#Job titles

Align your job titles with your brand's personality

As "traders on the culinary seas," Trader Joe's continues their always present nautical theme by using sailor terms for job titles:

• Crew Members do a little of everything from running the register to stocking shelves. Within this group are also Helmsemen, aka greeters, and Native Bearers, aka box boys.
• Merchants, like Crew Members, do a little of everything but are leaders in setting examples of Wow customer experiences.
• Mates are assistant store leaders.
• Captains are the store leaders. They dictate the strategy and develop their Crew.
• Office Crew Members are made up of everyone else behind-the-scenes.

Change department names to align with their higher purpose

When Ray Davis became CEO of Umpqua Bank, he wanted to help department leaders rise above their operational tasks and see their jobs from a higher strategic level. One of his first steps was reorganizing the company and changing department titles to correlate with the department's higher purpose.

• Marketing became Creative Strategies with the purpose of differentiating Umpqua in the marketplace.
• Human Resources became the Cultural Enhancement Division, whose purpose is to enhance the company's culture.
• IT became Technology Advancement with a core focus on advancing the company's technology.
• Finance became Financial Integrity with a responsibility to keep the company's financial statements beyond reproach.

Ray found that these simple changes helped shift people's state of mind. And "as a leader," Ray writes, "Do you have anything more important to do for the people you lead than ensure that their state of mind stays focused on the important goals of the company?"