Who needs a JD?

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It’s been a while since I last had a job description, I remember it because I had just started doing the job in question and very quickly it evolved into something quite different. Part of that was the evolving nature of the job and part was my own doing as I quickly found a number of things that needed to be done. A good chunk of this was HR stuff but there was also a lot that wasn’t and ranged from commercial, to sales and even account management – so there was no shortage of learning!

At roughly the same time I was asked along with my colleague Helen Durkin to present to our Group Exec board about the future generation and how technology might influence the workplace. This was later built into our 5 year strategy and defines a lot of what we are working on right now. As a result of this presentation we came in contact with a lot of external research and opinions which helped us develop our thinking on this.

Since then we’ve been busy building this thinking into our future plans – in fact Helen has done a huge amount of work with our Employer Brand (which also won 2 awards recently) and has really switched on how we engage with potential candidates through content on our careers hub (www.careersatcarphone.com) and social media.

Fast forward to today and I’m reading a book called ‘The Alliance’ by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman (which I highly recommend reading) that talks about the concept of ‘Tours of Duty’ to help develop an individual and indeed placing this approach above a formal job description. Something that LinkedIn fully embraces and something that the beloved Gen Y’ers find very appealing.

Gone are the traditional ‘job for life’ careers in favour of a generation of career mobile individuals who place less importance on financial reward for their effort and instead seek out new and exciting opportunities to learn and grow. An approach that can take a variety of forms such as growing breadth in an organisation by experiencing lots of different roles, or by moving between organisations and cultures. Even spending some time working in a different country by experiencing their culture socially as well as professionally. There are many different views of what the future of the workplace will look like but the common thread is that it will be fundamentally different and we need to change our approach.

This brings me back to my opening sentence, having just agreed to take on a different role and one that doesn’t have a job description but was explained to me over a coffee that focussed on my career and what I’m looking for and lacking at the moment. What excited me about the opportunity was three things;

  • Firstly the approach my new boss took in explaining the role to me (we have known each other for quite some time now which probably helps) – but she spent the time talking about her experiences, what I wanted and how working together could benefit both of our careers and all in a style that was more akin to a couple of good friends talking over a coffee than a work situation. The approach she took is exactly the same as the one described in ‘The Alliance’ and definitely motivated me to consider the opportunity.
  • Secondly the only thing we talked about in term of detail of the role were some very big aspirational goals that will take 18 – 24 months before we see the outputs from them, and hey it’ll be really tough to deliver them but will also be a lot of fun.
  • Thirdly, and possibly the most important one for me personally – the team behind this (4 of us) are very like minded, passionate about adding value and already know and get on well with each other (Helen is one of these people).

So here I am about to commit a good chunk of time to a project that hasn’t been defined in great detail and will require a lot of effort and time to deliver based on a conversation that lasted 2hrs. I don’t have a job description and I don’t expect (or need) one.

I was thinking about my decision this morning whilst I was with our HRBP team and Ian Milton from Towers Watson to talk about how to grade a new or existing role in an organisation and how to construct a “good job description” which is the basis not only of benchmarking a role but a whole host of other stuff such as a PDR conversation, performance management, the decision to restructure a business.

So is getting rid of the JD something that could happen? Well in reality there are probably a lot of people reading this who would say yes, and it’s already happened for them. Interim employees (by a large number) already work this way, exec directors have a service agreement and often not a job description so it is possible, but is it possible to do this for the wholesale majority? Is it possible to have a workforce that think of their relationship with an organisation as an alliance. An alliance that mutually benefits both parties and is built on an honest and open relationship that doesn’t need a 2 page document to attract, engage and manage an employee, doesn’t need a formal 6 monthly appraisal meeting to review against the job description and allows people to grow by delivering against an agreed tour of duty?

Given that I’m experiencing this already and that the last couple of conversations I’ve had about roles both in and out of my current organisation have not included a job description, I’m convinced it is possible, are you?

Everybody needs…

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I recently watched a film called ‘About Time’, what appealed to me was the strap line that described the film as a young man discovering that he can travel back in time and uses this to convince a girl to fall in love with him. It reminded me a lot of ‘The Butterfly Effect’ – which I loved. 

However I was very surprised that this is only a small part of the film, I won’t give it away but it’s a very moving film that made me think about what’s important in life. I will however warn you that one of the themes the film deals with is the death of a loved one which is also going to feature below…

I’ve been very fortunate that we’ve not had to deal with a death in the family for over 20 years and the last time I was only a child, I get the feeling it will be different when I have to deal with it as an adult and unfortunately that day is ever approaching. 

We had a moment a few years ago when my Nan (on my Dad’s side) went through a patch of being very ill and had to spend a number of months living with my parents so they could look after her. The worst moment was on Christmas day, we were all round my parents and Nan collapsed on the landing at about 7am. 

Fortunately being a grown up made it slightly easier to deal with – as an adult you know there are a number of things you need to do (the most important possibly being to dial 999). This was all very easy to deal with and I knew enough to make sure she was ok until they arrived. The hardest thing to deal with was seeing my Dad break down in tears at the thought of losing his Mum. In my 30 years that is still the only time I have ever seen him cry. 

Reflecting on it, the hardest thing wasn’t actually him crying but it was that the person crying was the man that has been there the most for me when I needed him, the man that taught me to drive, raised me to do the right thing and was there for me when I didn’t. He has single handled got me out of more trouble than anyone else I know (including myself). I had always (and still do) see him as the first person I can go to and talk about anything knowing that no matter what he will always be there for me.

In turn this reminded me of the second strongest memory I have of someone crying, my Granddad (on my Mum’s side). 

