What’s in a job title? Steve Pickering, the ‘unorthodox’ CEO of South East independent bed retail chain Sussex Beds, explains how a minor change of job description can have a major impact of the quality of candidates applying for the role …
A few weeks ago, we advertised a vacancy for a store leader externally. Up until now, store leader positions have been filled with internal promotions. However, recently, a limited number of potential internal candidates prompted a need to reach out externally going forward.
The result was over 70 applications for the role. To put this into perspective, when we advertise for a sales adviser, we receive around 30 applicants on average.
The biggest difference, however, was the quality of applicants, which meant that at the end of the interview process, there were five exceptional candidates to choose from. The decision was made, and one of these exceptional candidates was offered the position. Additionally, another candidate was offered an open sales adviser role. Both gratefully accepted.
My curious mind was intrigued by this process. Now, you may think this all makes perfect sense, as you are comparing a manager-level role with a front-line sales role – which means higher salary and more responsibility. The fact is, though, the salary difference is minimal, and within our business, our sales advisers remain responsible for their orders and customer service.
This begs the question – what other factors contributed to the significant difference in applications and quality of candidates? Was it the title and status of the role? If this is the case, should we review job role titles to give them more kudos and status?
Guess what? That’s exactly what I’m doing.
What do you think? Have you ever applied for a role based primarily on its title? What job titles do you find most attractive or prestigious in your industry? Has your organisation experimented with creative job titles, and if so, what impact did it have? Would you rather be a ‘sales executive’ or a ‘sales assistant’, if the roles were identical? And what’s the most appealing job title you’ve ever seen advertised?
Discover more of Steve’s thoughts in his blog or listen to his new weekly podcast, An Unorthodox CEO, available through Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
