The Origin Story: The Job Canvas

Origin stories seem all the rage at the moment. It feels like every other film at the cinema or TV box set is focussed on telling the story of where a character came from. 

Jumping on Hollywood’s bandwagon, in this blog I wanted to share the Job Canvas origin story (I can’t promise it will be as exciting as the origin of “One” in Stranger Things or how Han Solo found the Millenium Falcon in Solo). 

I’d like to say that the idea for the Job Canvas came like a bolt from blue, but the truth is, as an idea and then as a product it has been developing and evolving over a number of years. It emerged from thinking, testing and doing rather than as a fully formed product.

I sent the first email about the Job Canvas to someone in 2017 and gmail tells me that I have sent over 893 emails about the Canvas since this date (I write this in July 2022).

The starting point - the problem I wanted to solve

As I’ve written before as an HR professional, despite writing and reviewing 100’s of job descriptions, I have never been a fan. They have the potential to box people into fixed ways of working, are inflexible, often frustrating to produce, and out of date as soon as they are written. 

The consequence of all this is that people seldom rely on or derive value from their job descriptions; they are often documents that are hidden away on a hard drive gaining digital dust only brought out for promotions, disciplinaries or the dreaded annual review. 

Rather than providing clarity, job descriptions often blur the lines. They don’t capture the essence or reality of how a job is undertaken. 

When I was doing research for my book (Personalisation at Work - available at all good and evil book stores) I started to realise that - perhaps unintentionally - job descriptions could be a significant barrier to people personalising their work. 

Daydreaming about solutions to this problem, I began to get curious about what a more flexible, agile, personal and frankly more human way of describing and capturing and defining a job would look like.

From digital dust to digital canvas

When I was setting up Tailored Thinking I had been introduced to the idea of using canvases to capture and map out different parts of the business. These canvases were often split into different segments or elements that mapped out the different, but often interrelated aspects of a function. For example, the Business Model Canvas (probably the most well known and used canvas amongst start ups) maps out different elements of core business model.

Taking inspiration from the canvases I was using for the business, combined with other research and themes I was exploring from design thinking, I started to explore what a “Job Canvas” would look like.

Following testing with colleagues, friends, clients and other interested organisations, I developed 9 core elements of the Canvas that gave insights to different elements of the role and got to the heart or the DNA of a job.

I remember feeling really excited when I explored the canvas with the HR team at a challenger bank close to me and they were able to get a really good outline of the job in 18 minutes (2 minutes per section). 

Creating a digital canvas

At first the Canvas was just a powerpoint template that I printed out and tested with individuals and teams.

Once I was happy with the 9 core elements of the Job Canvas, I started to consider addressing some of the other challenges with job descriptions. For example, they’re not always easy to update, they get lost, and the data in job descriptions aren’t centralised.

Looking back at my notes on the creation of the digital Canvas I wanted it to be:

• Easy to access and update

• Saved so that people didn’t have to re-complete it

• Downloadable into a PDF 

• Centrally stored for managers and HR colleagues so that the documents didn’t get lost

• Analysable to support broader organisational and people analytic insights

Having got some ideas of what I wanted, I was introduced to a patient, curious and amazing software developer (thanks Nick) who turned my thoughts into the first version of the digital job canvas that is now free to use. 

Some unexpected results…  

One of the joys of seeing individuals and teams use the Job Canvas is that you can see them gaining different insights and reflections.

Working with one HR team in the early stages, a team leader shared that the Job Canvas exercise allowed her to put her finger on an issue that she had been struggling to resolve.

One of the moments about the Canvas was that people doing the same role might view their roles differently. E.G. someone working in HR might see their key customers as employees or others might see their key customers as the organisation and the leaders. Now both perceptions are valid, but this might explain the behaviours in the team.

For example, one person might spend a lot of time sorting out individual issues with employees and advocacy whilst others might spend less time doing this - might be perceived as less accessible - and spend more time looking at strategic issues.

As a line manager, this enables you to have better conversations with staff and understand whether there are any conflicts or friction with how that person sees that job and requirements for that job. 

