diff --git a/docs/src/site/docbook/reference/step.xml b/docs/src/site/docbook/reference/step.xml
index de4f3cb93..10fd3001e 100644
--- a/docs/src/site/docbook/reference/step.xml
+++ b/docs/src/site/docbook/reference/step.xml
@@ -123,6 +123,44 @@
directly passed from the reader to the writer.
+
+ Referencing a Standalone Step
+
+ While steps must exist within a Job to define the flow, it can
+ sometimes be useful to reference a 'standalone' Step. For example, if a
+ Step is used by multiple jobs it can be useful to declare it once and
+ reference it from multiple jobs. This can be achieved with the ref
+ attribute:
+
+
+ <job id="sampleJob">
+ <step id="step1" ref="standaloneStep" />
+ </job>
+
+ <step id="standaloneStep" job-repository="jobRepository" transaction-manager="transactionManager">
+ <tasklet reader="itemReader" writer="itemWriter" commit-interval="10"/>
+ </step>
+
+
+
+ It should be noted that the id attribute is still required on the
+ step within the job element. This is for two reasons:
+
+
+
+ The Id will be used as the step name when persisting the
+ StepExecution, if the same standalone step is referenced in more
+ than one step in the job, an error will occur.
+
+
+
+ When creating job flows, as described later in this chapter,
+ the next attribute should be referring to the step in the flow, not
+ the standalone step.
+
+
+
+