Benefits of job scope

Clear definitions of a position’s responsibilities generally help employees understand whether tasks are in or out of scope. Clarity about a role’s duties can have benefits, such as:

• Improved performance: When employees better understand their job description, daily tasks and their impact on the organization, they may be more confident completing them.
• More aligned coaching: Coaching involves establishing a trust between the worker and manager to provide actionable feedback and improve performance. With the right coaching management style and clear scope, managers may be able to delegate responsibilities appropriately among team members, potentially encouraging employees to succeed within their roles.
• Reduced role conflict: Well-defined job descriptions may reduce job scope overlap, minimizing opportunities for role conflict, which can stem from two workers completing the same tasks or an employee assuming multiple roles that lead to competing responsibilities.
• More efficient recruiting: Understanding the responsibilities of a role can also help your human resources (HR) team recruit and hire for each position.
• Enhanced teamwork: When every employee knows what’s expected of them, teams can focus on the right tasks and better support business goals. This helps provide each employee with a goal that complements the objectives of the entire team, leading to improved productivity.

Job scope examples

Job scope statements should summarize what’s expected of a role. They’re usually part of a job description, which provides further details about the position’s responsibilities and requirements.

Here are some examples of job scope statements for different positions:

• Car Salesperson: Assists customers in choosing vehicles and guides them through the purchasing process. Provides product information, oversees test drives and completes sales paperwork but doesn’t handle financing paperwork or processes.
• Payroll Clerk: Processes payroll, including verifying hours worked, entering data into payroll systems and supporting compliance with payroll laws. Doesn’t approve employee overtime or manage team member schedules.
• Social Media Marketer: Creates social media content to support overall marketing campaigns, schedules posts, monitors audience engagement and responds to comments. Manages social media ad campaigns but not search or display ad campaigns.
• Delivery Driver: Transports parcels and other goods to clients, ensuring timely delivery. Handles route planning but not ordering or inventory.
• Medical Receptionist: Greets visitors, answers the phone and checks patients in. Supports a welcoming environment at the front desk and directs patients to appropriate team members for questions about scheduling, insurance or treatment.

Tips for defining job scope

You can define job scope for your positions with the following steps:

1. Set a primary goal for the role

Consider how the role provides value to the business. Relating a position to overall company goals may help employees understand their role in your organization. A well-defined job scope also helps you think more clearly about your expectations for the position.

2. List duties and responsibilities

Make a list of the primary tasks you expect for the position. This can also create a sense of accountability, where employees can take ownership of certain aspects of production.

3. Create boundaries and limits

Define what the position is and isn’t responsible for. Consider where potential position overlap might occur and use scope limitations to reduce confusion.

4. Think about collaboration

Consider how this role might collaborate with other team members or departments. Use job scope to add clarity and specify what this position will contribute to cross-functional collaboration.

5. Define decision-making authority

The organizational structure of your business can help you create departments and assign roles to your employees. Determining whether the scope of the position includes supervisor responsibilities or acts as an individual contributor usually specifies the level of decision-making for the role. Consider including whether authorizations are needed, when they’re required and who provides them.

6. Define how success is measured

Create clear expectations for how you measure success for a role. For example, this may include certain key performance indicators (KPIs) based on previous data or quarterly improvement with a specific skill.

You might also use performance reviews to assess each employee’s progress and provide opportunities to discuss new goals or areas of improvement.

7. Summarize everything in one to two sentences

Create a job scope statement that summarizes the information into a concise, clear statement. It should provide essential information about a position’s responsibilities and limitations. More information can be included in the job description itself.

Frequently asked questions about job scope

What is the difference between job scope and a job description?

A job description lists the primary information about a role, such as the salary range, typical duties and responsibilities and a short introduction to the company and the job requirements. Job scope is often included in a job description and can further explain the expectations of the new hire and their role in supporting company goals.

What are some questions to ask to define job scope?

Consider the following questions to create a clear job scope that applicants can easily understand:

• What are the short- and long-term goals for this position?
• What are the most important tasks that can contribute to success?
• How does this position align with broader company goals?