Future thinking…

Building on the ideas of our current users and becoming more immersed in digital HR products, we see lots of opportunities to develop the canvas further and include greater features. 

We’ve already started holding meetings with interested teams and prospective clients to explore how we could improve the Job Canvas and what they would like us to add into future iterations of the product.

If you would like to be involved and share any insights or feedback then please let us know at [email protected].

I’d like to thank the following people who have helped shape the early developments in the Job Canvas.

Satalia, Virgin Money, Anne-Marie Lister, Sarah Dewar, Lisa Davidson, Sara Cox, Melanie Cheung, Michelle Reid, Michelle Minnikin and many more (give me a nudge if I’ve missed you off).

The author of this blog, Rob Baker is founder and Chief Positive Deviant at Tailored Thinking. Rob is a chartered fellow of both the CIPD and the Australian HR Institute and has a first class Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. He is passionate about making work better and making better work.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn.

3 improvements for the world of work by 2030 as a GEN Z

The workplace has changed drastically over the past few years due to the issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the flexibility of the workplace has evolved at a rapid pace. As we adjust to the new normal, people are becoming more selective about their careers and how they can better suit their needs.

As someone who will be entering the world of work within the next 5 years, I believe there is a lot room for development. Below are my top 3 improvements I hope to see by 2030.

1. Looking at skills and strengths rather than careers set in stone

Strengths and skills.

Instead of focusing on what job you want when you’re older, I believe considering your strengths, skills and values first. I’m currently in year 10 and being asked A LOT about my future career and how higher education can get me there. However, I’m unsure. The constant focus on picking a specific career path or job makes it difficult for people like me who haven’t got any set career plans yet.

My suggestion is to focus on the individuals strengths, skills and values. This can give people a foundation to build on and the opportunity to craft their careers. Rather than focusing on selecting a career first and limiting our options and potential.

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2. D&I: Celebrating people’s differences at work

Diversity and Inclusion.

Neurodiversity is in the spotlight now more than ever before. Many people are plucking up the courage to speak out about their struggles. However, what are workplaces doing to support this? With many more people becoming diagnosed with ADHD and autism, it’s time for employers to consider how they can enable everyone to flourish.

“Organizations that make an extra effort to recruit, retain, and nurture neurodivergent workers can gain a competitive edge from increased diversity in skills, ways of thinking, and approaches to problem-solving”.

My suggestion for this is once again flexibility. Flexibility in the when, where and how we work, like schedules and timing. Accepting everyone to be themselves and not having to mask or alter their behaviour at work to feel secure in their jobs.

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3. Making the world of work greener

A greener world of work.

Making the workplace more environmentally friendly is becoming increasingly important as global warming is becoming a significant issue. A recent study uncovered that 73% of Gen Z respondents feel it’s up to businesses to make a better, greener world.

In order to attract and retain Gen Z, it’s essential that businesses consider the environment. I think employees are more likely to feel valued and proud to work for an organisation that is being actively kinder to our planet. They’re also more likely to be engaged, motivated and happy in their jobs.

My suggestion is for companies to be tracking their carbon footprint, recycling and other activities which show the business is actively tackling this issue.

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Although there have been great improvements to the world of work over the last few years, we still have a long way to go. I aspire for a brighter, more inclusive and greener environment at work. Enabling people to feel confident and secure entering the world of work.

Darcy Snell is the incredible author of this blog! Just 14 years old, Darcy is completing her work experience with Tailored Thinking and has done a FAB job. Darcy is very creative and enjoys going to the theatre or the cinema. She hopes to study something involved with human behaviour, like criminology or psychology.

4 Pitfalls to Hybrid Working Success That Employers Should Be Aware Of

In this blog, Carly Richards, Business Psychologist and Tailored Thinking employee, uncovers the difficulties surrounding hybrid working and why employers should be aware of the implications it may have.

Flexible working has always been an option for employees but people working from home were in the minority. The pandemic has undoubtedly flipped this on its head and hybrid working has become the norm for the future of work in many industries and it’s vital we get it right for organisations and their employees.

