Most leaders underutilize job descriptions as performance management tool. That’s too bad; they are easy to use and could do you a lot of good.

Why do people ignore them? For many, it’s because it’s hard to limit a role to a specific focus, because employees end up doing things beyond their role. Companies also say that roles change so much that it’s hard to keep up. To many people, a job description is out of date as soon as it’s written.

Rather than reasons to ignore JDs, though, these should be reasons to put more effort into them.

First, an accurate JD helps you attract candidates who want to work that way. If employees have individual KPIs but are also expected to collaborate across functions, say so. When you expect the role to evolve — perhaps because you’re opening a new market or adding new products next year — then say so. If the job description says one thing and reality is different, you may be hiring the wrong people.

Job descriptions help set expectations about how employees will work. You can describe not only the performance targets but also the need for innovation, collaboration, self-management, or other factors that affect how someone works. Don’t let someone find out only after they’ve been hired, but instead, use the JD to set expectations during the hiring process.

JDs also serve as a useful benchmark for a role that’s evolving. Yes, jobs change, and sometimes the changes make sense while sometimes they don’t. Having a regular JD review let’s you see if the job reality matches the job description. If not, then maybe it’s time to change the JD. But it may also be a sign that someone is getting dragged into work they shouldn’t be doing. It might also suggest an employee has a strong interest in doing a different kind of role. It could also be a sign you need to hire additional people, or change performance expectations. But without the JD, it’s hard to have the conversation.

To many leaders, job descriptions seem like just an HR exercise. That’s too bad. Job descriptions are tools (and potentially powerful ones) for getting your employees onto a high-performance path. You can ignore them, but if your competitors are using them well, they could be making better use of their talent than you are. In the tight talent market that many companies face, you really cannot afford that.