Talent Tectonics

CHAPTER 4Designing Organizations to Provide Positive Employee Experiences

Crafting Jobs to Fit Employees

A manufacturing company realized that a large number of its specialized technicians were scheduled to retire in the near future. These technicians performed complex tasks that took years to fully master, and the company doubted it could develop replacement workers in the time before they left. Then someone asked if it might be possible to change the design of the technicians' jobs in a way that would inspire them to keep working past retirement age. When the technicians were asked about this idea they said perhaps, assuming we get to determine how we do our jobs, and the company provides the resources necessary to allow us to work the way we want to. This led to a collaborative project using a concept called job crafting,¹ where employees and companies work together to define how jobs are designed balancing the interests of both parties.

The goal of job crafting is to create positions that add value to the company but that are done in a way that fits employees' interests and preferences. Common modifications include giving employees greater control over schedules, alleviating them from routine or administrative tasks, providing better physical working conditions, letting them choose their work location, and doing more creative design and instructional work and less repetitive production work. There are two reasons why job crafting makes sense for companies. First, it is ...