Feature
Job architecture is a framework that classifies the job roles in a company based on the tasks involved and the level at which work is performed. Simply put, it removes guesswork, decreases liability and supports internal equity.
But to achieve all that, it needs to be updated and revised regularly — particularly as companies move to adopt disruptive AI and automation capabilities — because job architecture is not static but rather a “living” system that should remain responsive to changing circumstances, both internal and external to an organization.
This means that while there’s no hard and fast rule about how to manage it, the rapidly evolving technology transforming the recruitment and talent management space is making keeping job architecture up-to-date an increasingly critical priority.
No Rule of Thumb
Revising a company’s job architecture can include such tasks as reassessing job families and job functions; updating job levels, job titles and job descriptions; reviewing career paths; or ensuring jobs are aligned with strategic objectives.
"There is no rule of thumb to how often job architecture should be revised,” said Amani Gharib, director of HR Research & Advisory services at McLean & Company, who says companies typically review and revise their job architecture periodically — annually or every few years. “An organization needs continuous adaptation of their job architecture to be agile and responsive to dynamic landscapes.”
With the speed of change, the need to update is such that larger companies are increasingly considering putting job-architecture designers on staff, said Greg Stoskopf, managing director of human capital at Deloitte Consulting.
“It's something that evolves as your organization grows,” added his colleague Renzo Tognocchi, senior manager of reward at Deloitte.
Related Article: Poor Information Architecture Is Hurting Your Business
5 Triggers That Force a Job Architecture Update
There are a number of prominent trigger points that are likely to prompt updates to job architecture. Here are five:
1. Implementing a New HCM System
The most common moment when companies see the need to update job architecture is when implementing a new human capital management system (HCM) such as Workday or SuccessFactors. During the set-up, the system will prompt for the job architecture to be uploaded.
“If you don’t have a clean job architecture, it can negatively impact the functionality of the system,” said Stoskopf. “You won’t be able to get everything you were hoping out of it, especially good reporting.”
2. Organizational Transformation
Job architecture may need refining due to transformations of various kinds such as organizational restructuring, new strategic directions or changes to organizational objectives. These instances typically require changes in job definition, realignment of roles or creation of new functions or capabilities.
“Aligning all the roles is probably the most important part of the job architecture,” said Guido Radel, head of marketing at Colmeia. “The first step would be analyzing the value chain. ‘What do we have to do in the different parts of our organization to achieve our objectives?’”
Related Article: When's the Last Time You Revisited Your Job Descriptions?
3. Mergers and Acquisitions
M&A is another type of organizational transformation that typically prompts an overhaul of job architecture. And doing so in these situations is essential to ensure the ability to compare and prioritize jobs across the merged companies.
“If you've acquired different organizations and haven't done anything to harmonize the job structures, you will eventually get to a point where you've lost control of your job structure,” said Stoskopf.
4. Technological Change
As earlier mentioned, the fast-paced introduction of technology means that a company’s job architecture can fall out of date at any given moment, particularly for those companies adopting automation and machine learning capabilities. Studies suggest that AI will affect some 80% of the jobs in some way.
“There’s a big motivation to retain your people and reskill the people you have to fill these new technological roles instead of hiring new people on the market,” said Radel. “It’s less investment, a quicker process. But you need to know who in your organization has the skills. You have to know what these people are doing — or are supposed to be doing — to be able to redesign the area that they’re working in.”
Related Article: How to Get Started With an Internal Talent Marketplace
5. Talent Issues
Job architecture can form the solid foundation for a satisfied workforce by helping to ensure that people’s skills are aligned with roles — and that roles are aligned with objectives. Plus, a good structure makes it easier to design other programs that promote employee happiness and retention such as benefits, rewards, succession and performance management.
Organizations that are facing talent issues like high attrition or difficulty hiring may find that updating their job architecture is a key piece of fixing the problem.
A Critical Component
While the work of updating a company’s job architecture will likely be prompted by one of the above trigger points, undertaking the task typically yields more benefits than are immediately apparent.
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Refined job architecture allows for internal talent management that focuses on horizontal career possibilities, since managers and employees can understand which tracks and levels are comparable across the organization.
“As part of the job architecture update process, you identify similar levels of accountability and complexity among different career tracks,” said Tognocchi.
This allows people to move more freely and use their dormant or underappreciated skills in new ways — an element of dynamism that is unique to modern-day human resource management.
“Historical HR systems have been very much linked to the person,” Tognocchi observed. “These future systems hinge around the job data itself, which is why job architecture is such a critical component.”
