Why We Developed the Outcome-Driven Job Description
Why We Developed the Outcome-Driven Job Description
Another year is quickly coming to an end, and everything around us has changed (again). Technology advances such as big data, AI, automation, mobility, Globalization, rising customer demands and employee expectations have contributed to a rate of change that itself is reshaping the world of work in so many significant ways.
Nearly all of the companies we work with, big and small, are taking action to prepare for the future of work. Some companies are just getting started, while others are much further ahead on this path.
At Poly Tech Talent we are taking action and making changes to how we are offering our services, to support our clients in this journey. One of the new things we’ve accomplished is the creation of a fresh and new take on job descriptions.
Our Evolution to Finding the Right Tech Talent
We asked ourselves: How can jobs be redesigned to deliver better value and meet the shifting demands of the new world of work. Filling positions by placing people’s qualifications into checkboxes no longer works.
Work changes, and many of us are no longer doing exactly what we were hired to do according to the job description. As a departure from creating a static job description, we now look at the tasks and ‘jobs to be done’ to create the Outcome-Driven Job Description (ODJD).
Before we begin a new search, using the ODJD we seek to understand: what tasks within a role are repetitive, project-based, strategic, on-going a year from now? How should this work be completed? Is it a Full-time employee? Contract employee? A bot? Can we build it? Should we buy it? Should we integrate a partner to do the work? Most importantly, how do we remain on track, measure success along the way, measure what matters? How is work accomplished? It definitely takes some time upfront to explore these questions, but the payoff in time and productivity of your new hire pay off in spades. And we’ve created a system to help.
The ODJD is composed of 3 Key Parts
1) A series of questions designed to capture the current state of your work environment and the most critical business objectives, including gaps and opportunities.
2) The job mission
3) List of outcomes and a description of what success looks like, and how to measure it.
The ODJD is no longer a static document replaced by a top down exercise for goal setting once the employee is hired. This dynamic document evolves. Hiring managers take a first stab at the ODJD, and once a hire is made, the expectation is that the employee will have a legitimate say in the objectives and how they are accomplished.
You and your Hired Tech Talent Win
This shared approach ensures the employee makes the plan their own, and although simple, the process brings huge benefits:
1. This is a tool that provides a map to help execute your strategy, move your company forward and measure results
2. It challenges teams to rethink the way work is completed, and consider greater possibilities
3. It drives engagement and meaningful conversations around expectations. Linking work to a mission provides a more inspired approach to work. Prioritizing the right tasks, enables an employee to accomplish the most important work, and expedites success.
4. Progress and performance are measured along the way according to the ODJD, so the overhead of performance management is more organic and feels less burdensome.
5. Onboarding is accelerated, so employees feel engaged and hit the ground running earlier, contributing in tangible ways sooner.
6. Improves the recruitment process, decreasing hiring mistakes because managers are now crystal clear on what’s required.
.. the list goes on.
Work with us to learn more. If you’d like information about how to use this document, please feel free to book a time in my calendar to discuss here.
Alternatively, if you’re just curious and want to glance at how this process breaks down, you can download a copy of our step-by-step guide for free here.
We continue to explore this world of work we live in, and happy to share our learning with you as we go.
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