Role Design

Purpose

This tool is to be used to:

• Help you get clarity about your current/future role.

• Support team/project members to get better clarity about who is doing what
  when kicking off new projects and working together

• Aid collaboration and help a team work through mismatches in the understanding of each other’s roles.

• Have more context, details, and insights when you ask for feedback and start a salary review.

How to use this guideline

Start Small:
Don't expect to sit down and complete the template in one go.

A good way to start would be to first try to define the areas you know best (ie Responsibilities), and only then move on to the other sections of the template.

If there are any parts of the template that are not applicable to the role you are trying to design, just leave them blank. For example, if you don't envision any specific decision-making in the role, you don't have to write anything down.

Iterate:
An exercise like this requires some continuous self-reflection and also iteration to see what works.

Try to define a first “good enough for now” draft, and define a timeline to refine and improve it.

A good moment to do a retrospective and update your role could be at the start of a new project when you join a new team, annual review, etc.

Role Design "Template"

Design your role using the following areas:

• Role Name
• Purpose (Explain why we need this role in the team/company)
• Responsibilities (Describe day-to-day tasks)
  • Impact (How do I know I am doing a good job? Time, Cost, Quality, Quantity, Experience, People, Efficiency, etc.)
  • Decision Making (Does this role need to make any decision? What can I make the final call on, if anything?)

For more information about role design, check this blogpost

Have doubts? Need support? Talk to People & Culture.