The Fate of Job Titles in Future Orgs
Do we ever think that our job title is an important part of our identity or does it hold us back from sharing our varied skill set. In my specific field, I might be called the Head of People and Culture. I could be the People Expert or the HR Lead. Or, to borrow a term from the start-up world, I could call myself the Chief Vibes Officer. At the end of the day, does it really matter? Some people would say ‘absolutely’ and someone just shake their heads and move on.
We might think our title defines where we sit in the company and that it’s a way to signal to our network and potential / future employers what we’ve done, what we know and how far we’ve come.Others think we place too much emphasis on job titles. They might say they’re restrictive and old fashioned, and run counter to the agile, fast-moving work environments.
Who cares about job titles?
First, it’s worth looking at why some people care about their job titles. In many instances, it’s a personal preference. Let’s ask ourselves: “Do we think our job title is an important part of our identity”? When we answer this question truthfully, the answer is ‘yes’. We like people knowing that we’ve worked hard to progress in our careers. Arguments for keeping job titles center around the sense of identity they can provide. While some people would be led to believe it’s, their ego driving their desired job title, there are plenty of practical reasons to consider.
Titles are also a clear and quick way to demonstrate career progression to prospective employers. Without a defined role, candidates must rely on the recruiter to get into the weeds of their resume, which outlines exactly how and where they’ve added value. A busy recruiter with 5000 resumes to get through might not have the time to do this. On the self-branding note again, while some people might think this is self-indulgent or unnecessary, there’s an argument to be made for the importance of status at work.
Why not to have job titles?
For every good reason to keep job titles, there are as many compelling arguments to axe them. I personally feel that in Asian markets, we put too much value on titles. There are intrinsic reasons why they’re important for individuals and organisations, but at the same time is there a different way of looking at how someone’s role can be captured that supports what we say around the future of work?
The future of business organisations is about creating a human-centric design to work, rather than clinging to traditional hierarchies. I have seen and worked for organisations where job titles were the last thing we would look at, because they’re the least significant factor. Sometimes titles are just created to placate people because they think it’s going to be received differently in the external market, because their title says ‘Head of…’ rather than ‘Team Lead’.
Org Culture Matters
Title or no title, the heart of this discussion is around culture. So, if an organization is ditching job titles in a bid to eliminate egos, there are bigger issues at play. If you’ve got a really good, humming workforce, all the way from the top down to bottom, ego shouldn’t come into it. If leadership is on track and they’re doing the right thing, they could call the Head of HR the Mickey Mouse or the Donald Duck of that very place, it wouldn’t matter because they’re setting the scene to say that everyone is important and contributes, no matter their level.
If an organisation’s culture is one that tells people to stay in their box, their employees are going to hold back. We need culture that encourages people to take informed risks and learn new things — that’s where people can thrive and learn to stretch their limits.
The future of job titles
While we’re unlikely to operate without job titles soon, the leadership gurus feel how we could elevate our approach to both titles and position descriptions:
- Job titles could sit in the background, such as on employment contracts, but might not be public facing or determinative of the type of work employees take on.
- Salaries could be tied to bands, rather than positions, This means people still have opportunities to progress based on their skills, but their pay increase doesn’t need to be attached to a hierarchical job title that requires them to step into a managerial role.
- When building teams around projects, ditch the hierarchy. Adopt an agile mindset where everyone is a contributor bringing their unique skills and mindset with one shared purpose in mind.
- Virtual and hybrid environments could make job titles even less relevant; Work has to be done differently now, so it’s an opportunity to ask, ‘What haven’t we tried? What have we always done but could do differently?
- Placing more prestige on skills rather than titles needs to be supported by robust performance management, reward systems and career goals. For our high performers, we should be growing their inherent capabilities over and above their current job titles.
Bottomline
We must understand that the job titles vary and are never the first thing one should focus on in a job hunt. The perception of job titles is that they’re extremely important. I’ve seen people get their dream job offer in terms of salary, but they were unhappy because the title wasn’t what they wanted. Remember, a mere job title doesn’t put food on our dining tables or doesn’t pay our bills.
That’s why if we are planning to accept a new job or negotiating for a new role, let’s make wise decisions. We have to ask ourselves — would we rather seem successful or rather be successful? and highly-paid). I assume the second option is more appealing since it actually puts more money in our pockets! And if that’s the case, then a job title isn’t as powerful as you’ve been led to believe.
About the Author
Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.
