© 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC

Umiker's Management Skills for the New Health

Care Supervisor, Fifth Edition

Charles McConnell

© 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC

Chapter 6

 

Position Descriptions and Position Descriptions and

Performance StandardsPerformance Standards

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Helpful—and Required

The standards of the Joint

Commission on Accreditation of

Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)

include specific guidelines for

creating and applying job (position)

descriptions.

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ADA

The Americans with Disabilities

Act (ADA) of 1990 also focuses

on the legal importance of job

descriptions.

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A Job Description --

-- actually defines requirements for

a particular job as it was done in the

past at a particular point in time.;

since it is always at risk of growing

outdated, it must be updated

regularly.

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Positions are Classed as --

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Exempt means --

Exempt from the overtime

provisions of the FLSA –

overtime need not be paid to

exempt employees.

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Nonexempt means --

Workers in nonexempt positions—

generally “hourly” workers—must

be paid 1-1/2 times their “regular”

rate for hours in excess of 40 per

week.

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Summary Statement

Leads off a job description. Also

referred to as a position summary,

umbrella statement, position

purpose or goal, etc., it condenses

the responsibilities of the position

into a concise statement.

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Required Competencies

Competencies or qualifications

describe the requirements of the

job, usually expressed in terms of

education, experiences, licensure,

etc.

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Reporting Relationships

This section of the job description

identifies, by position title, an

incumbent’s immediate superior

and others to whom he or she may

be directly accountable

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Job Description Must Also Show:

• Authority of position

• Degree of independence

• Responsibilities and duties

• Special demands

• Working conditions

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Reasonable Accommodations

The ADA requires that “reasonable

accommodations” be provided for

physically or mentally challenged

employees.

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Uses of Job Descriptions

The most common uses of job

descriptions are:

interviewing prospective employees

training and orienting employees,

and

applications related to performance

evaluation

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Other Uses Include:

Preparing employment advertising Evaluating jobs (for pay grade, etc.) Conducting counseling Evaluating compliance with

requirements Providing a record of job content Providing information pertinent to a

job for legal purposes

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Performance Standards

inform employees how well they

must do their work and often how

much they must do

simplify performance evaluations,

especially if a pay-for-performance

strategy is in place

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Without Performance Standards --

-- employee evaluations are highly

subjective, heavy on opinion and

personality assessments, and are

thus difficult if not impossible to

defend

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Levels of Performance

A few organizations use only two

levels of performance:

“meets standard” and

“fails to meet standard.”

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Levels of Performance

Significantly more organizations use

three levels:

(1) does not meet expectations (fails),

(2) meets expectations (passes), and

(3) exceeds expectations (excels).

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Compliance Standards

Relating to what someone does or

does not do, no gradations and no

middle ground, these can be two-

level standards as simple as

Pass/Fail or Yes/No.

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An Appropriate Standard

describes a level below which

performance is not acceptable

provides a challenge but is attainable

by most incumbents

is results-based and quantifiable

whenever possible

is specific, objective, and measurable.

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An Appropriate Standard (more)

deals with performance the employee can control.

excludes imprecise words unless these words are accompanied by descriptors

limits the use of absolute terms such as always or never

is understood and agreed to by both employee and supervisor

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An Appropriate Standard (more)

does not discriminate against any

member of a group protected by the

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC)

directly or indirectly benefits

customers.