Employees. Don't hire without a job description.

In the first chapter of “The Wealth of Nations” (1776) Adam Smith showed how division of labor leads to greater productivity. “Ten people with the right equipment can make upwards of forty-eight thousand pins in a day, whereas one individual can scarcely make 20 pins in a day.” See the following link for the complete text of “An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations” http://www.bibliomania.com/2/1/65/112/fr...

Businesses and organizations exist because they can produce goods or services better and/or cheaper than individuals can. This is frequently because of specialized knowledge and/or equipment. Just as matter is another form of energy (E=MC2), equipment can be considered another form of knowledge. You can lump software in the category of equipment since it represents a great deal of solidified knowledge. Therefore, when I use the term knowledge you can substitute equipment if it suits your situation better. To best use the knowledge, a business must have the right people in place.

When hiring a new person there are the obvious things that need to be done, interviewing, checking references, testing for specific skills but one of the most important items is often skipped. This is the job description. If you as the manager can’t write a one-paragraph description of the employee’s duties, you are not ready to hire anyone. The employee wont be the only one uncertain if they are doing the job you want. This is the first step on the road to low moral.

The job description allows both the manager and the employee to know if the correct job is being done. Let all the other employees know the job description for the new person. In the modern workplace, more information is always better. The following should be covered in a job description:

· The specific current duties · Who checks their work for quality control · Whose work they check for quality control · Items to study to prepare for a promotion

In a small company, the employees frequently wear many hats. While this may get the work done and be invigorating for the employees, you need to make sure the hats don’t conflict. The software developer should not also be the principle tester; the salesperson should not be the person who sets the price. You may need to have an individual do the wrong job because there is no one else qualified, but be sure you and they know it is the wrong job. As soon as possible, you need to split the functions. Either hire additional staff or outsource a function. Without the proper checks and balances among the job descriptions, you will not be able to achieve long-term quality in your product and services. If a job responsibility is not assigned everyone will assume someone else will do it.

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