The Importance of Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Though difficult at times, never underestimate the importance of defining roles and responsibilities in your team. Many employees wear several different hats, work across various teams, and undertake work outside the initial range of their job description.
Unfortunately, this can lead to a great deal of confusion.
Consider a clinical team working in a hospital emergency room. Before the next ambulance arrives, they have no idea of the nature of the task ahead. Will the patient require surgery, heart resuscitation, medications? The condition of the next patient is unknown; the tasks that will be required of the team, ambiguous. But at no time while the team waits, do they negotiate roles: “Who would like to administer the anaesthesia? Who will set out the instruments? Who will make key decisions?” Each role is clear. As are the team responsibilities. As a result, when the patient arrives, the team is able to move quickly into action.
Clearly defining roles and expectations will have a positive impact on the organisation as a whole – here’s why:
Everyone knows what to do.
When you set clear roles and responsibilities, especially formal ones, everyone knows what’s expected of them within the team. They know how to behave, what they need to accomplish, and how to reach the team’s goals.
Everything gets done.
When you’re short on time, it’s easy for pieces of work to be overlooked. This is especially true if no one is completely clear on who is responsible for accomplishing those tasks. Less-desirable tasks are often left alone because no one wants to claim them. When people understand their job responsibilities, on the other hand, nothing gets forgotten in the process.
People work together better when they understand their roles.
There’s less jockeying for position, fewer arguments, and higher overall creativity when everyone understands their responsibility as part of the team. When we work with clients having performance issues, the need for role clarification is often identified as a significant action item.
Less energy is wasted.
Any time there’s a lack of clarity, people waste energy dealing with things that don’t matter. They argue over things that aren’t important, fail to focus on things that are, and miss out on opportunities. Define roles and responsibilities, and a great deal of that energy becomes accessible for other purposes.
Performance improves.
Being unsure of your role and what is expected of you affects your performance. Once clarified, personal productivity increases dramatically. Organisations that have high employee engagement have employees that know, understand and execute their roles and responsibilities.
Defining roles and responsibilities is a significant organisation success factor. It is one of the leadership essentials that makes a big difference to organisational performance.
About the Author:
Kurt Blazek, is an author for TruScore - you can find more here: https://www.truscore.com/resources/author/kurtboothco-com/