Amy Norton
While I cannot think of a situation where I was evaluated on something that was not clearly communicated to me, I know that I have had colleagues who have experienced this. The example situation that happened to someone I know involved the leader not making the associate aware of a metric they were accountable for. Even though this metric was an important part of this person’s role, they were given little knowledge or training on how it was measured or that they would be held accountable to meeting a goal against it. This situation resulted in the associate being counseled, but this did not seem fair as the expectations and training were not clearly set.
As a leader in the past, I always make sure that I have an expectation exchange with my associates and part of that is to review items listed in the job description. We discuss what the accountabilities are, how they are measured, and how often we will review them. I believe it is important for HR to own making sure the job description is accurate and that leadership is held to the standard of having these expectation setting sessions with each associate to include regular follow up to ensure there is no surprises when it comes to evaluation time. Everyone performs better when they understand how they are performing on a regular basis. Where are they winning and where do that have opportunities?
If someone is counseled or let go in this type of situation and the expectations or job description is not accurate, I think that a former associate could potentially have an argument for wrongful termination depending on the situation. If the job description is inaccurate or incomplete, you would also run the risk of seeking out candidates with ineffective experience for the position. This could end up costing the organization more money in recruiting and training costs.
Shakarah Morton
Think about a time or situation where you were evaluated on an action, task, or behavior and were not clearly provided the directions or expectations before evaluation.
I would use my previous role at Comcast with their metrics system. In one of their metrics it consisted of a 14 day resolution. This consist of the customer getting their issue resolved while on the call and not calling back in within a 14 day window. I thought that was not explained in depth during the interview and if it was below the 30% value of the scorecard it could put employees on performance plans that later result in termination. I can say I was impacted around Covid time many customers transitioned to working from home which allowed them to call in due to connectivity problems. My scorecard was below the level in that area and it resulted in me getting on the plan to ensure that the percentage met company standards. If this was explained to me properly before taking the role it would be easy to adapt to this versus being at shocked realizing this was something that was measured so heavily in regards to my performance.
What actions should the human resource manager have taken to provide clear communication so no misunderstanding of the expectations occurs before the evaluation?
This could possibly have been prevented by having the acting human resources professional establish an appropriate job description for the person in charge of hiring to utilize during the process of interviews, as well as a tool to be used throughout reviews. This would at least give the person an insight of what is to be expected of them.
What legal implications can arise from poorly written job descriptions, if any?
Without a comprehensive job description, a business may be held liable for employer discrimination and wrongful firing. That would be the only thing that could impact the company. A person may suffer from financial loss which also impact a company's revenue.