What is Job Architecture?Imagine your workplace as a giant Lego set (the Bucket o’Legos, not the Millenium Falcon Kit). Job architecture is the systematic design that organizes all the jobs within the company, ensuring each brick (or employee) fits perfectly in its place to build the grand structure that is your organization. (If it was the Millenium Falcon, you wouldn’t have so many choices, would you?)
In simpler terms, it's like a family tree but less about the past and more about the present and the future.Why Do We Need Job Architecture?Frequently the small company experience means everyone chips in to get done what needs to be done. That’s less about job architecture and more about teamwork. So you might wonder why we can't just wing it and let everyone do whatever they feel like. Job architecture is the ringmaster of the organization that so often resembles a circus. It provides clarity, efficiency, and that sweet sense of order we all secretly crave. In larger organizations it’s a must-have. Imagine anyone being able to promote an employee to a Director without a common understanding of what that means. (Oops, I think I touched a nerve there!)The Hierarchy HieroglyphicsLet's start with the hierarchy, shall we? The corporate ladder, the tower of tasks. At the top, we have the C-suite: the CEO, CFO, COO, and all those other fancy titles that signify who is in charge, accountable and leading the way. And beneath them, a cascade of managers, directors, and specialists who keep the wheels turning.
Similar to your Lego set, different pieces can fit together in different ways. For example, you can build a Lego wall with 7 identical yellow bricks, or a wall of the same height with 6 identical yellow bricks and 3 thinner blue bricks. More layers but same result?Job Families: Common DNAJob architecture also groups roles into job families. These can be very specific or allow for commonality of knowledge, skills and abilities required depending on your compensation strategy and the degree of complexity that the organization is willing to manage. Imagine the red, blue and yellow square Lego blocks with 4 knobs (also called “studs” but this is hotly debated in Lego Blogs I’ve read). If these were all accountants (the broad category) they could also be Financial, Project and Cost Accountants. These families share similar skills and responsibilities but come with their own unique traits.Job Levels: Differences Make the DifferenceRemember your first job? It's like being the new kid in school but now you pay monthly health insurance premiums. As you climb the ladder, things get a bit more serious, especially as competition kicks in. Frequently there are fewer opportunities as one advances in a direct vertical path.
The engineering function has been a pioneer in solving this issue with the dual-career path concept. This gives aspiring engineers opportunities to move from an individual contributor path to a management path without necessarily having negative pay implications. But then again, moving to management means you become a professional juggler, balancing team meetings, project deadlines, and Helga’s constant complaints about the office thermostat.
Seriously, I’m actually pretty passionate about making sure that if job levels exist that they are well-defined. The difference between levels in jobs is NOT 3 more years with the company then getting a promotion. Where is the value in that to the company? Jobs are composed of factors such as complexity of duties and responsibility for decision making. The Peter Principle is a common occurrence among companies, whereby employees are promoted according to their current progress rather than for the skills and aptitude required for the roles they are being considered for. Don’t enable that with a job architecture that doesn’t identify level differences.Job Descriptions: The Fine PrintA job description (or other form of job documentation) is the logical outcome of creating a job architecture. When I started in my first compensation job, one of my prime responsibilities (#1 or #2 on my job description) was to maintain the job descriptions file. Back then, that was important enough to assign it to someone but not so important that it couldn’t be assigned to me, an entry-level employee. In any event, some 40+ years later, I’d be surprised 1) if anyone reading this maintained current job descriptions or 2) even had it anywhere on their annual objectives.
Nonetheless, job documentation is an important element of job architecture, it just seems to be a lot more fluid in today’s workplace than it used to be when it was a very important Lego piece that was usually put in place to support job evaluation.The Perks and Pitfalls of Job ArchitectureThe beauty of job architecture is that it creates a sense of purpose and direction. Employees know what's expected of them and how their career may play out with your company. Managers may sleep a little better at night having some certainty in their organizational design. But, like any grand design, it has its pitfalls.
For one, it can sometimes feel like you're navigating a labyrinth of job titles and responsibilities. Job titles are subject to personal interpretation, as are the labels typically used to group jobs, like support, professional and technical. And back to our Lego’s, if we want to build a wall with all yellow bricks but we have to use a red one and a blue one to finish it, is it still a wall? Sometimes the definitions we’ve come up with for job types or levels aren’t a perfect fit in every case, so we allow exceptions. Then we’re like the little Dutch boy with a finger in the dike to hold back the leak (and Denmark is close to Holland where Legos are from so there’s that…).Yes to Job ArchitectureJob architecture is the unsung hero of the corporate world. It brings order to chaos, direction to confusion, and increases clarity of purpose. So next time you're puzzling over an org chart or deciphering a job description, remember to appreciate the blueprint that keeps our workplaces from falling apart. It’s not child’s play!!
Happy building!
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Jim Harvey is Managing Partner with Alliance Compensation, and lives with his wife and three dogs in Sherwood, OR. Alliance is a team of seasoned compensation consultants and a trusted solution for public and private clients across the US. Jim has over 40 years of experience in corporate leadership roles and compensation consulting.
Read more of Jim’s blog postings on our Blog Page Insights. Find the LinkedIn page for Alliance Compensation here and our specific services for Job Architecture here.