Whilst on the surface it seems like a no brainer, (because less people in the office means a smaller, cheaper office and employees have the flexibility to enjoy the best of both worlds), there are challenges associated with hybrid working. These challenges are indeed exacerbated now that hybrid is en mass.

Luckily, there is a mountain of new research emerging on hybrid - including my own! In particular, work psychologists are highlighting the importance of abstract and intangible concepts such as resilience, trust, human connection, motivation, engagement, and company culture, as well as tangible things such as appropriate physical working environments, risk assessments, and effective hybrid competencies. 

So what do we already know about hybrid?

Hybrid blurs the boundaries between work and home…

As our homes evolved from a sanctuary to accommodate workspaces, schools, gyms, and hospitals, during the pandemic, the boundaries between work and home were increasingly blurred. Hybrid is similar - our work life seeps into home life as we answer emails whilst playing with our kids or doing dishes in between meetings. This conflict between work and home means we are less likely to successfully switch from work to home and vice versa and, subsequently, fully engage and disengage in either, which impacts wellbeing and performance. Bringing work into our home means we naturally experience less psychological detachment from work because we don’t have appropriate boundaries, such as the commute or an external space to be in work mode. This lack of psychological detachment increases stress and burnout, so it’s important for our wellbeing that organisations support their employees to create appropriate physical and conceptual boundaries.

We started at a deficit and are still recovering from it…

The recent extra demands and fewer coping resources resulted in a huge increase in stress, burnout and mental and physical health issues for many people. As we emerged from the pandemic difficulties and continue in this period of recovery, we begin this new era of ‘hybrid norm’ at a wellbeing deficit and smart, conscientious organisations recognise this recovery by allowing themselves the time and space to recharge. They’ve adapted their goals, changed their focus and prioritised wellbeing. Despite this, performance levels remain the same, yet we are seeing performance dips and costly sickness issues in companies who don’t acknowledge the need for recovery. As we rise to the challenge of our hybrid future employers should be aware of this deficit, acknowledge the recovery and prioritise wellbeing with appropriate support.

Hybrid could be more challenging than consistently working from home…

As we said earlier, whilst it appears that we have the benefit of both worlds, constantly switching between the office and home can actually add to our stress if it’s not managed and we aren’t supported enough. Challenges and conflict relating to hot desking and a lack of ownership or belonging can creep into the office which can impact the psychological contract between employee and their employer, creating feelings of resentment towards the organisation and colleagues. Constantly moving between places can affect productivity and poke holes in company culture as well as damaging the psychological wellbeing of employees when hybrid is not prepared for and managed well.

Not all hybrid experiences are equal…

The research highlights the importance of a flexible hybrid framework to minimise the very real risk of disparate and unequal employee experiences. By nature, it comes with a lack of uniformity as one person’s set up and situation can be entirely different from another’s, therefore companies can’t ensure equity of experience.

This lack of equality also affects participation and opportunity. For example, the onboarding experience of a new employee will be different to that of those who started working for the company prior to the ‘hybrid norm’. This could affect working relationships with fellow employees but also with the company itself, influencing engagement and company culture.

If some employees enter the office more than others it may cause an uneven playing field in terms of promotion, recognition, and the balance of work distribution, with those who aren’t seen as regularly as others being overlooked, causing proximity bias, issues with presenteeism, a lack of trust, and feeling undervalued.

Tailored and personalised hybrid strategies are key. When considering your own hybrid working model or strategy, either for yourself or for your organisation, you must personalise it and remain flexible. Whilst off-the-shelf strategies can provide a useful outline, it must be appropriately adapted to suit your needs. However, a successful hybrid future is bigger than just a strategy, the culture and values surrounding it must remain flexible, with human beings at the heart of it all, and displaying purposeful behaviours that consistently reflect the good intentions of your company values.

There is hope…

About Carly Richards. Carly is currently studying for her PHD around hybrid working and parenting, whilst working for Tailored Thinking one day a week. Carly is a Business Psychologist and specialises in people performance, wellbeing, hybrid working/working environment, and organisational change.

