review and comments back during this process. Perhaps this is because of the timeline-driven and program/project orientation of the organization. Typically, a timeframe of a week and a half was provided for an executive to review any updates or revisions. Executives received a quick response to thank them for their follow up, to acknowledge it was received, and to let them know that once completed, next step would be to review the job description drafts with their senior executives.
 7.     Be prepared to work with different personalities - The executives had many different approaches to discussing their positions. Many started by explaining how they support their customers, others referred to their department's or division's org charts and discussed the roles of each section, others referred to counterparts in the organization and how they are alike and how they are different. Most were supportive of this process, however there were a few executives who asked, "Where did you get this information?" or, "This description is too tactical, my role is more strategic." or, "What are you trying to accomplish?" I found the best approach was to keep it high level, reassure them that I was meeting with all  executives (they were not being singled out), and the draft created was intended to be a helpful starting point. If they felt the draft would require too much effort to correct, we worked to find the best way to proceed and create an updated description for their position. And we would work from there.
 8.    Keep meeting notes - Each executive provided information that was important to keep for reference during this project. In the beginning, it was especially helpful to document my meeting notes and look up acronyms, terms, and org charts on the intranet. In some cases, it was useful to refer back to notes from a particular meeting because it helped create a better understanding and prepare for upcoming executive meetings.
 9.     Quick follow up and turn around gets it done - Quick follow up is key to working collaboratively with others to create a document. It is easy to put work like this aside when other, more critical things come up. Responding quickly can show your commitment to the project, interest in completing it quickly, and it keeps things moving. When someone learns you are a person who is quick to respond, it may also help motivate them to respond back promptly. The strategy is to stay in front of the person to keep their attention until the revision is complete, but also to be understanding when critical things come up.


10.    Get the final "OK" - After spending time with each executive to update job descriptions, whether they were for their own positions, or for executives reporting to them, it was important to have closure and get the executive's final ok. Many executives responded with a, "this looks fine" note with only a few minor changes. These changes would be incorporated and the final copy was sent back for their records. In other cases, where significant work was done, I would send back and offer to follow up by phone or meeting if they wanted to review again. There were a few times when no response was received. I would then send a reminder, try to determine why there was a hold up, and schedule a follow up meeting to keep the process moving.

Recent


© Copyright 2004-2025  International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association  "The Home Of Professional Cleaning Companies"