Nowadays, many companies try to create an ideal work environment and conditions for their employees. The main reason is that such an environment fosters productivity and motivation among workers. However, even with the ideal work conditions at the office, there can be a lot of confusion going about.
That’s because very few companies actually have more than ten job titles. Job titles define employee roles and responsibilities.
When two employees with the same job titles perform different tasks and have different salaries, things tend to get quite complicated. You can face high employee turnover, low morale, a decrease in productivity, as well as the overall performance of your team.
That’s why introducing more job titles at the workplace is of the utmost importance. If you do it right, it can benefit both sides significantly. With that in mind, here are a few ways to make job titles work for your employees and your business.
Define titles according to the employee tasks
Every employee has primary tasks that define their responsibilities. You should try to create job titles in accordance with those primary tasks. This not only helps employees understand what they have to do and how but it also makes them more effective and productive.
For example, a sales representative should communicate with potential customers, not schedule social media content publications. Moreover, every job title should have a detailed outline of the job description. That way, when new hires arrive at your company, they won’t immediately consider leaving because they’re doing something that was not mentioned in the job description.
Of course, every employee today does some minor tasks outside their responsibility zone. However, as a web designer, helping someone pick the right images for an email newsletter isn’t the same as creating an entire email marketing campaign.
Use titles to organize your company
As mentioned before, job titles define clear roles and responsibilities of your employees. Use this to your advantage to organize your company seamlessly. That way, when you use proper job titles and rely on a scheduling software, you can easily assign employees to their respective roles or shifts.
This is especially true when a situation is particularly complicated, like the global pandemic we’re experiencing now. In such scenarios, organizing shifts and ensuring you have the right employees at the right places and at the right time is of vital importance.
Without proper job titles, you can easily make a mistake that results in becoming understaffed, having a lack of expertise, and overworked employees. Job titles, therefore, create a social structure within your company. When this structure is well-organized, it becomes easier to prepare and adapt to any situation or any scenario that comes your way.
Be creative when creating job titles
Traditional job titles, although being able to clearly define roles, can also serve as a reminder about how monotone and mundane jobs can be. Creative job titles, on the other hand, can empower employees and give more meaning to the work they do. After all, job titles are powerful signs that can define who we are, what we do, and what we are capable of.
Therefore, being creative with creating job titles can not only motivate your current employees but also encourage the best applicants to come work at your company. For example, “The Number Ninja” sounds way better and more awesome than the accountant. In addition, the title “Aspiring Novelist” is much more motivational than a copywriter, wouldn’t you say?
Creative job titles can create a bit of market confusion since there’s no consensus about using these. Nevertheless, you can use both the creative and the traditional ones accordingly to clear out any misunderstandings and still energize your employees the right way.
Continue to adapt
It’s no secret that businesses evolve alongside modern technology. There are job titles today that didn’t exist just a few years ago.
Progress is constant and defining new job titles when an opportunity presents itself is very important. This will help avoid confusion, as well as help you clearly define employee responsibilities. That said, here are a few things you should do when planning new job titles:
- Create job titles after clearly defining employee primary roles and tasks
- Introduce new titles as you welcome new employees
- Tie job titles to employee responsibilities
- Create a detailed job description before assigning a new job title to it
Doing the opposite of what’s recommended above can lead to employee dissatisfaction, low morale and productivity, and even high turnover. Imagine someone being hired as a “sales manager,” the person responsible for organizing sales and coordinating teams, only for them to end up working at the customer service call center taking calls. It’s only logical to assume that they won’t be happy at all.
Job titles are an essential aspect of company culture and structure. Without job titles, no one would know what to do or why they’re doing what they’re doing. Therefore, it’s vital that you use the job titles the right way and make them work for both your employees and your business.