Fun fact: Carly is an extreme DIY enthusiast and never miss an episode of Neighbours.

Connect with Carly on LinkedIn.

3 reasons the Job Canvas is better than job descriptions

Job Description.

Recognise this image above? A traditional job description. Does this fill you with joy or excite you? I didn’t think so.

Whilst the world of work is changing rapidly, job descriptions have remained the same. Gathering digital dust as we like to call it.

Over his career, our Founder, Rob Baker has written and reviewed hundreds of job descriptions. In his blog, the history of job descriptions, Rob understands organisations are reliant on job descriptions for good reason. Such as mapping out what a role entails, responsibilities etc. However, he believes this is due to an absence of a viable alternative.

In response, Rob created the Job Canvas. The Job Canvas is digital tool used to map out your role in 9 elements. In a few clicks, you can capture what your role entails, the value that you add to others, the people you support and the resources you need to work at your best.

The Job Canvas is re-inventing how we define, discuss and do work.

“The Job Canvas is a modern digital upgrade to the job description. Developed to support modern, flexible working practices.”

— Rob Baker, Founder of Tailored Thinking

The Job Canvas

3 reasons the Job Canvas is better than job descriptions

Boxing people in vs setting people free.

1. Job descriptions weigh people down. The Job Canvas sets people free.

Job descriptions and role profiles don’t accurately capture what people do in their day-to-day work. Therefore, they are just there as works of fiction, to hold people back.

The Job Canvas is regularly updated, with relevant elements that can enable people to thrive. Like looking at the core value of your job and your strengths and skills.

Time consuming vs quick and easy.

2. Job descriptions are time consuming. The Job Canvas is quick and easy.

Creating and reviewing a job description are both time consuming and un-engaging activities.

Data collected from Job Canvas workshops shows that colleagues can effectively complete a personal canvas in just 18 minutes. Not only is this quick, it is also fun and interactive by being able to move the boxes around and personalise your Canvas.

Boxing people in vs being flexible

3. Job descriptions box people in. The Job Canvas enables people to be flexible.

Job descriptions are static documents. They consist of a list of tasks and responsibilities that an employee will do in their job. Traditional job descriptions can have the unfortunate impact of creating glass walls. These are invisible barriers on people which stop them from adapting, improving and shaping themselves and their jobs.

The Job Canvas is an editable and interactive document, enabling people to tweak and update elements of their job whenever they like.

It also encourages people to innovate and become more flexible by looking at areas of their role a job description would never consider. For example the core value and purpose of a role, which has become particularly important over the last few years.

Let’s face it, job descriptions do not reflect our modern ways of working. If you want to level up your people, click here to learn more about the Job Canvas.

How I’ve made my job more me with job crafting

If you asked me what job crafting was 18 months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to answer (think tumbleweed). Now, I believe it is a life skill that I will use for the rest of my career.

When it comes to job crafting, hearing how other people have crafted their job is a great way to learn. At Tailored Thinking we like to use the Learn, Live, Lead approach. First you learn about something (job crafting), then you live it (started job crafting my own career) and then you lead it (now helping deliver job crafting workshops/presentations).

I began my journey at Tailored Thinking as an apprentice and having learnt about job crafting I was encouraged to explore it.

In a recent check-in Rob and I sat down and reflected on my progress and career journey and it was only then I realised how much I had actually crafted my job and made it my own.

Sharing my experiences

By sharing examples of my experiences of job crafting, I hope it can inspire you to start making your job more personal to you like I have (you’re much more likely to value something if you have personalised it).

I’ve grouped my changes into 5 different categories which are aligned to the 5 main ways that we find people tend to job craft.

My original role: Content Developer (the title that was advertised).

My role now: Marketing & Engagement Officer (the title I gave myself).

The five ways I’ve crafted my job:

Purpose crafting

What is it? Purpose crafting is reframing how we think about our work. in general including the value and significance it brings to us personally and others.

