Here is an example menu of options for meeting a job quality framework.

People appreciate examples when they are trying something new and hard. They also especially appreciate examples that show how they can make small changes that help them easily achieve difficult things. This is a big lesson from my job quality work in the federal government.

Below I share a strategy I learned from this work: an example menu of specific approaches for implementing each plank of a job quality framework. I used these menus to help funding applicants understand what they needed to do on job quality to get funded and aid employers sort what tools they already have that can help them offer good jobs.

There are a lot of job quality frameworks out there. The point of this resource is to show how start making the pieces of these framework a bit more tangible. This will help workforce providers incorporate them into their training initiatives and employers adopt these frameworks to offer good jobs.

I leave the framework below mostly undefined; however, it is roughly based on the Good Jobs Principles, the Biden-Harris Administration’s federal-wide vision of what is a good job. I used that framework to work good jobs strategies into federal workforce grants and initiatives.

Job quality menu

The following is a menu of example strategies and steps that can help meet each of the following parts of our vision of a good job. This list is not exclusive, meaning strategies similar to those below could meet the parts of this good jobs framework.

Pay

Ensuring pay meets the cost-of-living estimate for your area as estimated by the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
Reviewing pay practices to ensure timely and accurate payment of wages.
Reconciling pay disparities between workers doing the same work but paid at different rates for reasons unrelated to performance or duties.

Benefits

Offering health insurance with premiums that don’t exceed more than 5 percent to 10 percent of a worker’s gross wages.
Offering retirement plans with employer contributions or matching.
Providing access or references to off-hours childcare for any work needed outside normal business hours.
Offering stipends or other support that help workers to meaningfully cover the estimated cost of childcare in your area as estimated by the MIT Living Wage Calculator.

Hiring

Removing unneeded degree requirements and gauging qualifications based on the skills of a candidate.
Using blind resume reviews to ensure that candidates are evaluated based on merit, experience, and demonstrated skills.
Providing reasonable accommodations so workers with disabilities can apply successfully and receive consideration for a role based on their merit.

Accessibility

Taking steps to ensure that all workers are treated fairly regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, or any other status protected by state, local, or federal law.
Offering van pools or references to transportation services to help workers without dependable transportation reach work and get home in a timely way.
Connecting workers—such as those hired as a result of the removal of degree requirements—with mentors and resources to fill knowledge gaps and ensure success in the workplace.

Including Workers in Operation of the Workplace

Adopting workflow structures that respond to and incorporate employee feedback into the operation of the workplace.
Providing workers regular check-ins where they can identify issues in workflow and offer solutions for addressing them.
Entering a collective bargaining agreement with a union and/or allowing workers to exercise their organizing rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

Scheduling and Working Conditions

Ensuring all workers have stable and predictable schedules.
Describing specific situations where workers may be asked to do work outside normal business hours.
Training and re-training workers and managers on proper safety strategies in the workplace as well as the rights of workers.

Culture, Retention, and Advancement

Disclosing in advance how their roles could be impacted—including elimination—by advancements in technology and describing what skills workers can acquire to retain employment.
Providing resources to support training that enables workers to retain or transition into other roles if their current positions are eliminated.
Ensuring that all workers receive information on professional development and training provided by the employer or its labor partners.
Providing information to all hires about opportunities for promotion (including if those opportunities come at regular intervals) and what steps and accomplishments will help workers reach those opportunities.