What makes a job “good”?
A lot depends on your organization, who works there, and what you offer that is meaningful to your employees.
Recently, several national organizations have worked with employers and stakeholders to develop frameworks for what constitutes a quality job. These models define important components that go into a job that benefits employees, their families, your organization, and our community.
These models can be used as a menu of options as you consider changes to your job structure to increase employee engagement and retention and to hire good employees. We encourage you to talk with your employees about what matters most to them and to focus on changes in one or two areas at a time. Then measure the success of your efforts in reducing turnover, increasing productivity, and achieving your business’ goals to see if a particular strategy has an impact.
Read below for a summary of each model and find links to explore these models further.
The National Fund researches and promotes hiring, training, and workforce practices that improve a firm’s competitiveness and job quality. The Job Design Framework includes three pillars with a menu of options under each pillar:
Support – Assistance to perform job well and achieve stability outside of the workplace
Opportunity – support to help advance in career and develop as individuals
The Aspen Institute's framework defines how a good job needs to meet people's basic needs, as well as offer conditions for employee engagement and motivation. It encourages businesses to consider efforts in these areas:
WORK PROVIDES BASIC NEEDSLearn more about this approach.
Pacific Community Ventures focuses on helping small businesses create jobs that boost their bottom line. It defines a quality job as offering at least three of the five following key elements:
Learn more about their approach and find tools to help you in your work.
Explore the model that works best for you and strategies within areas that you could improve or expand. These models can help you with challenges, such as how to find good employees and how to address high turnover.