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Job descriptions aren't just busy work. They're the backbone of your compensation strategy.
Airtight job descriptions propel performance management and smart recruitment. They also make or break career development and (of course) pay practices.
And we can't forget about legal compliance.
With so much at stake, why does HR treat them as a chore?
If we're honest, they're kind of boring. Who wants to spend the day updating their internal catalog?
Thankfully, there are tools to reduce the burden of managing JDs. Some companies even offer all-in-one tools for managing and pricing your jobs.
Before we jump into snazzy solutions, let's hear what Juliann Johnson (Senior Compensation Analyst at Payscale) had to say in a recent webinar.
She offered some practical tips for writing job descriptions to attract the right candidates.
Get in on the full discussion here.
We also invited Alyssa Furlong to join the conversation. Alyssa started using Payscale’s Job Description Management a few months ago.
But her odyssey into better managing job descriptions for 900 employees at American Equity began three years ago.
What finally pushed them to Payscale?
As Alyssa explained, American Equity revamped their job architecture. They introduced new job levels and families.
"We knew we'd have to overhaul our job descriptions," Alyssa said. "So why go through all this cleanup if we're just going to be back in the same mess next year. We needed a tool that could help us manage versions, track effective dats, and keep everything organized in the long term."
Why did Alyssa choose Payscale? Let's listen to her explanation.
As we heard from Alyssa, something that sold her right away on Payscale was version control across job descriptions.
Instead of manually updating 300 different JDs every time something changes, she can make one change that takes effect everywhere.
More exciting still, Alyssa can now easily share job descriptions with leadership. Eventually, she plans to use Payscale's tool to level up pay transparency. Huge win for pay and career growth conversations.
Speaking of wins, the conversation naturally shifted to the buzziest topic in HR right now. Of course, we're talking about AI.
Customer spotlight: AI-generated job descriptions meets Payscale JDM
What happens when you combine AI with Payscale's Job Description Manager? We won't say it's magic, but your HR team might.
Let's hear how Alyssa uses AI and JDM to transform job description management.
(P.S. She reads JDs aloud to her cat, which we highly recommend. Apparently, Payscale's Robin Dean reads descriptions aloud as well to catch any mistakes. Thanks for the tip.)
Thank you, Alyssa! What a thorough explanation of how to get started turning job description mayhem into mastery.
What about the other benefits? Sure, leaning on AI and JDM helps you, but your CFO might not care.
Getting your job description house in order has many upsides, including:
- Business’s grow: When job descriptions connect directly to business goals, employees understand their role in your org's success.
- Compensation becomes bulletproof: Up-to-date descriptions across ALL versions equip you to benchmark better for attracting and retaining talent.
- Performance management gets easier: Clear expectations give managers sharper guidance for performance conversations and actionable improvement plans.
- Legal compliance holds up: Job description oversight guards against discriminatory language, ADA violations, FLSA, and pay transparency requirements.
- Career paths become visible: Well-penned job descriptions map advancement opportunities, showing employees how they can grow.
- Communication flourishes: When managers understand their team members’ roles and employees know their responsibilities, the silos undermining business results dissolve.
- Recruitment gets smarter: Accurate descriptions attract the right candidates and reduce turnover costs.
Did someone just mention smart recruitment? Well, if you haven’t already heard, Payscale acquired Datapeople.
What’s Datapeople? Just ask your recruiter friends plugged into the HR tech space. They’ll know.
In the webinar, Alyssa said something that upset us. It wasn’t her. It’s totally us.
She’s using Amazon Q Business to generate AI job descriptions. We couldn’t take that lying down.
Coming soon: the Datapeople difference
Okay, so we bought a company. Happens all the time, right. Except we didn't acquire just any old company.
We will have an AI-powered recruiting platform that, as our friends at Novo Insights put it, marks our "deliberate foray into the Talent Acquisition tech market."
You got that right. Soon, Payscale will become your go-to specialist for job postings.
As a customer, staying ahead of pay transparency and making sure compensation tightly aligns with hiring will be a cinch.
Our users will also realize a higher ROI on job description management.
Did you know recruiters typically spend three to five hours drafting one JD.
Datapeople cuts this time to under 30 minutes with templates, standout job examples (and of course) the best in AI-generative tools.
Customers save up to $27,000 just in productivity gains from drafting job descriptions. We're not even counting compliance and pay transparency guidance.
With numbers like that, it's no wonder HR folks want to get their hands on this tech. Datapeople will be coming soon to Payscale.
In the meantime, enjoy our webinar. It's packed with enough practical tips on job descriptions to hold you over.
