Unleash: Building the DNA for work

The uncomfortable truth is that organisations need both agility and structure. This is why a new DNA for work is more important than ever

At this year's Unleash World, our CEO, Sara Hill, delivered a talk to HR and People leaders on the future of workforce transformation. Instead of opening with AI, skills platforms or talent marketplaces, we began somewhere more foundational; the part of transformation that is often overlooked yet determines whether any of these strategies work in practice: the data that defines how work is structured, valued and enabled. 

We highlighted the importance of having clarity around jobs, levels, work and skills. These elements may appear operational, but they are the underlying infrastructure behind almost every strategic workforce decision. If organisations want to introduce AI, build skills-based strategies, enable internal mobility, define performance standards, create meaningful career pathways or ensure fair and transparent pay, they need a shared, current and connected understanding of the work itself. 

This key message we wanted to give organisations is that You cannot transform work if you cannot clearly describe the work. 

The Foundation of Workforce Transformation 

The same foundation sits underneath many of the priorities that the HR leaders at Unleash are currently focused on: 

• AI and automation require clarity on tasks and responsibilities to identify where technology can add value 
• Skills-based strategies depend on knowing which skills matter, where they sit and how proficiency grows over levels 
• Performance management relies on a shared definition of what “good” looks like across roles 
• Career development depends on transparency around how work and capability shift across levels 
• Pay transparency and fairness require clear, consistent and auditable evaluation of job scope and value 

This data is not administrative. It is both strategic and foundational. 

The Challenge: Work Has Evolved Faster Than the Structures Describing It 

Work is changing rapidly, AI is reshaping tasks, skills are shifting, teams are increasingly organised around projects and changing business priorities. Yet the organisational structures defining work have not kept up. 

We consistently see: 

• Job architectures that no longer reflect role reality 
• Job descriptions and role profiles that are outdated the moment they are published 
• Skills frameworks that sit disconnected from role scope and level 
• Levelling processes that vary across functions and geographies 
• Internal mobility ambitions blocked by lack of visibility of skills 
• Increasing urgency around legislation such as the EU Pay Transparency Directive, without the clarity to evidence fairness. 

This often results in organisations hiring externally for capability that already exists internally, simply because the data to surface and mobilise those skills is not in place. 

The gap between how work is actually being done and how work is defined has become too large to ignore. 

The Tension Organisations Need to Resolve 

On one side, organisations want greater agility, to move talent fluidly, support development and deploy skills where they are needed most. On the other, they require structure to ensure fairness, accountability and clear progression. 

Both priorities are valid, both are necessary and critically, both rely on the same underlying data. The challenge is not choosing between flexibility and structure, it is creating the organisational DNA that supports both. 

A Job Architecture That Lives - Your DNA for Work 

This is why job architecture is returning to strategic relevance. But the job architecture required today is not a static framework or set of job descriptions. It must operate as a living system - what we call the DNA of Work. 

Your DNA for Work is the connected spine that links: 

• Role scope 
• Levels and progression 
• Work and tasks 
• Skills and proficiency expectations 
• Pay and value 

When this "DNA" is in place, organisations gain a shared language of work that leadership, HR and employees can align around. It introduces clarity where there was ambiguity and adaptability where there was rigidity. 

How We Support Organisations in Making This a Reality

This is the work we focus on at RoleMapper. We help organisations: 

• Harmonise job structures across regions, balancing global consistency with local nuance 
• Connect jobs, skills and levels into one coherent data model - your DNA of Work 
• Define clear skill proficiency expectations that support meaningful development and progression 
• Make internal capability visible so talent can be redeployed, not just recruited 
• Embed governance that ensures fairness in pay and progression 
• Continuously update job and skills data as work evolves 

The result is a dynamic foundation: structured enough to ensure fairness, flexible enough to support transformation and resilient enough to adapt as business needs change. 

Closing Thought from Unleash 

Transformation does not start with technology. It starts with how work is defined. When organisations build their DNA for Work, the path to skills-based strategy, internal mobility, equitable pay and AI-enabled transformation becomes far more achievable. 

Talk to one of our experts about how we can build the DNA for Work in your organisation.