A few weeks ago we wrote about the upcoming UK Employment Law changes and why hiring and onboarding will matter more than ever for SMEs.
As we move closer to those changes, there’s something I’m seeing time and time again when we start a recruitment process with a business… job specs that no longer reflect the role.
It’s incredibly common.
A job description gets written years ago, someone leaves, the document gets reused, tweaked slightly and sent back out again. Before you know it, you’re hiring for a role that has evolved significantly, but the job spec hasn’t.
And that’s where the problems start.
If the job specification isn’t accurate, you can easily attract the wrong candidates, set the wrong expectations and create confusion once someone joins the business.
It’s one of the simplest things to review, yet one of the most overlooked.
A good job spec should clearly explain:
• What the role is truly responsible for today
• How success will be measured
• Where the role fits within the wider team
• What the business actually needs from the person coming in
But just as important and often missing is the person specification.
This is where you define the type of person who will succeed in your business, not just the skills they bring.
Things like:
• Attitude and mindset
• How they work with others
• Alignment with your company values
• The behaviours that fit your culture
Technical skills can be taught. Values and behaviours are much harder to change.
With the employment landscape shifting, getting the match right from the start will matter more than ever. The cost of getting it wrong in time, energy and money is only increasing.
So if you’re planning to hire this year, it might be worth asking a simple question:
Does our job spec actually reflect the role today… and do we know what type of person will really thrive here?
Getting clear on both is one of the strongest foundations for successful hiring.
And it’s something SMEs can absolutely get right with a bit of thought upfront.
