Job Titles: Are There Any Standard Definitions Companies Use for Defining a Supervisor, Manager, Director and Vice President?

Summary: Are there any standard definitions companies use for defining a supervisor, manager, director, and vice president? Here’s the answer.

The short answer is NO, except that Vice President usually indicates that the person is technically an officer of the corporation. Some companies have managers who manage employees. Some have supervisors who supervise employees. Some have managers who manage supervisors who supervise employees. And some companies have none of the above.

Titles are a way of presenting authority, position, and status in both the internal and external environment. Some companies are title heavy, giving all employees lofty titles – regardless of whether or not the titles are actual indications of the duties performed by the employee. Some companies do this as a motivator for employees, while some do it to provide status in lieu of cash compensation. The problem with this approach is that it leads to problems further down the line when the company grows and you need to bring on more experienced people yet provide them with the same titles as the inexperienced people. Other companies barely have titles at all. This approach also presents problems in that, as the company grows, there is confusion both internally and externally as to who has what responsibility.

See some of the weirdest job titles here.

The important thing here is consistency within the organization. Do some planning. See where your organization is now, and where you want to be down the road. See what kinds of employees you envision bringing into your company. Title today with tomorrow in mind – remember, it is easier to promote than demote on the basis of title reshuffling).