Exclusive: Walmart and others look to standardize job description language
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Most everyone's first few job applications were clumsy exercises in trying to sell themselves. What they lacked — other than experience — was a way to quickly and accurately convey their skills.
Why it matters: What's "merchandising" for one company can be "display setup" for another, creating a disconnect for workers as they learn and try to move up, and employers as they look to fill positions.
- Universal language to narrow that gap is missing, so Walmart, in collaboration with the Burning Glass Institute, earlier this year convened a working group of human resources professionals from various companies to create a common denominator.
The big picture: Due to a U.S. labor shortage fueled in part by the pandemic, employers like Walmart are dropping degree requirements from many jobs to focus on hiring people for their specific proficiencies.
State of play: Nearly 200 employers, consultants and workforce-focused nonprofits gathered at the Ledger in Bentonville on Tuesday and Wednesday for the annual Retail Opportunity Network event, funded by Walmart.org.
- The overarching conversation was to create economic opportunity for frontline workers through skills-based hiring.
Behind the scenes: The working group consisting of Walmart, Bank of America, Blackstone, PepsiCo, Nordstrom, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft had already come up with a list of nine titles that represent about 11 million U.S. jobs as a starting point.
- Axios was invited to sit in on a workshop focused on the "taxonomy," or classification, of these roles. Representatives of the working group companies and a few others looked to refine definitions of each position.
- Some of the roles include retail salespersons, sales managers, warehouse managers, customer service representatives, product managers and software developers.
After two hours of discussion among 10 people, one role was about halfway through an initial cut.
- Much more refining will have to take place in person and virtually.
What they're saying: "What is really phenomenal about what's taking place today … is that corporations of all sizes are coming together to say we are aligned on the vision of what's possible," Ash Walvoord, chief learning officer for Verizon, said.
- "It's absolutely strengthening what each of us on our own is going to be able to do going forward, being able to look at a common role like a software developer or a store associate … and having a common understanding of what does that role require?"
The idea isn't to compel other companies to use the same language, Matt Sigelman, president of Burning Glass Institute, told Axios. But hopefully, it will eventually gain momentum and there will be other adopters.
What's next: Lorraine Stomski, Walmart's chief talent officer, said she hopes another two or three job titles will soon be added to the group's working list.
- She's planning for a reveal of complete language for each role in September of next year.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to note the Retail Opportunity Network event was funded by Walmart.org, not the Walmart Foundation. It was also updated to clarify that Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft are part of the working group.