As the working year begins to wind down, many organisations are already looking ahead to the new year. Budgets are being reviewed or finalised, workforce needs are becoming clearer and managers may already know there are vacancies they will need to fill in January.
It can be tempting to get a head start by pulling out the position description from the last time the role was recruited, changing the date and preparing an advertisement. After all, if the position still has the same title, how much could really have changed?
Potentially, quite a lot.
Jobs rarely stand still. Technology changes how work gets done, customer expectations evolve, teams are restructured and responsibilities shift between people. New systems are introduced and skills that were important three years ago may now be less relevant, while capabilities that barely featured in the previous position description may have become essential.
The departure of an employee can therefore create a useful pause. Rather than automatically recruiting a replacement, employers have an opportunity to ask whether they are about to recruit for the job they need now, or simply the job they had before.
When a long-serving employee leaves, particularly someone who has accumulated responsibilities over time, there can be a tendency to look for someone just like them.
That can lead to a position description which reflects the previous employee rather than the genuine requirements of the role.
Instead, start with the work.
What does the organisation need this position to achieve? What responsibilities genuinely belong in the role? What capabilities will be important over the next few years?
A job analysis can help employers work through these questions systematically. A job analysis is a structured process for examining the skills, duties, responsibilities, expected outcomes and work environment associated with a role. It is recommended that employers conduct an analysis before jumping straight to recruitment.
Before settling on the position to be advertised, consider:
These questions can uncover a very different role from the one an employer initially thought it needed to fill.
Members of Australian Industry Group can access extensive recruitment resources relevant to this process including Recruitment Stage 3: Conduct job analysis to work through the process before recruitment begins.
Reviewing a vacancy is also an opportunity to think about where the business is heading.
This is becoming particularly important as technology continues to change the capabilities organisations require. Artificial intelligence, automation and digital systems may not eliminate a particular job, but they can change the mix of tasks within it and the skills someone needs to perform it successfully.
For example, a role that previously involved a significant amount of manual administration may increasingly require someone who can work confidently with digital tools, interpret information and adapt as systems continue to develop.
That does not mean adding a long list of new requirements to the position description. In fact, the opposite may be more useful. Employers should distinguish between the capabilities a person genuinely needs when they start and those that can reasonably be developed once they are in the role.
The aim is not to future-proof a job by trying to predict every possible change. It is to avoid recruiting against yesterday's requirements when there is already evidence that tomorrow's will be different.
An old position description can contain requirements that have survived several recruitment rounds without anyone stopping to question them.
None of this means lowering legitimate requirements. Safety, regulatory, operational and professional standards still matter. The point is to distinguish between requirements that can be supported by evidence and those that exist because "that's how we've always recruited the role".
That distinction can also affect who applies. Unnecessary criteria may narrow the candidate pool before an employer has had the opportunity to assess what someone could bring to the job. This also means that a role becomes less inclusive and great candidates that don’t exactly fit a strict criteria will not apply. It is also important to consider where aspects of a role may be flexible or adaptable without lowering legitimate safety, regulatory, operational or performance standards.
Once the role itself has been reviewed, the position description should reflect the outcome.
An effective position description gives both the organisation and prospective candidates a clear understanding of the role, its responsibilities and expectations. It is recommended that employers review an existing position description whenever recruiting for a role rather than assuming the previous version remains current.
It should provide a reliable picture of matters such as:
There is value in getting this right beyond the immediate recruitment exercise. Position descriptions can also support performance management, training and development, succession planning, remuneration and job evaluation.
Members of Australian Industry Group can access Step 4: Write or renew a job description and specification for practical guidance on reviewing and developing job descriptions.
Recruitment commonly begins when a vacancy needs to be filled, which naturally creates pressure to act. The end of the year can provide a useful circuit breaker before that urgency takes over.
If a business already knows it will be recruiting in the new year, doing some of the thinking now can mean January does not begin with an automatic replacement process.
Review the work. Talk to the people who understand it. Consider what has changed and what is likely to change. Challenge inherited requirements and then update the position description before writing the advertisement.
The goal isn't to make every vacancy into a major job redesign exercise. Sometimes the review will confirm that the existing role remains exactly what the organisation needs.
At other times, asking a few questions before clicking "advertise" may reveal that the job worth recruiting for in 2027 looks quite different from the one that existed in 2026.
For assistance with your workplace matters, Members of Australian Industry Group can contact us or call our Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77 for further information.
The HR Resource Centre’s new Attracting, Recruiting and Onboarding Talent topic has been designed by our HR and workplace relation’s experts to provide Australian Industry Group members with comprehensive resources, support and tools to help them to effectively manage the recruitment process.
This topic covers a wide range of essential aspects, including best practices for attracting top talent, innovative recruitment strategies, and effective onboarding processes.
Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Australian Industry Group. With more than 25 years' experience in human resources and leadership, she has demonstrated her expertise across a diverse range of industries, including financial services, tourism, travel, government, agriculture and HR advisory. She is an accomplished writer and editor who creates engaging content that educates and informs. Georgina's writing includes a variety of formats, such as blogs, articles, policies, templates and guides.