How did I do it? The area of my role that I least enjoy is looking at analytics and metrics. However, this is something that I can’t get away from. After some thought about the task, I realised that without analysing the numbers I wasn’t able to measure my growth. I now look it as a way of evaluating my performance and to see how the business is growing and developing. Reframing how I think about this task has helped me do it with ease and satisfaction rather than dread.

Task crafting

What is it? Task crafting is tangibly changing aspects of how we undertake our work including designing, adding or removing tasks.

How did I do it? Something that matters to me is human connection. I thrive and work at my best when I’m in a team or around people. Rob and I both noticed this early on in my role so I asked to become more involved in the people/relationship side of the business. I’m now in 80% of the business meetings with new or existing clients. I help in workshops and lots of other things. This gives me energy in my job.

Skill crafting

What is it? Skill crafting is developing, refining and focusing on new skills.

How did I do it? A skill I have wanted to improve since starting in my role is writing. Writing is pivotal in my role, whether that be writing blogs (like this one) or tweets or emails. In order to skill craft I’ve challenged myself to write 10 blogs, to increase my confidence and to get in the habit of writing more. I’ve also sought help from coaches and mentors for additional tips and hints.

Wellbeing crafting

What is it? Wellbeing crafting is boosting our physical and mental health through the work we do.

How did I do it? My role is mostly working from home (my choice). Sometimes, especially during the pandemic, this could get a little lonely and I would lack motivation. I recognised this and found that getting outdoors every lunch time to walk my sausage dog Henry really energised me and enabled me to be more productive. I have now incorporated this into my daily routine and is something we (both) look forward to everyday.

Relationship crafting

What is it? Relationship crafting is shaping how we relate and engage with others, including building and adapting our relationship with co-workers.

How did I do it? One of the ways I have crafted my relationships at Tailored Thinking is becoming actively involved with our clients. For example, being first point of contact, interacting on social media and having zoom calls or meeting for coffee (if I’m lucky). This has created some great new connections for me and I get to be social and meet new people.

Job crafting is a skill that I think everyone should know about and have the opportunity to explore. We all benefit when there is a better fit between us as individuals and the work we do.

If you want to start crafting your job my advice would be:

• Select an area of job crafting to focus on (1 of the 5 I describe above)

• Start small and then build your way up (think about something that you can do that won’t take a lot of energy or time to do)

• Find something that you either love or loathe about your job and see if you can do more or less of this activity. You can even reframe how you think about it (for me I have dialled up my interactions with others and opportunities for getting outside).

Visit the job crafting pages of our website for more hints and tips about job crafting.

How to create a sticky workplace

It shouldn’t take a global health crisis for us to realise what really matters to us in life, but one side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is that many people have reassessed their priorities. Health scares, bereavement and grief, working harder than ever before or being furloughed for months on end, sitting in isolation staring at the same four walls…all of these pressures have contributed to what the media has coined ‘The Great Resignation’.

It may be overhyped – a degree of churn was always likely after the artificially low turnover rates of 2020 – but many HR leaders agree more people are on the move, top talent can take their pick of offers, and it is becoming harder to fill vacancies. 

According to research by Randstad UK, conducted at the end of 2021, 69% of UK employees said they felt confident to move jobs in the next couple of months, while a quarter said they planned to move in the next three to six months (compared to 11% in an average year). Given the ambitious growth and recovery plans of many organisations, it’s enough to make any manager's heart sink.

So how can people professionals tackle this challenge? How can they retain and attract the people they need to deliver? The answer lies in creating a sticky workplace. That doesn’t mean neglecting to clean the floors for a few weeks. Rather it’s about creating an environment that people don’t want to leave; one that attracts new talent like a magnet.

Such an environment is one that offers a sense of autonomy, a degree of flexibility around how (and if possible) when and where work gets done, a strengths-based approach to performance and plenty of opportunities for personal and professional growth. 

Encouraging and enabling job crafting is one compelling way of providing all of the above. It allows people to shape their job around their strengths and passions, making it a better fit for them as individuals. Research shows job crafting has a positive effect on motivation, job satisfaction, wellbeing, perceptions of meaning and purpose at work and – subsequently – performance.

