That comment has been made so often in my HR career when people are frustrated with the amount of their pay or pay raises. My response is always “of course YOU are worth more”. The pay for this job is not only about you and the way you do the job. It is highly dependent on what the job itself is worth.
Job value is driven by several factors beginning with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to carry out the tasks involved in that job, followed by the prevalence of that bundle of knowledge, skills, and abilities in the market. When something is essential and/or highly desirable and is rare it is more valuable than when it is plentiful.
When that bundle of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) is fundamental to an organization’s business success, the job value is higher than when it is a support function, for example, Human Resource KSAs as an internal service in a manufacturing company are worth less than they are in an H.R. Consulting practice where they are the source of revenue.
In each of the last three industrial eras – mechanization, electrification, computerization -new KSAs were in high demand and many traditionally valuable KSAs became redundant. We can expect that to continue occurring as we move through the Fourth Industrial Revolution – digitization. The World Economic Forum’s 2018 “The Future of Jobs Report” included Sports Instructors, Editors, Lifeguards, and Customer Service Reps among the declining jobs in North America. Emerging job roles and therefore valuable roles include the following:
- Software and Applications Developers and Analysts
- Data Analysts and Scientists
- Sales and Marketing Professionals
- Financial and Investment Advisors
- General and Operations Managers
Questions or comments? Please contact me at anne@annehoward.com.