There are Only Four Types of Work in the World

One way to improve quality of hire is to define a job as a series of 5-6 performance objectives rather than a laundry list of skills, experience and “must have” competencies. On one level this is more attractive to people who are open to changing jobs. It also opens the talent pool to more diverse, high potential and older people who are fully competent and highly motivated to do the work. This can be proven using a performance-based interviewing process that requires the candidates to provide detailed examples of comparable accomplishments.

One way to develop the performance objectives is to just ask the hiring manager what the person needs to do to be successful in the job. This normally includes one or two major objectives and three to four subtasks. For example, a major objective might be, “Lead the effort with design and operations to prepare a two-year product roadmap.” This is a lot better than defining the job as, “Must have an MBA, a technical degree, 6-8 years industry experience and a results-oriented attitude.” A subtask might be, “Within 60 days review the current product roadmap and identify the major technical bottlenecks.”

The Four Work Types – The Mix Matters

Work Types is another way to develop these performance objectives. This approach classifies work into four categories that map directly to the classic product life cycle. This is shown in the graphic and described below. (Here’s a link to an interactive version of the same graphic.) When opening up a new job requisition ask the hiring manager to develop 2-3 performance objectives for each Work Type. When completed put the objectives in priority order. One or two Work Types will typically stand out.

As you ask candidates to describe their major accomplishments assign these to Work Types. This is a great way to ensure a strong match between your job and the person’s intrinsic motivators. 

The Four Basic Work Types

Thinkers: These people are the idea generators, strategists, and creative types. They’re at the front end of the growth curve, and their work covers new products, new business ideas, and different ways of doing everyday things. Sometimes they get in the way once the company or projects begin to grow. An example of a performance objective for the Thinker could be, “Develop a workaround to the technical bottleneck to ensure the launch date is met.”

Builders: These people take ideas from the Thinker and convert them into reality. Entrepreneurs, project managers and turnaround executives are typical jobs that emphasize the Builder component. They thrive in rapid change situations, make decisions with incomplete information and can create some level of order out of chaos. They feel strangled in bigger organizations. “Rebuild the entire product management department in 90 days to support the global launch,” would be an example of a Builder performance objective.

Improvers: These are the people who take an existing project, process or team, organize it and make it better. In a moderately growing company they are charged with upgrading a new system, converting an outdated process or rebuilding a department. In a mature company they’re the ones who need to implement major and minor change despite heavy resistance. They are typically underappreciated yet have an enormous impact on a company’s long-term success. Here’s an example of an Improver performance objective: “Develop a detailed plan for upgrading the international reporting system over the next 18 months.”

Producers: Technical skills dominate the Producer Work Type. A pure Producer is someone who executes a repeatable process on a regular basis. More often, the Producer Work Type is a component of the job, for example, combining problem-solving (the Thinker) with some technical process to implement a solution. Here’s an example of a pure Producer performance objective, “Handle 6-7 inbound calls per day at a 90% resolution rate.”

The product life cycle can be considered a fractal for most types of work. A fractal is something that looks the same regardless of scale. Work is like this, too. It could be figuring out a simple problem and implementing a solution to launching a new business or turning around a failing organization. Regardless of the size or scale, most work requires a mix of different thinking, project management, process improvement and executing skills. Getting the scale, scope and mix right is essential for hiring the right person. 

Some types of work are more at the front end of the cycle, some bulge in the middle, some are heavily weighted towards process implementation and some are balanced throughout. Regardless, knowing how a job is weighted by these Work Types allows a company to better match people with the roles they’re being hired for rather than hoping there is a good fit.

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Lou Adler (@LouA) is the CEO of The Adler Group, a consulting and training firm helping companies implement Performance-based Hiring. He's also a regular columnist for Inc. Magazine, SHRM and BusinessInsider. His new Performance-based Hiring micro-course is now available on Lynda.com. His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench, 2013) is now being published in Korea and Japan. It provides hands-on advice for job-seekers, hiring managers and recruiters on how to find the best job and hire the best people.