Here are five ways taking a more personalised approach to work can help you attract and retain great people:

Finding purpose & meaning 

With the pandemic forcing a re-evaluation of what matters, purpose is more important than ever. Research from Hays recently found 62% of people would take a pay cut for a job with more purpose. Allowing people to craft their role around what matters to them can help boost an individual’s overall sense of meaning and purpose around their contribution within an organisation.

Centering wellbeing 

Studies have found a positive correlation between job crafting and wellbeing. With work a driver of stress for many – the CIPD states one in four workers cite work as having a negative impact on their mental health – wellbeing has become a source of competitive advantage. While thinking about physical and mental health is critical, taking a holistic approach to wellbeing means understanding that job design can help people thrive in the fullest sense. 

Playing to strengths 

We all have unique strengths, things we are naturally great at and qualities we feel energised by using. Gallup has found people who are given the opportunity to use their strengths at work are more engaged, more productive, less likely to quit and report having a higher quality of life. Encouraging people to play to their strengths creates a positive working culture that retains talent, as well as boosting organisational performance. 

Powering progression

There exists no shortage of surveys showing that a lack of development opportunities is a top cited reason for people quitting. According to Right Management, 60% of employees would be more loyal if their developmental needs were being fulfilled by their employer. Job crafting stimulates growth and development on both a personal and professional level and has been positively linked with skills and knowledge development and career progression. 

Prioritising relationships 

Organisations are made up of diverse individuals and positive relationships can drive businesses. Collaboration is often a core value and desired behaviour, but the enforced isolation of the last two years has left some leaders worried about weakened connections. Relationship crafting is one dimension of job crafting and encouraging people to invest in their work relationships can help strengthen a sense of connection to the organisation, creating emotional ties and boosting retention.

We live in the era of increasing personalisation. People expect a consumer grade experience in every area of their lives. Work is no different. Embracing some of the principles of job crafting can help create the kind of positive working environments and experience that so many are now searching for.

Join us at our free webinar on the 17th May which will help you create a sticky workplace using the Job Canvas.

Are you still thinking like Henry Ford?

“Any customer can have a car painted in any colour that he wants as long as it is black?”

Do you know who said this? 

Many of us may recognise this as a quote which attributed to Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor company. 

Ford made this comment in relation to the Model T car in 1909. Despite lobbying from his sales and design team, Ford was adamant that his company should save costs and leverage efficiencies by only offering one type of chassis and one colour of car. And that colour was black. 

In his autobiography, Ford stated that his rational was that 95 per cent of potential car purchasers were not interested in the colour of their car and that they should be focusing on these consumers rather than the 5 per cent – labelled by Ford as the ‘special customers’ – who were potentially interested in a more distinctive look. 

There is no denying that Henry Ford’s approach was successful; when the final Model T ran off the production line on 25 May 1927, over 15 million cars had been produced. Whilst it is difficult to challenge the success of Henry Ford’s original thinking, it’s certainly fair to say that the one-size-fits-all approach is not shared by modern car manufacturers and does not remain at Ford today.

In the past, car manufacturers and designers approached heterogeneity and diversity amongst their customers as a problem or business challenge to overcome. 

Over time this mindset has shifted and manufacturers are increasingly recognising that responding to and tapping into individual preferences is a source of competitive advantage.

People who want a wider range of purchasing and personalization options are no longer thought of as demanding. To encourage and enable people to choose the options for their cars, showrooms can now be thought of almost as personalization centres set up to create a customized car-buying and driving experience. 

As well as being able to see and drive test and show cars, some showrooms now offer people the opportunity to use immersive technology to configure their cars. Having put on a virtual reality (VR) headset, customers of Volkswagen, Audi, Tesla and Toyota are now able to see, feel and hear what their final car will look like.7 Using augmented reality (AR) it’s now possible for customers to use their smartphone or tablet to project what their car will look like sitting on the driveway of their house.Why work should come in any colour

Why work should come in any colour

Unfortunately many organisations, leaders and managers view work, people, jobs and employee with the same eyes and dogma as Henry Ford. 

