Job Functions are the foundation for Skill-Building, Coaching, Certifications, Observations and Workforce Readiness.

Once Job Functions have been established, they should be actively maintained to ensure associates have access to the correct learning content, operational resources, and performance expectations for the work they perform.

Proper Job Function Management helps organizations maintain consistent standards, improve onboarding, support cross-skilling initiatives, and provide leaders with visibility into workforce capability.

This guide provides:

Job Functions serve as the connection point between associates and the content required to perform their work successfully.

When managed effectively, Job Functions help organizations:

A well-managed Job Function structure creates consistency between learning, coaching, and operational execution.

A Job Function contains the content and resources associates need to learn, perform and maintain proficiency within a specific process.

Skill-Builds provide structured learning paths that help associates develop the skills required for a Job Function.

Examples may include:

Required skill-builds contribute to overall Job Function readiness and completion status, which includes a skills matrix showing cross-skilled associates and the job functions they are cross-skilled in.

SOPs provide the documented process standards associates are expected to follow.

SOPs Support:

Observations allow leaders to validate that an associate can successfully perform the work associated with a Job Function.

Observations Support:

Additional Content such as:

Each job function should contain the content needed to support operational success.

When assigning content, ensure that:

Content should be reviewed regularly to ensure alignment with current operational practices.

Associates may be assigned:

Primary Job Function

This represents the associate's primary area of responsibility that they report to every day after clocking in.

Secondary Job Functions

This represents areas that the associate has additional skills in (cross-trained) or backup responsibilities in.

Accurate Job Function assignments help ensure:

Job Functions can be assigned or updated directly from the Team view (Team > Your Team or Team > Building), or from an individual associate's profile by selecting Edit next to the Job Functions section.

To assign or update an associate's Job Functions, navigate to Team and locate the associate's row (or open the associate's profile), then open the row's Actions menu (or select the associate's Primary JF cell, or select Edit on the profile) and choose Assigned job functions. In the Assigned job functions panel, search for and check every Job Function the associate should hold. Associates may be assigned multiple Job Functions; then select Primary next to the one Job Function that should be designated as the associate's primary responsibility, and select Save.

The Primary JF column on the Team view flags any associate who has not yet been assigned a primary Job Function, making it easy to spot associates who still need one set. To assign the same Job Function to many associates at once instead of one at a time, use the bulk action bar in Project Admin.

Job Function assignment is currently the main automatic trigger available for Action Plans. Assigning a Job Function to an associate can automatically start a linked Action Plan, such as an onboarding or training checklist.

This trigger doesn't yet distinguish a brand-new assignment from cross-training, so before adding a Job Function to an already-trained associate, review any Action Plan linked to that Job Function to avoid assigning duplicate or irrelevant tasks.

Job Functions provide visibility into associates' readiness and skill or cross-skill progress.

Per-associate readiness, including completion status for each assigned Job Function, is visible on the associate profile.

Leaders can monitor:

Readiness indicators help identify development opportunities and support workforce planning efforts.

Monitoring these indicators regularly helps ensure associates remain skilled and qualified for their assigned job function responsibilities.

Job Functions should evolve alongside the operation and programs in Smart Access.

Review Job Functions when:

Regular review helps ensure Job Functions remain aligned to actual work being performed throughout the organization.

Job Functions are more than a way to organize associates. They serve as the framework that connects learning, coaching, observations, certifications, and workforce readiness. Effective Job Function management helps ensure associates receive the right skill-building, leaders have visibility into readiness, and operational standards remain consistent across the organization.

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