What’s in a Name? Strategies for Reviving a Culture During Turbulent Times
By Elaine Varelas
Manager of Customer Delight.
Chief People Officer.
Director of First Impressions.
These titles may seem like names for silly jobs you would only find in an offbeat company like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. In fact, these jobs do exist in the real world. You just may recognize them by their more staid monikers—Customer Service Representative, SVP Human Resources, and Receptionist.
But these job titles are anything but silly. In fact, they reflect a sound strategy for inspiring employees and reinvigorating a tired corporate culture. For resource-strapped HR managers (or Chief People Officers) looking to build enthusiasm and cohesiveness among recession-stricken troops, redefining roles and titles can give organizations a much-needed shot of adrenaline to motivate employees in a stilted economy.
Could these unconventional titles work in your organization? Do job titles really matter? Do employees care what their job is called, as long as they know what they’re supposed to do? In fact, titles do matter. While there’s nothing wrong with light-hearted or whimsical titles, company leaders should not just make up outrageous or extraordinary titles just to placate anxious workers. This isn’t just a distraction technique—producing rainbows, teddy bears, and balloons in place of bonuses and promotions—to while away the time until the economy rebounds. This is a legitimate strategy to better define people’s roles and responsibilities in the organization and get them excited about the work they do.
As we all learned in grade school, language is powerful. It can frame the way people look at themselves their careers and the organization. It also sends a message to clients, customers, and leaders. This is who we are, what we stand for, and what we want to be. This is a way to help people take pride in their jobs and their organizations.
If titles are assigned creatively and purposely, people may have an even better understanding of their role in the company. By giving people impressive and directive job titles and descriptions, organizational leaders and HR managers can help improve the company’s culture in an economical way. It can also help boost productivity and morale at a time when the economy has placed many employees on edge.
Redefining people’s titles can also help them hone in on their job responsibilities, especially if the new titles are framed in terms of expectations and results. The titles should explain the roles’ main focus. For example, the title of Corporate Trainer could be changed to Director of Managerial Expertise. Instead of the title describing what the person does (I train people), it can mirror what the person is responsible for accomplishing (I help managers refine their skills). Creating this results-driven type of title can help give employees a renewed sense of purpose in their workdays.
Titles are tied closely to the organization’s culture in many ways. They can give a positive or negative impression to clients, customers, and future employees about how the organization treats its people. Titles can assign value to a person’s place in the company. For instance, those titles that are known by their three capital letter acronyms (CEO, CFO, CIO) are usually held in high regard. You don’t typically see entry-level positions referred to in this format. Not many of us are familiar with the MRC (Mail Room Clerk) or PLA (Parking Lot Attendant).
Titles can also give insight into relationships within the company. Does the VP’s voicemail say, “Press one to speak to my assistant,” or “Press one to speak to my colleague Chris.”? Is there an implied level of respect or implied caste system in place?
If you’re considering reconfiguring job titles at your organization, here are some questions you may want to think about:
Does the title reflect the role?
Is it purpose- or results-driven?
Is it respectful?
Does it inspire?
It is also wise to invite employees to give their input. What do they think their titles should be?
At a time like this, when business is slow and budgets remain tight, there is a great opportunity for HR managers to focus on the organization’s culture. Take advantage of this unfortunate situation by redefining roles and giving people new goals to strive towards. For most companies, there isn’t much money to dedicate to raises, promotions, major culture initiatives, or even social events, but by examining employees’ jobs and titles, company leaders can help revive a sluggish workforce, add some flair and fun to the workday, and show people they are valued.
Elaine Varelas is Managing Partner at Keystone Partners, a career management firm headquartered in Boston, and has over 20 years of career development and HR experience. She also serves on the board of directors for Career Partners International, the world's largest career management partnership. E-mail her at evarelas@keystonepartners.com.
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Oh gawd no.... treating people like children and giving them stupid titles doesn't invigorate anyone it only embarrasses them. Hey, why not give them a funny hat with a propeller that they can walk around with showing they they've been promoted to "chief dork". Ever see all the eyes roll and here the groans at team building events when the "fun" activity is really just dumb and childish? Man I hate corporate culture. Stop giving me candy during meetings whenever I answer one of your questions. I'm not a child and I'm not a dog either.
Of course, changing a job title will magically convert it from a pain to heaven.
Let's all focus on irrelevant stuff like a job title hoping that will distract them from not getting a bonus, a raise or better treatment from their managers.
I love the many experts coming up with "free" ways to keep your employees happy without actually paying for it. There is NO free lunch, Elaine.
Employees see through superficial stuff like that, and it actually decreases morale since it makes it obvious that all they are getting this year are new business cards...
That's idiotic. It may be fun for a while, but what happens when it's time to leave Romper Room and apply for another job? "Well, at my last job I was "Manager of Customer Delight. No it really was my title".
I would pass over that resume in two seconds.
Wake up people
And the pointless articles keep coming, courtesy the witty editors at boston.com...
Just how dumb do you think employees are? Meaningless change ("you're not the Mail Room Clerk anymore; you're the MRC!) is far worse than no change at all. Changing job titles (w/o anything more significant) comes across to employees as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, and reconfirms the notion many of us already have: that the lavish salaries of the HR department could be better spent on the actual productive staff.
People behave the way you treat them. If you treat your employs like simpletons who are amused by silly things, they will act like simpletons who are amused by silly things.
All jobs are important. That's why you pay someone to do them. Not all jobs are glamorous. That's why you pay people less to do them. But at least treat people with respect and dignity.
