In the Federal civil service, jobs are documented in position descriptions (PDs) that describe the key duties, responsibilities, and requirements. Because PDs provide a basis for qualification requirements and pay administration, attention tends to center on the position classification. However, as shown in the figure below, PDs provide a basis for a wide range of HR decisions and activities—they are not “just for classification.”

For these reasons, it is important that PDs remain accurate. A dated PD can have unanticipated and undesired results. For example, a job announcement based on an inaccurate PD may yield few or no highly-qualified applicants, making it necessary to reannounce the job. Worse yet, if you hire someone for a job that exists only on paper, your new employee may quickly become dissatisfied and quit—and complain to friends, family, and future colleagues about your agency’s false advertising.

So, if you are a Federal manager, consider the PDs for your staff or the organization you lead. Does the organization that exists on paper also exist in practice? Do the PDs provide a realistic and useful picture of your employees’ roles and how they perform them? Are PDs free of information that is irrelevant or dated?

Reviewing a PD requires time and effort. Fortunately, you are not starting with a blank sheet of paper. You have, of course, the existing PD. You also can look to guides developed by OPM and the advice and expertise of your HR staff.

Reprinted from Issues of Merit, a publication of the Office of Policy and Evaluation, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board