Part two of my series that looks at retention of employees. In this one I'm looking at how the employee views things and the reasons that they might want or not want to be retained. I'm also including a few hints on what can help you stay in a position that you enjoy. The other articles in the series:

• Why Retain Employees?
• Employee thoughts - The people that do most of the tangible work, not managers, and how you might retain them. (this article)
• Manager Thoughts - What managers think and how they view employees?
• Keeping Your Job - A look at how to keep your job if you want to
• Finding Your Job - A look at what might matter in a job search, or in keeping your job and some advice.

Hopefully this will be a fairly timeless series that you can refer to throughout your career and pass along to your managers and others that are interested. Please be sure that you read the feedback as this is one place where lots of other opinions, not just mine, will be cast and there will be good information as well. You can see what others have posted in the "Your Opinion" tab at the bottom of the article.

The Employee View

Most employees want to feel safe at work. I say most because there are exceptions out there in any area, but of all the people I've worked with and talked to, they want to feel safe. Even the ones that are looking to move on to another job, another company, whatever, while they are working at their particular company, they don't want to feel like their job is in jeopardy.

Job security, far above money, is something that many people crave. There are people that are looking for long term security, possibly retirement with this company, and people that are looking to get a year in a position before they move on. Whatever their timeline, security is a big part of their being satisfied at work. Some people, like myself, can't stand the slightest little bit of chaos regarding job security. It drives me insane and as soon as there are rumors or feelings that there might be a layoff, or even a reorganization, I'm updating my resume and sending it out. It sounds crazy, but that's a big part of what I look for in a job. Andy even had one guy that quit and took another job, only to return a few years later when things calmed down.

Yet it often seems that many of the decisions and actions the "corporation" or management undertake, work in the exact opposite way. I'll give a couple examples of this to let you know what I mean. One time I was working in a team of people in a typical corporate environment. We were a younger group, used to fire fighting often and tackling the work that was put in front of us, working to get it done and meet our estimates. We came in worked until 5 or 6, usually a 9-10 hour day, and then headed home most nights. We also had our share or late work every month at night and a massive 3 day workfest once a quarter to meet a particular need of some clients.

We hired a new CTO that managed me and the lead developer, between the two of us, we managed another 15 or so people. He decided that we had to keep track of our time and setup MS Project in a shared environment going against a backend, requiring all of us to enter our time daily against various tasks. I know this is standard in many environments and I had previously dealt with it, but it had been a few years. Same for a number of others and this went over like a f___ in church.

Despite all the explanations and justifications that this would help us, improve efficiency, etc., it made everyone nervous. All of a sudden we weren't focused on building great software, but coding quick enough to get our tasks finished close to the estimate in whatever shape they could be in. The result was that not only did everyone get upset and start looking for other jobs, but the quality of the software was lower. No one built anything in anticipation of change or took the time to query clients over potential enhancements. And I not only had to deal with all of this, but I also had to field questions about whether the percentage of work on time would be used in bonuses, whether it would be used to lay off people, and everything else.

The second example is similar and was in another company. In this one we were keeping track of our time like good little girls and boys, entering our time in a system by Friday every other week in order to get paid and keep our manager off our back. It was a source of constant ribbing to the guy or gal that didn't get theirs entered as our weekly meeting consisted of an announcement of those that hadn't. And a punishment. As an aside, the punishment was to be "soda jerk" for a week, meaning that anytime someone called you and asked for a soda, you had to go to the fridge and bring it back. Surprising how well that discouraged mistakes.

Well in their infinite wisdom, management decided that they wanted to be sure that we were properly staffed and not only would we need to enter time worked on various projects, but that now we would need to forecast the next 6-8 weeks of project time and enter that in another system for review. Supposedly this way management could see if we were overutilitized and justify more people.