And if it truly, truly makes them happy to be called the "Magical Person Greeter," there's probably something wrong with them and you should reconsider whether you want that person to be the first individual a potential client is going to meet.
And seriously, if this is what your HR staff does to pass the time, you should reconsider how you're spending your money in the first place. Maybe you could do with a couple less HR employees and have the ones who remain spend more time taking care of things like "health care" and a little less time coming up with random titles for your employees.
Dunder-Mifflin will love this!
In college I was a PTO....Petroleum Transfer Operator....and the girls that were impressed....shooting fish in a barrel!
Only HR people and consultants buy into this nonsense. These titles do just the opposite of reinvigorate - they are depressing. Ever hear the saying new dress on an old w**re? Titles are just window dressing on either good or bad managers.
Employees are motivated by managers who find both what involves them and their ideas in meaningful ways WHILE succeeding for customers and shareholders too. Fix the real problem. Remotivate your management team and high performers instead.
My job is Director of Student Happiness and I love it!
Titles like these are always made fun of the most in the workplace
this is over the top, but some people are really energized by titles and lack of an exciting or fulfilling one really hurts their motivation and work performance.
If you really think this can help, it might be a good idea to delve deeper into the broken corporate culture you've got going on and bring out the white elephants in the room that are blocking people from succeeding.
It's probably better to come up with ways in which employees can feel their contribution is valued, management can be viewed as credible and competent, and so on. Read "The Leadership Challenge" and "Built to Last" for examples of how companies can do these things. Silly titles ain't in it.
There's also the flip side that when the silly titles are put in place, it provides a convenient "out" for management to turn down any negotiations for a higher salary since they are arbitrarily making up stuff that makes comparison difficult on sites like salary.com, which becomes a disincentive.
And I'll also agree with the others who have mentioned this makes job-hunting impossible, so you either need to lie on your resume with what the job might have been called in the rest of the free world, but will then cause a problem on a employment check, or it will result in the resume being immediately tossed out when some hiring manager has to determine if "Manager of Customer Delight" means you ran a bordello or a technical support department.
Wow lot's of negative comments. Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor anymore? Jeesh.
This dude I did some work for once had a title 'Distinguished Member of Technical Staff' which was his actual title on his business card...
This is the stupidest thing I have heard of. It's worse than euphemisms for bosses; I still can't call what was a supervisor a "team leader" or "performance leader." Terms like that make my skin crawl. As someone else posted, just give me respect and value my contribuition. I don't care what title you give me.
Maybe if you work in a stodgy, thankless job you'd be quick to criticize this article. In these unprecedented times, corporate culture is changing as rapidly as Chrysler filed for bankruptcy!
There's nothing wrong with wanting to add a little color to the "office title doldrums". As Elaine says, "If titles are assigned creatively and purposely, people may have an even better understanding of their role in the company. " How many of you have business cards in your rolodex with "Technical Service Representative" or "Account Executive" or countless other ubiquitous titles with no definition to them? (In my rolodex, "Chief Talent Officer" resonates far more successfully than the aforementioned.)
The author isn't suggesting businesses pass up bonues or salary raises, but instead offers way to bolster a sense of purpose and hone in on specific talents/duties that "Associate Director" simply doesn't do.
C'mon people- this is a recession; lighten up!
It is cheaper to give a person a fancy title then a raise.
Doesn't Manger of Human Sanitation Excellence sound better then toilet cleaner?
If you have ever seen the movie "No Time For Sergeants" (1958), you may remember that PLO in that case meant "Permanent Latrine Orderly." Andy Griffith played the PLO, Will Stockdale. The scene where he gets the toilet seats to stand at attention is a classic.
Hey, I work for a company that actively refers to my position through it's abbreviation -- DIE.
The real challenge, as Harry in comment #3 points out, is that there is no way to benchmark against your peers. So, even if you aren't in the market for a new job, you can't easily determine what your fair market value is, since you're job title isn't going to pop up in searches. Then, as Harry pointed out, you risk having your resume passed over by database searches when you apply for another position since the key words won't match.
Go with this if you think it's funny, but you might be seriously limiting your marketability in the future.
@Director of First Impressions, MBA Programs Office --
I work for a company that was listed on the Globe's Best Places to Work list this year. The reason it's one of the best places to work is that the management is competent, trustworthy and credible. They address company issues, financial issues and business decisions with rational thought and contemplation, and a guiding set of principles. Employees are empowered to succeed in their work, and allowed to fail when they try something new.
The problem with programs like the one suggested are that they are quite literally putting lipstick on a pig and wasting resources. Management would be much better served if they came up with ways of recognizing employee contributions in a meaningful way, showing respect to employees, being forthright and honest and above all, being credible and believable to their employees. Also, they should be striving to discover the root causes of why a corporate culture needs changing or what employees need to see from their leadership in these tough times.
This is hard work and it takes a considerable amount of effort to accomplish -- but the results make a company that is far more cohesive and successful. Making everyone have silly job titles in organization that has culture problems is a farce, and employees will be able to recognize it immediately.
What has Chrysler filing for bankruptcy got to do with corporate culture? Nothing. Working at a college allows you to have goofy titles that young 20 somethings can think is edgy and exciting.
I work in a stodgy corporate culture that thinks adding the word "specialist" to your job title makes a huge difference. The only thing these titles are good for is comic relief ..... in a negative way. As in "how can this person be a xxx specialist when he doesn't understand anything"
Leave us not forget that "Human Resources" itself is socio-babble for what was once adequately described as "Personnel."
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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