Pain. Pure pain. Recently, one of my favorite employees, my coffee roaster, left Chazzano Coffee to live a calm happy life in another state. Before she left, I wrote a job description to teach her about all of the crazy roles that she has held. While looking for someone to replace her, it was also helpful for me to reference that list when I analyzed the many responsibilities of the new employee. Look around your business. You should have a job description for every single one of your employees. Do you really know all of the necessary tasks they accomplish every day? Even if you have already written a job description for them recently, review it. Ask yourself: “Which one of your employees are better equipped for this task? Who is punctual? Who has the best work ethic? Who is the better sales person?”

After you are finished with reviewing your employees, look at yourself. How important are you to this business? What the heck do you do? Do you even realize all that you do? What would it take to hire someone to do all of your jobs? Is it even possible to find another you? Find a quiet spot, away from your work, and write out every small to large responsibility in your bucket. Then analyze the list- do you really need to be sweeping the floors? Is that the best use of your time and talent? How do you redistribute your list and put it into your employees buckets?

Yes, it’s pain, pure pain when you reach down for the soy milk and realize that there is none…because your recently departed employee was responsible for restocking. However, those moments and the many ones afterwards will make you sharper and help you fine tune the job descriptions for everyone in your organization. I guarantee that you’ll smile often.