Good Jobs Strategy
What is the Good Jobs Strategy?
The Good Jobs Strategy Is a System
The Good Jobs Strategy creates superior value for employees, customers, and investors by combining investment in employees with operational choices that increase employee productivity, contribution, and motivation.
The Good Jobs Strategy is a high-performance system in which companies have high expectations of their employees and employees have high expectations of their company.
"A good jobs strategy means constantly trying to get better… paying more and having a higher expectation for what people are capable of"
Craig Boyan, President of H-E-B
Elements of the Good Jobs Strategy
The four operational choices—Focus & Simplify, Standardize & Empower, Cross-train, and Operate with Slack—drive performance and continuous improvement. They also enable a company to meet employee needs and to leverage its investment in people. At the same time, these operational choices work best with a capable and motivated workforce and hence they require investment in people.
See our diagnostic tool to determine what elements of the Good Jobs Strategy your company already has in place and where you can improve.
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Focus & Simplify: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy know what problems they solve for their customers and make strategic trade-offs consistent with that focus. They also simplify their operations in a way that maximizes value for their customers and improves employee productivity and motivation. Learn More →
Standardize & Empower: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy standardize routine processes—with employee input—and also empower their employees to improve those standards. Their employees can also make decisions that improve customer service and reduce cost. Learn More→
Cross-Train: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy build flexibility to meet variability in customer demand by cross-training employees. Learn More→
Operate with Slack: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy staff their units with more hours of labor than the expected workload in order to meet peak customer demand and to give employees time to perform their tasks well and engage in improvement. Learn More→
Invest in People: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy invest in people in a way that combines with operations to create a virtuous cycle. Investment in people includes recruiting, training, establishing clear career paths, creating high performance standards, and offering fair wages and predictable schedules. Learn More→
Values: Companies that follow the Good Jobs Strategy put their customers first, recognize their employees as their most important resource, and are dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement. Learn More→
For a short overview of The Good Jobs Strategy system, check out our 2021 Medium article.
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