When we buried Nan when I was just 7 years old. I don’t remember much of that day but I do remember not really understanding what was happening, it was the first death I had to deal with. The only part of the day that sticks out was when Nan was placed into her grave and Granddad broke down into tears. Even then I understood that he was upset because he had lost the person he had spent most of his life with and he would never get to spend another day with her.

It was the finality of it that I understood, the finality that must have been going through my Dad’s mind on Christmas morning as he watched his Mum being tended to by paramedics whilst being completely helpless. I remember Mum putting her arm round him and telling him it would be ok. That seemed to help.

Sometimes people just need someone to tell them it will be ok, to listen to them or just make time for them. We can all be so preoccupied with our daily lives, whether it’s rushing to drop kids off, a day of back to back meetings or the perfect weather to get out and ride a bike. We can all find an excuse as to why our day is busy and we don’t have enough time to fit things in. I’m sure you can recall a time in the last 2 weeks that you had to say “I’m sorry not right now, I’m running late” or words to that effect.

What if all that person needed was to know that you had time for them?

In business we talk a lot about ‘employee engagement’ and a ‘high performing workforce’ but at the heart of it – people will only work somewhere longer than they absolutely have to if they enjoy it. It’s no surprise that the Gallup survey features statements about ‘trusting someone at work’ and ‘feeling cared about’ – These are fundamental needs that we all have in some way or another. 

Sometimes the only thing we need to do is simply make time for each other (and not just in the workplace). It’s easy to overlook things and to re-prioritise but chances are that person that’s asking for your time REALLY needs it for something and they will truly appreciate it.

I challenge you to spend a week that whenever anyone needs your time instead of saying “I’m sorry, I’m really busy” instead just say “Ok”. Worry about how you’ll make up the time you spent with that person later, because I guarantee the time you spend with them will be worth it (and not necessarily for you). 

Whether it’s attack work with the person that has been trying to get 5mins with you to answer a question for a few days, the person you go home to every night after a long day and slip into the same old routine or a good friend that you haven’t been out with for more than a month. Take a break and give that person your time because sooner or later everybody needs someone to be there for them.

My favourite job

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Over the last 5 years I’ve not spent much longer than 12 months in a job. That’s actually a good thing for me as I have a real lack of patience and like to do something new all the time. I’ve been fortunate enough to do all of these jobs in the last 5yrs at the same company, this has meant that I’ve retained a lot of tacit knowledge and know how to get quite a lot done there.

Recently though I had an offer for a new job at a different company. I’d spent quite a while deciding whether I should take the job and met a lot of people there along with a couple of visits to two of their offices.The job itself was quite easy to decide on, it played to my strengths and whilst there would be quite a bit of learning I knew that fundamentally I would be able to do it. The harder decision was wether it was the right culture to work for and to me that means both the fundamental culture and the people (I think the two are different but rely on each other). For me I’d always enjoyed the culture I worked in, I loved the fast paced nature but also the social element that the companies I have worked at have given me. I needed to make sure that the new company would give me the same environment.

As you would expect I talked it over with everyone I could, my friends and family, my mentor even a few people I know very well at work, the decision I came to was that it would be a good decision. I was in the fortunate position that I didn’t hate the company I currently worked for I just had a better offer on the table which had made me consider my options. As it happened I then got offered a new job at my current company and had a dilemma – which one do I chose?

The best advice I got was actually more of a question – “which would be your favourite job?”.

Now this was meant directly at the two on offer but it made me think about what my favourite job was out of all the ones I had had, not companies but jobs. When you ask yourself that question it takes quite a while to think about it, we all tend to have very selective memories about our past, for example I could think back to leaving my first company (Starbucks) because I disagreed with the manager there and I could look forward and think about the new job and what changes to my lifestyle that would bring. Instead I decided to think about what I was doing overall in these jobs and how it made me feel.

This was an interesting reflection as I’d had some quite varied roles, from cleaning tables and making coffee to coaching senior exec and a whole host in between. I thought quite a lot about my days as a trainer when I was field based and got to travel around a lot but also plenty of time on my own (which is important to me). However I started thinking about some of the things that were constant throughout all my jobs;

At Starbucks, whilst I obviously made coffee and cleaned tables a lot of my time was spent talking to and getting to know people, the team and the customers. We had a lot of regulars who I learnt a lot about and lots of them have become my friends who I spend lots of time with 9 years after leaving Starbucks.

When me and a friend set up and run a photography business for 3yrs most of our business was weddings, which meant we really had to get to know the couple, what they wanted and how we could bring it to life for them, it also meant we got to meet a lot of very different people.

At Carphone Warehouse I’ve done quite a lot of roles, I started off selling phones which again meant that I had to get to know people and how they wanted to use their phone (it really is quite an intimate purchase, even more so these days). I did very similar things in other roles, as a trainer I had to get to know people and share stories with them, my time as a HR Business Partner was the same and in both the new roles on offer I would be getting to know people. Either way I knew it was going to be a good decision, however I still hadn’t answered what my favourite job was (and no doubt you’re thinking the same).

It’s a difficult one, although I’ve spent longer at Carphone Warehouse than I did Starbucks most of the people in my life today are because of Starbucks, I also am still very passionate about coffee! That being said I’ve changed a lot in the last 2 years, most of which is because of Carphone. However what I had worked out is that I enjoy a job where I can really get to know people, spend time helping them and solving problems and plenty of time and space to reflect and come up with a a new idea. In reality I get that more now than when I was making coffee, but would I be here and discovered that if I hadn’t first worked for Starbucks? Who knows, but what I think I’ve learnt is the best advice is to go and do something you love, chances are you’ll be pretty good at it.

 

Whilst I haven’t really answered the question I’d love to know what your favourite job has been, do you have one? What made it your favourite?