A well-written job description is vitally important to making sure your employees understand a job’s responsibilities and requirements. It is also a key resource to help you review employee performance, hire employees, develop recruitment advertising and make sure your compensation is competitive so you can attract the best talent.

When developing your job description, be sure to comply with disability nondiscrimination laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Compliance guidance is available from the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Job Accommodation Network (JAN).  For more information on recruiting and hiring people with disabilities, please see the U.S. Department of Labor’s page on Hiring People with Disabilities.

The following are a number of the major components of a good job description:

Job Summary Overview

• A summary statement is a brief outline of a job’s purpose and goals and should be about three or four sentences. The job description details, such as tasks and experience, will be covered in the remaining parts of the job description.

General Information

• Job title and classification—the job title should be concise (e.g., Senior C# Developer). Be sure to indicate whether the job is exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Worksite location
• Management/reporting responsibilities –- identify this position in terms of direct reports and position in the company organization chart

Tasks

• Identify no more than 10 tasks (for example, managing accounts payable, managing payroll administration). Be as concise as possible–try to keep the task descriptions to one line each. Be sure to also include a basic statement that communicates other responsibilities that may be required within the scope of this position.
• Your tasks should be organized in a logical manner. Begin each task description with an action verb such as develop, organize or coordinate.
• When describing each task, include the purpose of the task when possible. For example: “Update marketing database to assure all client information is current”.

Skills

• Identify the skills, expertise, and knowledge base necessary to perform each task listed in the job description.
• Describe any special skills that require additional training, certification, etc.

Experience

• Identify relevant past experience required.
• Include any special professional certifications that may be required.
• Include any special education requirements.

Work Conditions

• Work hours
• Travel requirements
• Unusual environmental conditions

Compensation

• Pay range and benefits information
• Bonuses and any other incentives

Company Description

• When using the job description for recruiting purposes, it’s important to include a description of the company as well. Remember, you are selling the candidates on working for your company–so it is important to make a great first impression.

Disclaimers

• A disclaimer can be typically placed at the end of the job description to provide flexibility in adding or changing job responsibilities. The following is an example of a disclaimer: “This job description may be changed to include new responsibilities and tasks or change existing ones as management deems necessary.”

Review Job Descriptions Regularly

It’s a good idea to review job descriptions on a regular basis as tasks and requirements may change. In addition, you want to make sure you have realistic expectations about the jobs being performed.

Hiring the successful applicant will involve a number of important tasks, steps and paperwork. See the summary below for key information.

• Send the prospective employee an offer letter or contract and other documents, including confidentiality or non-compete agreements if appropriate.
• Be sure all documents are signed.
• Prepare for the arrival of the new employee.
• Conduct employee onboarding/new employee orientation.
• Complete new hire forms and paperwork (as outlined below).

New Hire Forms – Government Requirements

The following are the various steps and requirements involved in the new hire process:

• Form I-9 (I9) Eligibility for Employment. All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. To view additional information and download Form I-9, please click here.
• Form W-2. A Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) is given to employees by an employer. Copies of Form W-2 must be given to an employee by January 31 of the current tax year.
• Form 8922. Form 8922 must be used for filing “third-party sick pay recaps” to reconcile the reporting of sick pay paid by a third party on behalf of employers to employees in situations in which the liability for FICA taxes on the sick pay is split between the employer and the third party under applicable regulations. Whether the employer or the third party is required to file the Form 8922 depends on which entity is filing Form W–2 with respect to the sick pay.
• Income tax withholding. Ask each new employee to complete the most current year’s Form W-4.
• IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) for aliens. Do not accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security Number (SSN) for employee identification or for work. An ITIN is only available to resident and nonresident aliens who are not eligible for U.S. employment and need identification for other tax purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number “9” with either a “7” or “8” as the fourth digit, and is formatted like an SSN (for example, 9NN-7N-NNNN).
• Name and Social Security number. Record each new employee’s name and number from his or her social security card. Any employee without a social security card should apply for one.
• New Hire Reporting. You are required to report any new employee to a designated state new hire registry. Many states accept a copy of Form W-4 with employer information added. Visit the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement website for more information. For more information on new hire reporting, please click here. For more on state employer services as related to new hire reporting and more, please click here.
• Using Form W-4 to Calculate Withholding. To know how much federal income tax to withhold from employees’ wages, you should have a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, on file for each employee. Encourage your employees to file an updated Form W-4 for the current year, especially if they owed taxes or received a large refund when filing their previous year’s tax return. Advise your employees to use the Withholding Calculator on the IRS website for help in determining how many withholding allowances to claim on their Forms W-4. Ask all new employees to give you a signed Form W-4 when they start work. Make the form effective with the first wage payment. If a new employee does not give you a completed Form W-4, withhold income tax as if he or she is single, with no withholding allowances.
• W-4 Form Effective Date. The Form W-4 remains in effect until the employee gives you a new one. When you receive a new Form W-4 from an employee, do not adjust withholding for pay periods before the effective date of the new form. If an employee gives you a Form W-4 that replaces an existing Form W-4, begin withholding no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the date when you received the replacement Form W-4. For more information, please click here.
• W-4 Form in Spanish. You can provide Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de Retenciones del Empleado, in place of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, to your Spanish-speaking employees. For more information, see Publicación 17(SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos (Para Personas Físicas). The rules discussed in this section that apply to Form W-4 also apply to Formulario W-4(SP).

Overview of Eligibility Requirements for Small Employers

New and existing small employers should look into whether the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit can help them provide insurance to their employees. The credit can be worth up to 50% of the amount a small business contributes toward employees’ premiums.

The credit benefits employers that:

• Have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees;
• Pay at least half of their employees’ premiums for single health care coverage;
• Pay average wages of less than $53,000 a year per full-time equivalent (for tax year 2017, and adjusted for inflation in future years); and
• Offer a qualified health plan through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace (or qualify for a limited exception to this requirement).

A Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Estimator is available from Healthcare.gov, and an IRS Small Business Health Care Tax Credit information page provides additional details on claiming the credit.