Stop Writing Job Descriptions. Start Defining Job Purpose

In the fast paced and ever-changing world of tech scale‑ups, hiring has the potential to be one of your biggest game changers but, also one of your greatest risks if you get it wrong. I see it so often, that companies rely and count on a traditional job description which, as we all know, looks like a shopping list of responsibilities and requirements and ends up coming across as a checklist rather a document which shows a roadmap for success in the role for those who may be interested.

However, traditional job descriptions rarely have the ability to capture what matters in a scale‑up, that’s to say: outcomes, adaptability, and purpose.

Why Job Descriptions Don’t Work…

As an example, the traditional job description might well tell you what a VP of Product does, however, what it will not tell you is what that same VP of Product must achieve to be considered a success in role. It reels off a list of generic VP of Product tasks — “manage a team,” “oversee product roadmap,” “liaise with stakeholders” but, not what needs to be achieved in the role to be a success.

In a fast paced, tech scale‑up where growth can see a business double in size within 12 months, generic, lists of responsibilities can become outdated. The alternative that I strongly recommend is to give absolute clarity on why the role exists and what impact it must deliver.

Define the Purpose

When senior leadership start asking the following questions then clarity on role purpose tends to be the natural outcome:

• What is the purpose of the role?

• What will the role focus on delivering within the business right now?

• How will success be measured at different points, for example, 12 months?

What does this look like? Well, instead of: “VP of Sales will manage a team of account executives and drive revenue growth.”

The role definition may read more along these lines: “The VP of Sales will build a repeatable, scalable sales engine that doubles ARR within 18 months while establishing a culture of accountability and customer focus.”

One of these sets out a mission with measurable outcomes and the other lists responsibilities. I’ll leave you to think about which comes across better.

Outcomes Over Responsibilities

Businesses, particularly, tech scale ups thrive when the leadership team are aligned on outcomes instead of responsibilities. Your VP of Engineering’s purpose is not just to “oversee development”, it is more about delivering a product that can handle 10x user growth without any compromising performance.

When you start to frame roles around outcomes, it achieves the following:

• Give leaders clarity on what matters most.

• Empowers leaders to decide how to get there.

• Creates an accountability that can scale with the business.

  
  

So, what are the benefits for hiring and retention

1. Clearer Hiring Decisions – You can focus on those individuals who can deliver the outcomes and not just follow the responsibilities listed. You can either deliver a product that can handle 10x user growth or you can’t…

2. Improved Onboarding – Your new VP knows exactly what success in role looks like from their first day.

3. Improved Retention – Senior leaders tend to have better engagement when they’re working towards a clear purpose and not rolling through a list of job responsibilities.

   
   

What Are Your Next Steps?

If you’re leading the hiring in a scale‑up, please strongly resist the temptation to pull out an old job description irrespective of the role. Instead, I encourage you to define the purpose of the role and the outcomes it must deliver. In your scale‑up, you’re not just filling seats around the leadership table, you’re creating the leadership team that will deliver the growth that you seek into the future.