Your job descriptions are in SharePoint. Your approvals are in email. Your employee signatures are somewhere else entirely.
Sound familiar? I hear versions of this problem in discovery calls all the time, and the fix usually involves more than buying another piece of software.
Why Job Description Workflows Get So Complicated
Recently, I spoke with an HR leader whose team was trying to bring a very manual job description workflow under control.
They already had the tools most companies use: an HR system, an applicant tracking system (ATS), shared folders, spreadsheets, and an electronic signature tool.
But their process still looked like this:
- Job descriptions lived in Word documents and SharePoint folders.
- HR emailed documents to hiring managers for edits.
- Approved job descriptions were manually added to the ATS.
- Employee signatures were collected through another tool.
- Compensation and job-level data lived in separate spreadsheets.
- Finding an older version meant searching through files and hoping it was the right one.
They also needed to manage employee acknowledgments, track job codes, route approvals between teams, and keep records for audits.
That’s a lot of moving parts for something that should be fairly simple.
Here’s what stood out to me: They didn’t have a shortage of tools. They had a shortage of connections between those tools.
And that’s something we hear often at Ongig.
1. Your Job Description Library Shouldn’t Be a Scavenger Hunt
Let’s start with the basics.
Where do your job descriptions actually live?
For many companies, the answer depends on who you ask.
HR might have a SharePoint folder. Recruiting might have copies in the ATS. Compensation might keep another version in Excel or Word. Hiring managers might have saved their own copies.
Before long, nobody knows which version is current.
And when someone needs to update a job description, the hunt begins.
A central job description library can help by giving teams one place to create, store, edit, and find job descriptions.
But a library alone doesn’t solve everything.
You also need to think about how job descriptions connect to the rest of your HR systems.
For example:
- Can you connect each job description to a job code in your HRIS?
- Can recruiters access the correct version when creating a job posting?
- Can compensation teams see the job level and related pay information?
- Can hiring managers suggest edits without changing an approved document?
- Can employees access the version they’re expected to acknowledge?
These are the questions that turn a basic document library into a useful job description management system.
2. Your Job Codes and Job Descriptions Need to Talk
One request from the discovery call was especially interesting.
The company wanted to connect every job description to a specific job code in its HR system.
Why?
Because job codes already help define how employees and positions are organized.
If a job description is tied to that code, the company can more easily connect the right document to the right role.
Imagine this workflow:
- A job code exists in the HRIS.
- That code is connected to an approved job description.
- Employees assigned to that code can be matched with the correct document.
- When the job description changes, the workflow identifies who may need to review or acknowledge it.
That’s much easier than manually searching for employee names, finding documents, and sending individual emails.
At Ongig, we use customizable job attributes to help companies organize this type of information.
Depending on the setup, attributes might include job codes, departments, job levels, locations, or other fields a company needs.
And when integrations are part of the workflow, those details can help connect job descriptions with existing HR systems.
The goal is simple: less manual matching and fewer chances for someone to use the wrong document.
3. Job Description Approvals Should Follow Your Actual Process
Here’s another common problem.
A company buys a tool with an approval workflow, but that workflow doesn’t match how its teams actually work.
Maybe the software assumes every job description goes from a hiring manager to HR for approval.
But your company might need something more like this:
- A hiring manager requests a new job description or an update.
- The People team reviews the content.
- Compensation checks the job level and pay information.
- A department leader gives final approval.
- The approved version becomes available to recruiting or employees.
And not every job description needs to follow the same path.
A new position might need several approvals. A small wording change might only need one.
That’s why I always want to understand who is involved before we start talking about how a workflow should work.
Who creates job descriptions? Who edits them? Who approves them? Who only needs to view them?
These answers matter.
For example, Ongig supports different user permission levels, including viewers, editors, editor plus users, and admins.
Those permissions can help companies control who has access to different parts of the job description process.
When we discuss custom workflows with clients, we’re looking at how those roles, approvals, and handoffs fit together.
Because making people change their entire process to fit a tool can create a whole new set of problems.
4. Version History Matters More Than You Think
Let’s say an employee signed a job description two years ago.
Since then, the role has changed. The responsibilities have been updated. Maybe the job title changed too.
Now someone asks:
What exactly did this employee agree to when they signed?
Can you find that version?
Not just the latest job description. Not a document with a similar file name.
The exact version that was in place at that time.
For companies with audit, legal, or regulatory requirements, this can be a big deal.
And even companies without strict compliance rules benefit from having a clear record of changes.
A strong job description version history process should help teams answer questions like:
- What did this job description say on a specific date?
- Who made changes to the document?
- Who reviewed or approved those changes?
- Which version was shared with an employee?
- Which version did that employee acknowledge?
Here’s where things get tricky.
Having version history inside a Word document doesn’t automatically mean you have a complete record of the job description process.
Especially if several copies of that document exist.
You need a reliable way to connect the document, its changes, its approvals, and any employee acknowledgments.
For companies with specific audit requirements, the exact records and retention rules should be mapped out before building the workflow.
5. Employee Job Description Acknowledgments Can Get Messy Fast
Employee signatures were another big part of the discovery conversation.
Some companies require employees to acknowledge their job descriptions when they’re hired.
Others need acknowledgments every year, when responsibilities change, or both.
Now imagine managing that across hundreds or thousands of employees.
Someone has to figure out which document each employee needs, send it for signature, follow up when it’s missing, and store the signed copy.