They see difference and diversity as a threat to productivity and effectiveness. They tend to box people in rather than setting them free. 

HR is often complicit in this too. We design detailed job descriptions which tend to tether people into fixed ways of working rather than trusting them to shape their roles (we’ve created an alternative to job descriptions). And we often subject requests to change or alter aspects of a job to formal scrutiny to determine whether or not they are ‘reasonable.’

In reality research overwhelmingly shows that when people are trusted to shape their work, they do so in a positive and constructive way. And in ways that benefit their colleagues and customers too. 

A diverse range of organisations including Virgin Money, Logitech, Widerøe Airlines and Connect Health have all reported benefits from enabling and encouraging job crafting as a practice and creating a more personalized people experience through applying concepts such as job crafting.

It’s time to bring this personal touch to work. 

Allowing people to personalise their roles, brings reality to the rhetoric that organisations want people to bring their whole and best selves to work. Rather than treating employees’ diverse strengths, passions and experiences as a threat to be controlled, genuinely people-focussed organisations can use this as a source of competitive advantage.

Not only does evidence suggest clear business benefits of creating a more inclusive and human approach to working, it is just fundamentally and morally the right thing to do. Afterall, work should not just be black. It should come in any colour.

If you are curious about exploring these ideas further you might ask yourself:

• Does your organisation genuinely treat diversity and difference amongst people as a threat or an opportunity?

• Are people able to personalise their experiences as work? It this open to all, or to use Ford’s analogy only ‘special employee’ such as those in management

• Do you create job descriptions and role profiles that limit rather than unlock the potential of colleagues?

If you want to explore these questions further get in touch. You might also find the following resources useful. 

The Job Canvas: A digital upgrade to the job description. Developed to support modern, flexible working practices.

Job Crafting: A concept that enables people to personalise their work and align their strengths and skillset to their job.

3 new Job Crafting articles every people professional should read

We believe that every HR and people professional should know about Job Crafting. In this blog we share 3 articles that we think you should read.

Job Crafting currently remains a fairly niche (and some might say nerdy) topic. However, the evidence behind the associated benefits of job crafting are so compelling in terms of engagement, retention, wellbeing and performance, that we are doing all that we can to raise the profile of the concept.

At its core, job crafting is about positively tweaking and shaping areas of your job to make it a better fit for you as an individual.

So trust us when we say if there is an article about job crafting we have probably read it. It’s great to see more being written about job crafting in academic and more mainstream press.

Here are 3 recent articles we have picked for you (yes, we’re nice like that) which highlight the role that job crafting can have in supporting current and contemporary workplace challenges and opportunities.

1. How to love your job according to science

[Photo: Luis Alvarez/Getty Images]

Website: FastCompany

Author: Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

With the pandemic bringing to light the need for more meaning, purpose and enjoyment in our jobs. This article provides you with 5 ways you can make your job better in areas that you can control.

One of the ways is to embrace job crafting.

“Whatever you do, you always have some autonomy and control to do it better”.

2. How Job Crafting can help digital gig-workers build resilience

Artwork by Franziska Barczyk

Website: Harvard Business Review

Author: Sut I Wong

We’re always interested to hear of different industries and sectors are crafting their jobs. We were even more excited when we heard about gig-workers.

This article suggests several strategies to help gig workers and platforms boost resilience through job crafting.

A supportive and collaborative job crafting culture is key to ensuring both a resilient gig workforce in the near term, and a healthy gig economy in the long term.

3. Leadership To Last: 4 Ways To Keep Employees During The Great Resignation

Website: Forbes

Author: Aliza Knox

There is lots of chatter around the term the ‘The great resignation’ and ‘The great imagination’. This article argues that leaders need to enable people to see how they can get what they need from their existing jobs, before moving on.

Of course, one of the ways you can do this is through encouraging job crafting.

One more tip for keeping employees engaged, and working alongside you: make sure their jobs grow with them.

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If you enjoyed this blog and are curious about job crafting we have some cracking stuff over on our website here. Also, if you want to go really deep into job crafting research you can check out Rob’s book Personalization at Work.

Thank you for reading.