Tag: Small Business

One of the most interesting parts of my practice is observing how organizations grow and change. Growth often occurs in fits and spurts — and the accompanying pains can be quite distracting. I find that job descriptions almost never keep pace with that evolution. This creates a unique set of challenges as an organization moves forward. Frustration, exhaustion, and even anger are often expressed as roles, responsibilities and relationships within the organization are tested.

Job descriptions certainly aren’t “sexy” — however they remain a necessary facet of any business.

Often, older job descriptions simply don’t reflect the true nature of the work any longer. Roles can morph rather quickly and job descriptions can become increasingly inaccurate. If you have ever heard the excuse, “That’s not my job.” — this may exactly be the case. Confusion concerning task responsibilities can become a serious impediment as a business evolves. This is often insidious.

Sometimes the old job descriptions simply have to go.

In many cases, an entirely new set of tasks evolves and another role needs to be created. In this situation, it is likely the “skill gap” is being covered by other staffers and probably, not all that well.  You may need to act swiftly to dedicate an entirely new position to the tasks at hand. (Don’t get too caught up with the title, just cover the gap quickly.) Have you ever posed the question, “Is there work that needs to be completed regularly, but isn’t?”. This may be an indication that a new role is needed.

Job Descriptions Serve as HR Building Blocks
Job descriptions aren’t all that exciting — none the less, they serve to accurately document the work currently being completed. Moreover, these descriptions should serve as a key reference point for all of your HR functions, most importantly, selection and performance appraisal. Overall, job descriptions should keep pace with the changing landscape of your work.  How might you select an appropriate candidate for a role if the job description is an inaccurate representation of the work at hand?

Time for a review? Consider the following questions:

• Have the number of employees in your organization increased dramatically over the past year?
• Are you offering a new product or type of service?
• Has the size of your customer base changed?
• Does your organization have a new reporting obligation to a parent company?

A “yes” to any of these questions, could signal that the collective group of tasks in your organization has changed — and it is time for a review of your job descriptions, as well. Gather current descriptions and carefully consider them. Is there a current (and complete) job description for all roles? Are all task areas represented? Are the responsibilities listed, accurate? Be sure these questions are answered and revise your descriptions accordingly.

Growth and change can be frustrating at times. However, if descriptions keep pace, you can be assured a smoother journey. Sorting out “who does what”, and observing those tasks that naturally flow together to make up a role, may require some time. However, this exercise will greatly enhance how the work gets done.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and business coach, located in East Lansing, Michigan. You can also find her on Twitter and Linkedin.

Moving from a large metropolitan area to a small college town was quite a shock to my system. I recall driving home from the supermarket at 10:00 pm, noticing that the traffic lights were set to “flash only” status. At that moment, I realized that my life would change – and most likely be dialed down more than just a notch.

It was good thing and a bad thing at the same time. But, as a consultant, it gave me a unique chance to experience a whole new world of clients – those who owned smaller businesses.

Small businesses are unique
I learned very quickly that the DNA of a small business (or start-up) was quite different from the larger organizations that I had spent time with in the past. The problems appeared more critical, felt closer to the quick, and often a dream or family investment was entangled in the effort.

Over time, I saw a number of issues that would threaten the continued success of a small business as growth occurred. I also noticed a pattern that when growth did occur – certain business practices that worked well before just didn’t suffice any longer. Often the structure of the organization hadn’t grown, or evolved, to support changing demands.

Plan for tomorrow
In general, the owners needed to dial things up a notch and think like they were a much larger organization – changing with the demands of their new reality.

Here are a few trends that I have observed:

• Informal communication channels begin to break down –  Of course, businesses rely upon these networks to communicate information about work procedures, customer practices and organizational mores such as a dress code. However, the informal system becomes strained as the number of people in the business increases. At this point structure must be implemented to ensure that messages are received consistently. This might include documenting formal job descriptions, an employee handbook and/or specific employee on-boarding procedures.

• A review of computer software becomes necessary – As small organizations grow – often in fits and spurts – software is often purchased to rectify problems piece by piece. However, the overall user & system demands are not reviewed. At some point, it all becomes a tangled mess.  Be sure to review software every year to document what is not working and to flesh out future needs.

• An adequate system to document your customer base becomes critical –  Although this sounds simple, I am  amazed when a small business really doesn’t have instant access to their top 25 customers. If a system to do so isn’t in place to do so – trouble will likely follow. Retaining customer loyalty begins with a solid base of information concerning who your customer is – their needs and concerns.

• An idea management program becomes important – Even though your business may be smaller, there will be no shortage of ideas to improve the business from your employees – so be prepared. Unfortunately, not all of them will be feasible. So, a formal system to evaluate the ideas becomes necessary. Often employees are not aware of the risks or the potential organizational impact that comes with a change. Posing the idea in an open forum, with one of the business leaders present can be very helpful.

Don’t ignore the basic structure of your organization as growth occurs. Update important systems to meet the demands of your new business reality.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a nationally quoted Workplace Psychologist. She helps small businesses grow and become more effective. Find her on Twitter and Linkedin.