Recently the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in conjunction with the US Department of Commerce, published a “Job Quality Toolkit” to assist employers in improving the quality of the jobs that they offer. The Toolkit identifies the key drivers of job quality and and provides various strategies and actions that can be taken by employers to improve the quality of the jobs.

Identifying and improving the drivers that are most valued by workers can significantly increase their satisfaction and engagement and, in turn, benefit an employer’s ability to compete for talent and achieve success in the marketplace. To ensure a full understanding of what makes a job “high quality” and how to improve job quality, the Department of Commerce sought the input and insights of numerous experts in job quality, including academics, think tanks, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and, of course, employers and labor unions.

“The challenge of attracting and retaining a diverse, productive, engaged workforce has grown. Workers seek quality jobs, and companies that prioritize job quality become employers of choice. Job quality is not just about the job; it is a combination of key drivers that are important to each worker’s overall employment experience. Pay and benefits matter, and so do many other factors like workplace safety and health, a voice, scheduling predictability, skills building, and advancement. Together, these distinguish an employer of choice from the rest.”¹

The Job Quality Toolkit provides practical guidance on eight key drivers that turn a routine occupation into a high-quality job where your employee feels respected, valued, and important to your company’s success. The toolkit is rooted in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Balridge Excellence Framework.

Many interrelated factors impact job quality. The Job Quality Toolkit is organized around the following eight drivers:

Recruitment & Hiring: Actively recruit a diverse pool of applicants. Implement skills-based hiring that only requires the education, credentials, and experience needed to do the job. Be intentional about onboarding and retaining workers.

Benefits: Seek workers’ input on needed and desired benefits, such as paid leave, health insurance, and a retirement plan. Provide them and encourage their use.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA): Make equal opportunity a core value and practiced norm. Foster systems where all workers feel respected and empowered in the workplace. Identify and remove systemic barriers to DEIA.

Empowerment & Representation: Ensure that workers have a meaningful voice, without fear of
retaliation. Enable workers to contribute to decisions about their work, how it is performed, and
organizational direction.

Job Security & Working Conditions: Ensure a safe, healthy, and accessible workplace and offer job
security. Minimize temporary or contractor labor solutions, using such workers mainly to adjust for
short-term needs. Assess and schedule hours that are adequate and predictable.

Organizational Culture: Demonstrate through explicit behaviors and norms of leadership that all
workers belong, are valued, and contribute meaningfully to the organization. Assess workers’
engagement and feelings of respect.

Pay: Provide an equitable living wage to all workers and ensure fair compensation practices.

Skills & Career Advancement: Provide opportunities and tools for workers’ self-realization and
advancement in their current jobs, within the organization, and outside it.

Each driver is linked to a series of strategies and actions for organizations to consider when assessing job quality.

WANT TO READ MORE? Get the JOB QUALITY TOOLKIT here.

¹ As published on the NIST website: 8 Key Drivers of The Job Quality Toolkit | NIST