What's behind job titles being redefined and created at a tsunami rate

I was amazed a couple of weeks ago when I learned that within a group of 120 of our employees there were 75 different job titles. As I went through them, I concluded there was a business algorithm at work.
BIG DATA divided by BUSINESS ANALYTICS x CONSTANT CHANGE + GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES = MORE JOB TITLES.
Job titles are intended to describe what someone does in their employ. Some are straightforward, “software designer” and others somewhat cryptic, “chief happiness officer.” The dilemma today is that job titles are being redefined and created at an alarming rate where, I believe, there is more confusion than clarity about what people do. That in turn is compounded by the actual job description with respect to function, responsibilities, outcomes and reporting structure. It’s like a United Nations discussion with no translators.
Since titles and Job descriptions are used to define organizational makeup, working relationship, behavioral and technical competencies, targeted hiring, performance measurement and compensation, to name a few, more is probably not better.
Referring back to my opening algorithm, we can get some understanding why this is happening.

1. Big Data — Business is becoming more complex by the minute and the amount of informational data to be consumed and understood is overwhelming. That data is often a lot of information that just “is” and figuring out its relationship to other data is a huge undertaking, often beyond one individual’s ability. Analytics is technology designed to help us sort, organize and give data meaning. Analytics works best with data that maps to other data and is standardized and as objective as possible.
2. Constant Change — I recalled when recessions were more “episodic”, triggered by an event, lasting 12 to 18 months and then stabilizing and recovering for four or five years. When the housing bubble burst, change seemed to become constant and happening more quickly. The effect on jobs seemed to be more getting created because of company movement in response to a changing economic climate plus the tweaking of existing jobs to conform to new business practices.
   The speed at which this changes also increased. The best example is the cell phone. I’m still trying to understand the features of my cell phone three models ago. This constant change adds another dynamic to the competencies required under a job title, namely flexibility and adaptability of the individual in that job. Companies must now find ways to assess the job holders’ flexibility and adaptability. The change factor is pushing companies to develop in-house expertise to do this because “Jobbing it out” is often too slow. In-house also means new departments and job titles like “data scientist,”, “competence analyst,”, or “strategic adaptability officer.”
3. Generational Differences — Today, many companies have up to four generational styles in their employ, “Baby Boomers,” “Gen X,” “Gen Y” and “Millennials.” As we know, each group views the world of work differently. The differences are too diverse and numerous to cover here but notions such as “Individual achievement vs team achievement”, “Work/Life Balance,” “Individual vs team reward” and “Long term vs. short term careers within a company” are typical.

Another reality is that all this volume on data and change is making it more difficult for one person to possess the expertise and diversity needed to handle some of these strategic jobs. Teams with specialized skills and competencies seem to more and more the norm. Now what? Suggestions:

1. Standardize competencies
2. Use the competencies to define job families
3. Use the job families to guide the Job title
4. Avoid subjectivity and strive for quantifiable objectivity
5. Consider “expert job teams”
6. Call for help

 
Ron Wolff  is SVP for Talent Management at Caliper. He joined Caliper in 1991 as the vice president of sales. He served as a member of the Chairman’s Executive Committee and for 14 years functioned as Caliper’s senior vice president of sales and service. Before joining Caliper, he was in sales, sales management and human capital development for NCR, Avery International, Ingersoll Rand and Citicorp.