If you don’t have a document that clearly outlines tasks and defines success for your employees, holding them accountable becomes nearly impossible. And even worse, they don’t know what success looks like in their role.
At The Metiss Group, we’ve created The Job Scorecard™ for hundreds of clients to bring clarity and focus to roles within their organizations.
We admit it, we’re biased. Since we offer The Job Scorecard™ as part of our services, we obviously think it’s superior to traditional job descriptions. But even with that bias, we’ll do our best to lay out the facts so you can see how an accountability document could change the way your team performs.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What is a Job Description?
- What is a Job Scorecard?
- The Problem with Job Descriptions
- The Problem with Job Scorecards
- Why Our Clients Prefer The Job Scorecard™
What Is a Job Description?
What Is a Job Description?A job description is essentially a list of tasks, cobbled together by HR or a hiring manager. It’s often created during two scenarios:
- Before posting a job opening. Someone needs to define the role’s basics before it hits the job boards.
- When HR takes on a big documentation project. It’s like a cleanup effort to outline every role in the company.
Job descriptions typically include a list of responsibilities, ending with an oh-so-vague line: “and other duties as assigned.”
Sometimes job descriptions double as a job posting. A candidate can use this document to get an idea of what their expectations would be in that role. But once they’re hired, they often never see the document again.
Other employees never see the job description in the first place. It’s rarely used as a tool to hold employees accountable or set expectations.
What Is The Job Scorecard™?
The Job Scorecard™ isn’t just another piece of paperwork. It’s a living, breathing guide employees and managers update regularly. Think of it as a roadmap but with milemarkers and checkpoints to keep everyone aligned.
The foundation of the Job Scorecard™ is its focus on tasks and corresponding success factors. Instead of listing generic duties, it defines successful outcomes, focusing on the results instead of just the process.
These tasks and success factors are organized into categories to provide context and structure. Each category is ranked by priority and assigned a percentage of time to indicate how much focus it requires. No more spending too much time on the wrong thing.
The scorecard also includes a scoring system to track progress. Success factors for each task can be marked as “On Track,” “Inconsistent/Incomplete,” “Off Track,” or “Not Applicable.” This color-coded system allows managers to guide discussions about performance, making evaluations more transparent and actionable.
So when trying to understand the difference between a job description and a job scorecard, think of a round of golf. The job description is simple: hit the ball into each hole in the fewest strokes possible. The job scorecard, on the other hand, makes you break out your little pencil after every round and hold yourself accountable with a literal scorecard.
The Problem with Traditional Job Descriptions
Job descriptions can be too vague and task-oriented. They outline what you’re supposed to do but leave out the why and the how well.
Most job descriptions are quickly forgotten after onboarding, so they’re not helpful for accountability, growth, or performance reviews.
The Problems with The Job Scorecard™
We won’t sugarcoat it. The Job Scorecard™ takes effort.
- Difficult to Build on Your Own: It’s easy for managers to go overboard, listing dozens of “perfect world” success factors. Narrowing it down to what’s actually essential takes experience—and often, an outside perspective.
- Upfront Work: Collaboration with stakeholders is key, but that takes time. Many organizations resist putting in the time and effort at the beginning. Especially when key leaders are telling hiring managers, “I need this person hired yesterday!”
- Ongoing Accountability: The scorecard is only as good as your commitment to keep it updated and discuss it at least quarterly. That requires discipline.
Why Our Clients Prefer The Job Scorecard™
One of our clients, a large construction firm, recently implemented The Job Scorecard™ across senior leadership. These leaders were bogged down and bottlenecking tasks to the CEO, but no one knew exactly how they were spending their time. The CEO suspected they were stuck in the weeds, but without clarity, he couldn’t be sure.
By defining priorities and breaking tasks into categories, the team discovered senior leaders were doing work they should have delegated instead. They were slowing progress for the whole organization, spending too much time on tactical day-to-day tasks when they should have been focusing on strategy. They implemented The Job Scorecard™ and shifted those tasks to other levels of the organization, freeing up the leadership team for more big-picture thinking.
Our clients also love The Job Scorecard™ for how it transforms feedback. Instead of focusing on the negatives, managers can point to the positives — “Look at all these green boxes!” — before diving into areas for improvement. That kind of balanced feedback is far more motivating than a laundry list of complaints.
Job Description vs. Job Scorecard: The Bottom Line
Without clarity around a role, an employee is set up for failure. The Job Scorecard™ removes ambiguity and helps managers hold their direct reports accountable. It’s the foundation for so many of the things we do here at The Metiss Group.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start leading with clarity, the next step is to meet with a trusted advisor at The Metiss Group to see how The Job Scorecard™ can make your life easier by developing a team that exceeds your expectations.
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