Then repeat the process when something changes.
It’s easy to see why this becomes a full-time headache.
A custom job description acknowledgment workflow could help organize steps like:
- Identify the employee’s job code or assigned role.
- Find the correct approved job description.
- Determine whether an acknowledgment is required.
- Route the document for review or signature.
- Track completion and follow up on outstanding items.
- Keep a record of the version the employee acknowledged.
The exact setup depends on the company’s systems, rules, and technical needs.
But the important part is that the workflow starts with the business requirement.
Not with a generic signature button.
6. Your HR Systems Should Work Together
One thing I hear during discovery calls is that companies want everything in one place.
I get it.
But that doesn’t always mean replacing every tool you already use.
Sometimes it means connecting those tools so people don’t have to move the same information around all day.
Think about the systems involved in a typical job description workflow:
- HRIS: Employee records, job codes, and organizational data.
- ATS: Recruiting workflows and job postings.
- Job description management platform: Creating, editing, organizing, and maintaining job descriptions.
- Compensation systems: Job levels, pay ranges, and related information.
- Approval or planning tools: Headcount requests and internal approvals.
- Electronic signature tools: Employee acknowledgments.
When these systems don’t communicate, employees become the integration.
They’re copying information, uploading files, sending links, and checking whether the latest changes made it into the next system.
That’s a lot of extra work.
At Ongig, we often discuss integrations with systems such as Workday, ADP, Greenhouse, and other HR and recruiting platforms.
Some integrations are already in use. Others may require custom development, depending on the systems involved and the available APIs.
And in some cases, a simple link or data connection may be all that’s needed.
For example, a company using a separate headcount planning tool might just need an approved job description linked to the correct request.
There’s no reason to build a complicated integration if a simpler approach solves the problem.
The goal is to reduce duplicate work and make sure teams can find the information they need.
7. Custom Job Description Workflows Start With Questions
When someone asks me whether Ongig can support a specific workflow, my first question is usually some version of:
Can you walk me through what happens today?
Because the current process tells us a lot.
It shows us where people get stuck, where documents get lost, and where teams are doing work that could potentially be automated.
Before building a custom job description workflow, I’d recommend answering these questions:
- Where are your job descriptions stored today?
- Who creates, edits, reviews, and approves them?
- Which systems need access to job description data?
- Do job descriptions need to be tied to job codes?
- What information needs to move between systems?
- Do employees need to acknowledge job descriptions?
- What triggers a new acknowledgment?
- What version history or audit records must be kept?
- Are there different workflows for different departments or job types?
- Which manual tasks take the most time?
You don’t need to have every technical answer ready.
Start with the people and the process.
Then work out which parts can be handled through existing features, integrations, or custom development.
That’s how you avoid paying for features that don’t solve your actual problem.
8. Don’t Automate a Mess Without Understanding It First
There’s one more thing worth mentioning.
Automation can make a good process faster. But it can also make a confusing process harder to fix.
For example, if nobody agrees on who owns the final job description, automating the approval emails won’t solve that problem.
If your job codes don’t match the roles in your document library, connecting the systems won’t magically clean up the data.
And if different teams use different versions of the same document, you need to decide which one is correct before syncing it everywhere.
So before you automate, look at what needs to be cleaned up.
That might mean reviewing your job description library, standardizing job attributes, deciding who owns approvals, or setting rules for document updates.
It’s not always the most exciting part of a project.
But it makes everything that follows much easier.
Why I Wrote This
I wrote this because conversations like this happen all the time at Ongig.
HR and talent acquisition teams are trying to manage job descriptions across multiple systems, departments, and approval processes. They’ve often spent years finding workarounds to keep everything moving. And when they start looking for job description software, they’re not always sure whether a platform can support the way their company works.
That’s one of the reasons we like helping clients build custom workflows.
We can look at the entire process, including job description creation, approvals, integrations, job attributes, and the specific requirements that make each organization different.
Some companies need a simple central library. Others need a more detailed process involving job codes, employee acknowledgments, and audit records.
If your team is spending too much time emailing Word documents, tracking approvals, or hunting down the right job description, we’d love to learn more about your process.
Request an Ongig demo and let’s talk about what a better job description workflow could look like for your team.
FAQs About Job Description Workflows
What is a job description workflow?
A job description workflow is the process a company uses to create, review, approve, publish, update, and manage job descriptions. It may also include employee acknowledgments, version tracking, and connections to HR systems.
Can job description workflows be automated?
Yes. Depending on the software and integrations available, companies can automate parts of the process, such as routing documents for approval, updating job information, sending notifications, and tracking employee acknowledgments. The best approach depends on the company’s existing systems and requirements.
Why should job descriptions be linked to job codes?
Connecting job descriptions to job codes helps companies organize roles and match documents to the right positions. It can also support reporting, integrations, employee assignments, and workflows that depend on job information stored in an HRIS.
How do you track job description changes for audits?
Companies should have a clear process for recording document versions, changes, approvals, and employee acknowledgments. The records required will depend on the organization’s legal, regulatory, and internal policies. A central job description management platform can help organize these records.
Can Ongig support custom job description workflows?
Yes. Ongig supports customizable job attributes, user permissions, job description management, and integration options. Custom workflows can be scoped around a company’s needs, including approval steps, job code connections, and other processes. The exact setup depends on the required functionality and technical systems involved.
