Dive Brief:
- HR leaders have seen their share of creative job titles in recent years (some even apply to HR directly). But while the move to make job titles more appealing and less stodgy may seem logical to some, their adoption may be backfiring, according to a new survey.
- The 2016 WorkSphere survey from Spherion Staffing found that 25% of workers consider non-traditional job titles "unprofessional" and don't really want one. Also, 23% agreed that these more creative labels don't accurately capture the essence of their jobs.
- Cutesy job titles aside, Spherion also found that 42% of today's workers feel their existing job titles do not accurately reflect their true roles and responsibilities, so more job title accuracy may be a strong desire in the current workforce.
Dive Insight:
The Spherion survey suggests that along with not being thrilled with some of today's new executive job designations, employees also take a lot of pride in their own job titles. With that, employers may want to reexamine how different titles are perceived and applied because it could make make a real difference in building morale.
If you dig deeper into the survey results, job titles may seem insignificant on the surface but creating new ways to say the same thing (Chief people officer vs. Chief Human Resources Officer) is probably not going to have much impact — unless there is a corresponding change in culture for the better. As for the job titles of the workforce in general, the survey makes a case that HR leaders may want to consider job title changes with the help of employee input. It not only could make employees happier to be more accurately described in their titles, but also would be a great way to connect with employees overall — an engagement-building strategy.