Surprisingly no one was every underutilized in their 6 week forecast except the managers. I'm sure they did their best to ensure they predicted their time accurately. However every employee that I worked with was sure that this was a way to weed out slackers, maybe target people for layoffs, and it certainly wasn't going to be them. To ensure that our job security wasn't threatened, we all of a sudden were booked 40+ hours a week on various projects. with a very minimum of time spent on administration activities. Bearing no relation to reality, this was the reaction to a threat to job security. It was the employees way of balancing things out.

So the lesson here is that employees, whether they realize it or not, value job security very highly. They want to be retained for some timeline. Management's job is to work with that timeline, and figure it out, but you do that by gaining trust, not micromanaging others.

Growth

Most employees I know want to grow in their jobs. But growth can mean a number of things. Some people want raises, some more vacation, some more responsibility, some more control over their area, and a host of other things. Employees feel more secure when they think that their manager is looking out for their interests. They understand that not everything can go their way, but winning some battles, maybe not even half, but some goes a long way to keeping us happy.

Face it, most employees don't want to change jobs. Most of us would be happy to stay in the same job for most of our lives if it were secure. However most professional IT people that enjoy their jobs aren't content to just go to work each day. They want to be challenged, they want to grow their skills or career and learn new skills. However, investments in employees are often based on seniority, which only comes when you retain the same job for a long time.

So keeping yourself employed in one job pays additional benefits in the form of additional training, which may even be conferences or other special events. Over time I've often seen that employees that have shown they want to stick around, and do a good job, often get more leeway for local events, like MSDN ones. They also might get to go to a conference in addition to a class each year. That's almost like an extra week of vacation a year if you can swing it. Enjoy yourself, get some SWAG, and push yourself to learn new things.

And it's not just the learning that you get. When you grow your skills and prove yourself over time to be a valuable employee, you'll find yourself getting better and more interesting projects. More business knowledge, the likelihood that you'll stick around for the future, better skills, all increase the chances that you'll be the go-to guy or girl and have the chance to feel challenged instead of bored with the mundane tasks of maintaining an application or checking logs.

Benefits

Not every company offers that grow over time, but many do. By sticking with the same job for a long time you'll get the thing that is probably more valuable as your career progresses: time.

Most companies will increase your vacation or paid time off allowance over time, usually growing it at specific milestones, like 5 years, 10 years, etc. I've seen companies in the US grow vacation time from 2 weeks up to 6 if you remain employed for 10 years. That time may not be something that concerns you in your 20s, but as you mature in life, get married, have kids, etc. you'll really grow to appreciate that time.

If you're lucky, as my wife was, your company will give you a sabbatical periodically. After 6 years at one company she got 30 days off to do whatever. She used it to tackle some small projects she wanted, recharge, get away with the kids and in general get away from work. Even if your company doesn't offer it, after you've been there 5 or more years, you might ask for one. You never know and your tenure with the company goes a long way towards convincing someone that it's worth their while to give you a little extra something.

Trust is something you earn with your employer and it takes time. But as you earn it, you might also earn some softer benefits. Like flexible hours or telecommuting opportunities. Many managers are reluctant to allow remote work or leaving early for some event on a regular basis. However, as you prove that you'll get your work done, that you're not just slacking off and they can trust you to be professional, they'll be more likely to give you some of those benefits.

Conclusions

I'm sure most of this is obvious for the employee, but there may be a few things that are not. It seems obvious that most of us would prefer to remain employed at our job rather than looking for a new one, but sometimes it needs to be spelled out. And I'm sure there will be some good feedback, so use the "Your Opinion" button below to read that.

I mostly wrote this for the managers out there. Or for you to pass along to your manager. Let them know which points you agree with and those you don't. Let them know that you value your job and you'd like to stay there. A little communication goes a long way and may give them something to think about at your next review, or if it happens, a downsizing decision.

Next time I'll tackle a few things from the managerial point of view. How they see employees and what are some of the things that they (should) be thinking about.

Steve Jones ©2005 dkranch.net