While the job standard selected for a given position is expected to represent at least 50% - 70% of the position, managers and employees should provide brief but specific supplemental customization to support the job standard selected.
Refer back to the job standard’s generic scope for guidance on which job standard to select. Customized content that is added to the job description should be consistent with and supportive of the generic scope for the job standard selected, or if not, a different job standard should be considered. Keep in mind the following when customizing a job standard for submission during reconsideration:
Avoid acronyms, abbreviations, or technical jargon.
Write the job description so that someone who is not intimately knowledgeable about the position (i.e., Compensation professional or an external job candidate) can understand the work performed and documented.
Describe how the job should be performed at an acceptable level, not how the current incumbent performs the job (in other words, describe the job, not the individual).
Remember that the job duties and other requirements documented in the description will be the basis for evaluating performance at the next performance review cycle.
Use active verbs rather than vague or general verbs to accurately describe the incumbent’s role. For example, “Participates” in a given task doesn’t provide an accurate picture of the role performed by the incumbent.
Describe time spent performing the most important 6 - 8 essential duties in increments that add up to 100%.
Write the job descriptions as broadly as possible to build flexibility to meet the needs of the department without having to rewrite the description to reflect minor changes.
While the generic scope never changes, you can customize the job summary and custom scope as necessary.
Customize key sections of the job standard as explained in the following section.
Customizing Key Sections of the Job Standard
Custom Scope
The custom scope can be expanded to further clarify the level of difficulty, scope, and leadership of the position within the context of departmental operations.
Key Responsibilities
A job description submitted for reconsideration should provide a sentence or two for each applicable key responsibility to further illustrate how the individual performs that job standard responsibility in his/her own position. For example, you may add sub-bullets to provide specific examples of how that responsibility is performed by the employee in his/her own position.
It is especially important to provide an accurate and true representation of an individual’s job duties because what is described in the job description will be the basis for review on the performance evaluation form. In other words, since an employee’s performance expectations will be based on his/her job description, the description needs to accurately define the job. See the job description examples in this guide for good illustrations of customized key responsibilities.
Problem Solving
To validate the job standard level selected, it is extremely important to provide two or three specific and representative examples for each of the following types of problems solved by the employee. See the job descriptions in this guide for good problem solving examples.
Common problems solved by the employee – this section provides insight into the most typical, representative types of decisions made by the employee in this position
Less frequent and more complex problems solved by the employee – this section provides insight into the most complex problems solved by the employee in their position
Problems/situations that are referred to this employee's supervisor – this section provides insight into the types of problems that are beyond the scope of this position and need to be referred to a manager of the function
All examples should support the decisions expected of the category and level as defined by the generic scope (i.e., Professional 4: decision making examples aligned with a technical leader demonstrating specialized expertise and resolution of unique issues; Manager 3: managerial decisions demonstrating oversight of subordinate organizations through different levels of managers, supervisors, and professionals.) The definition of the job levels can be found at Compensation: Categories and Levels.
Further detail regarding job levels is provided in the FAQ sections that address level differences for Professional and Supervisory/Managerial jobs.
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