I recently read a LinkedIn post by Lou Adler, who is a
seasoned recruiting and talent expert.
His post struck a chord with me, because I appreciate when someone has
the ability to break something incredibly complex into something very simple. It seems to make everything so clear. His post was focused on job descriptions, and
he goes on to describe that if you really think about work, no matter the
industry or function, it can be broken simply into 4 jobs. While people can incorporate pieces or dabble
in two, three or all four of the categories of work, a vast majority of people
generally have a natural affinity toward one or maybe two jobs. That is to say, that in one of the jobs, you
will not only be successful, but likely thrive.
Likewise, recruiters and hiring managers need to ensure the right mix
between which skills the position requires, and the candidate that fills the
role. It’s really interesting way to
think about work and talent. I hope you
enjoy this article and find it as fascinating as I did.
Here is Lou Adler’s article (all remaining content is non-original):
Everything starts with an idea. This is the first of the
four jobs – the Thinkers. Builders convert these
ideas into reality. This is the second job. Improvers make
this reality better. This is the third job. Producers do the
work over and over again, delivering quality goods and services to the
company’s customers in a repeatable manner. This is the fourth job. And then
the process begins again with new ideas and new ways of doing business being
developed as the old ones become stale.
As a company grows and reaches maturity, more of the work
gets done by the Producers and Improvers. However, without a culture of
consistent improvement, the Producers soon take over and implementing change
becomes slower and slower until it stops. Long before this the Thinkers and
Builders have left for some new venture. Improvers soon follow to join their
former co-workers and hire new Producers to add some order to the newly created
chaos. The old Producers who aren’t continually evolving, learning new skills
and processes, are left behind to fend for themselves. Maintaining balance
across all four work types is a constant, but a necessary struggle for a company
to continue to grow, adapt, and survive.
Every job has a mix of all four work types dependent on the
actual work involved, the scope and scale of the role, and the company’s growth
rate. To ensure balance and flexibility, all of these four work types should be
taken into account when preparing any new performance-based job description.
Here’s how:
Producers: these people execute or maintain a
repeatable process. This can range from simple things like working on an
inbound help desk and handling some transactional process like basic sales, to
more complex, like auditing the performance of a big system, writing code, or
producing the monthly financial reports. Producers typically require training
or advanced skills to be in a position to execute the process. To determine the
appropriate Producer performance objectives, ask the hiring manager to define
how any required skill is used on the job and how its success would be
measured, e.g., “contact 15 new customers per week and have five agree to an
onsite demonstration.“ This is a lot better than saying “the person must have
3-5 years of sales experience selling to sophisticated buyers of
electro-mechanical control valves.”
Improvers: these people upgrade, change or make a repeatable
process better. Managers are generally required to continually monitor and
improve a process under their responsibility. Building, training and developing
the team to implement a process is part of an Improver’s role. Improvers can be
individual contributors or managers of teams and projects, the key is the focus
on improving an existing system, business or process. A performance objective
for an Improver could be “conduct a comprehensive process review of the wafer
fab process to determine what it would take to improve end-to-end yield by
10%.”
Builders: these people take an idea from scratch and
convert it into something tangible. This could be creating a new business,
designing a complex new product, closing a big deal, or developing a new process.
Entrepreneurs, inventors, turn-around executives, deal-makers, and project
managers are typical jobs that emphasize the Builder component. Ask the hiring
manager what big changes, new developments, big problems or major projects the
person in the new job would need to address to determine the Builder component.
An example might be, “lead the implementation of the new SAP supply change
system over every business unit including international.” This is a lot better
than saying “must have five years international logistics background and strong
expertise with SAP."
Thinkers: these people are the visionaries,
strategists, intellects, and creators of the world, and every big idea starts
with them. Their work covers new products, new business ideas, and different
ways of doing everyday things. Ask hiring managers where the job requires
thinking out-of-the-box or major problems to solve to develop the Thinker
performance objectives. “Develop a totally new approach for reducing water
usage by 50%,” is a lot better than saying “Must have 5-10 years of
environmental engineering background including 3-5 years of wastewater
management with a knack for creative solutions."
Now for a little secret. Recognize that every person is
comprised of a mix of each work type, with one or two dominant. Likewise for
every job. Most require strengths in one or two of the work types. As you
select people for new roles, it's important to get this blending right. This
starts by understanding the full requirements of the position, the strengths
and weaknesses of others on the team, and the primary objective of the
department, group or company. In the rush to hire, it’s easy to lose sight of
this bigger picture, emphasizing skills and experience over performance and
fit. This is how Builders get hired instead of Improvers and Thinkers get hired
when Producers are required. While there are only four work types, hiring the
wrong one is often how the wrong work gets done.
