By: Barbara Bowes
Date: May 15, 2010
The Winnipeg Free Press

Finally, some good news for employees in this month of May: jobs, jobs and more jobs — full-time jobs as well as part-time jobs.

In fact, it is said that the new job creation statistics represent the strongest monthly increase since comparable data became available in 1976. It seems that even the trend watchers have gone into shock. Finally, the economic pendulum is in an upswing and believe it or not, you can actually feel the excitement in the air.

I don't mean to put a damper on all this good news, but at the same time, I also see danger lurking about. For employees, the danger is taking the first job that comes along without fully examining whether there is a good fit between their skills and the job duties. For employers, the danger lies in creating new jobs without a full analysis of what the job should entail, where it fits within the organization structure, how the work flows in and out of each job and what skills and competencies are required to carry out the work effectively.

When a job is not properly analyzed and structured, it will create numerous problems both for the employer and the employee. For instance, if the new job does not have all the appropriate tasks included in the role, then a new employee would be frustrated and fail to feel a sense of satisfaction. More than likely, the job is not a "whole" job but instead requires an employee to pass unfinished work to another employee. Poor job structure also leads to poor identification of the skills needed to do the job which in turn will lead to recruiting the wrong employee. Candidates who may be overqualified will quickly become bored while candidates who are under-qualified will struggle in their role.

More than likely as well, the compensation set for this new job will also be incorrect and will again affect the ability to attract the right candidate. And what about organizational culture? Culture plays a significant role in whether a new employee fits into your organization and whether they will stay. Culture needs to be considered because a candidate's work ethic, attitude, work style and personality can quickly make an impact in an organization. Failing to include the cultural aspects of a job significantly increases the chance that a new employee will fail in the job.

So, where should you start when planning to create a new job? The following guidelines will help ensure that your newly created job will be a success.

Conduct a job analysis -- Every proposed new job needs to be analyzed from several different views. Examine the specific duties and the time to be spent on each, review who the potential new employee will report to and who will approve their work. Review the education and skills qualifications and the time required to reach high performance in the new job. Examine the type of problems the incumbent will be working on and which problems can be solved independently versus being brought to a manager for approval. Finally, examine the resources required for the job, the work environment and the culture and various communication channels the incumbent will need to participate in.

Develop the job competencies -- Setting the job duties are one thing, but identifying and confirming the actual skills and competencies are quite another. Examine the specific tasks and then determine what skills and competencies are required to undertake the tasks effectively, efficiently and successfully. Be sure to include the so-called soft skills such as interpersonal communication, teamwork, taking the initiative, taking risks, or being creative and innovative.

Fit to the organization structure -- Determine where your new job fits in and who the role will report to. Be sure that the incumbent will only report to one manager so that directions will be clear and there won't be any conflict on whose direction is more important. Examine and develop a potential career path for the position so that a new employee can see long-term potential in staying with your organization.

Set a compensation rate -- If your new job is a "hot job," in other words there is a lack of potential candidates in the marketplace, you will need to set a higher salary for the role. Study the market rates for your new job and determine if you wish to set a salary level that leads, lags or meets the going market rate. Your decision will affect your ability to attract a candidate for the job.

Develop a job description -- Employees want to know what they are responsible for and who they report to. A job description outlines all of the key tasks and reporting structure and the time to be spent on each activity. It serves to communicate what is important and what needs to be done.

Advertise and seek resumés -- Make yourself a checklist of the skills, competencies and experience you are seeking. Review each resumé to examine the match between the skills required and those being offered. The "A" candidates will be those who match the skills most closely and "B" candidates less so. Conduct a telephone interview with each of these candidates and then determine who is eligible for a face-to-face interview. Give yourself a choice of five to seven candidates because some may have the technical skills but not the "soft skills" and thus may not fit into your organization culture.

Prepare interview questions --Interview questions must directly relate to the tasks outlined for the job. Structure the questions so that the responses will provide you with information on the specifics of where and when an individual used their skills to carry out a task similar to those in your job description. Involve other people in the interview process so that you achieve a balanced view of the candidates. Be sure to include the manager to whom the new employee would be reporting.

Prepare and conduct orientation -- Believe it or not, it sometimes takes up to one year for a new employee to become fully proficient in a job. Therefore, it is important that you prepare a well-structured new employee orientation or "onboarding" program for the successful candidate. Helping them to get to know others and to fit in will significantly help to make the person successful in your organization.


Source: Labour Force Survey, May 7, 2010, Statistics Canada

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC is president of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba's leading Talent Management Solutions firm. She is also host of the weekly Bowes Knows radio show and is the author of another new book called Resume Rescue. Barbara can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .