I recently got a burger, and more than 50% of the receipt I got was an advertisement for applying for a job at the restaurant. What do you think the ROI of receipt-advertising is?
Let’s ask CVS…
If you are, have been, or aspire to be a manager of some sort you have most certainly heard about The Great Resignation. If not, then let’s just go with this definition I found from William Meller on LinkedIn, as I feel like it’s a pretty clear definition. Essentially, The Great Resignation is the phenomenon we’ve seen with record numbers of people leaving their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic. (Side note: I feel like every time I say “The Great Resignation” it should be proceeded by lightning and thunder and ominous music like a 1960s horror flick.)
Of course, if you’ve been paying attention, this has been a major topic on pretty much all financial and business news outlets since mid-2021. Almost everyone knows someone who has switched roles, and many would argue that you’d be crazy not to. After all, inflation is starting to eat a larger and larger share of our paychecks, currently running at 8%. That pinch is real; if you haven’t gotten a major raise in the last 12 months, you’re likely to be making less money in terms of purchasing power than you did last year. So, of course it’s been true for a while that larger raises often go to people when they switch companies – not those who get promoted within the same company. In effect, every time you get promoted some say you’re giving your employer a “hometown discount.”
With growing incentive and normalization of people switching jobs and employers, a lot of managers are starting to spend a ton of time on programs to keep talented staff right where they are – in their jobs. From stay interviews to retention incentives to previously unheard-of flexibility to work from anywhere, employers and managers are throwing everything they have at employees to keep them on the job. And in some cases, it isn’t working at all; I know of several organizations that are looking at a turnover rate of 30% or better this year. In a function like IT that relies on relationships within the organization as often as the “hard” technical skills, that kind of turnover can significantly hamper a team’s ability to execute successfully.
And yet as I type this, I am incredibly humbled that my team has had zero turnover during this “Great Resignation” period so far. In fact, it actually goes back a little further than that. As fantastic as that is and as much as I celebrate it, what’s really baffling to me is that for years, I have done everything in my power to make sure that my team can leave this job and find another quickly.
Who am I kidding? I was born during the cassette revolution. The only record player I ever had was this one.
(This is the part of the blog that should have a record scratch to indicate that I said something totally unexpected.)
You didn’t misread that; I actively try to make sure that everyone on my team can walk out the door and get another job tomorrow. I’ve said repeatedly for years that I’m happiest when everyone on my team can rapidly find somewhere else to work. Why? I’m so glad you asked. It actually boils down to three reasons. Let’s take them one at a time.
To start, I want everyone on my team to be able to get another job quickly because the future is unpredictable and I want them to land on their feet. First and foremost, I care about the wellbeing of everyone on my team. I legitimately want them to be able to take care of their (and in some cases their families’) needs. While I am fortunate that working in the public sector is generally quite stable, there are occasionally serious disruptions. Even without Covid, I have lived through what in Massachusetts are called “9C cuts.” Very simply, the Governor has the authority (under Section 9C of Chapter 29 of the Massachusetts General Laws) to make spending reductions when there is a budget shortfall and there is no (supplemental) money to fund that shortfall. That means that if the state budget is in crisis, our budget can be slashed.
These 9C cuts happened once in 2008 or 2009 and resulted in the first time I had lived through layoffs. I saw people lose their jobs overnight and saw how hard it was for some of them to get hired elsewhere. I kept in touch with some of these folks, and saw that the ones with the freshest, best skillsets were able to get jobs much faster than those without. Of course, this is obvious and almost second nature for most, but having lived through that, I realized that sometimes disruption can come out of left field, and I want everyone to be able to land on their feet so that something beyond their (or my) control doesn’t do substantial and/or lasting harm to their well-being. So, for that reason, I want them to be able to quickly obtain a new role so that they are able to tend do their needs.
Not only do people often leave training with new technical skills, but they also come back to the office with a renewed vigor for the work itself.
The second reason I want everyone on my team to be able to get a job quickly is because if their skills are valuable elsewhere, they’re valuable here, too. I feel like everyone on my team has in some way entrusted me to help shape their career. While I cannot make someone learn a new skill or develop in a particular way, I can provide all the opportunities and the time and support to do so. I take my commitment to providing training opportunities and skill building very seriously. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never denied anyone a training request. I have asked that someone consider a different training option, but I have never just said “no.” I’ve said it on this blog before, but IT isn’t an industry marked by change – it’s an industry defined by it. If your team’s skills aren’t kept sharp, then naturally they will not be able to work on the latest and greatest technology for any organization – including yours.
On the converse, if they are up-to-date with the latest technology skills, they will be in-demand in the marketplace because they can have a transformative impact on any prospective employer’s IT team. However, if they can do great things for a potential new employer then they can also do great things for you. The challenge of course is to make sure that you’re always giving people an opportunity to stretch and grow so they keep adding that value to your organization. I would much rather have someone on my team who is getting called by recruiters because they’re clearly capable of doing great things than have someone on the team who the market realizes isn’t in possession of valuable skills. There’s also an element of caring about your team in this second reason as well. If you don’t keep your skills sharp as an IT Pro, one day you’re going to find that your job has been obsoleted. As I’ve become fond of saying: what do they call the world’s very best Windows NT administrator? Unemployed. As a manager, if I ever have to lay someone off because their skills weren’t a match for our company any longer, I consider that as my own personal failure. I should have led them better.
Finally, I want everyone on my team to be able to find a new job quickly because if they are able to easily leave their role, then the simple fact that they are still there is a good indication that they want to be there. I’ve worked with people before who are simply unable to find another role, and yet they hate the one they have. These people quickly sour and do their best to take everyone around them on their emotional bus tour of misery lane. They hate what they do, do substandard work, and make the lives of everyone around them worse. They would love to do something – anything – else, but even though they’ve applied a few times to jobs, they haven’t even gotten an interview because their skills aren’t really in demand in the marketplace. So, their only option is to hold onto their current job – and because their attitude is so bad, they don’t make a good-faith effort to improve their skillset, so the problem just worsens year after year.
What? No - of course I don’t feel trapped in my car. Why would you say something so silly? We’ve been partners for 16 years, now.
…It haunts me every day.
Clearly, this is a terrible situation that is miserable for everyone involved - that employee, their leadership, their colleagues, and the people who depend on their work product. However, it is simple to remedy. If they are in a great position to get hired elsewhere, you can have a frank conversation with them that if they’re unhappy that you’d support them looking elsewhere. Heck, you can even offer to be a reference for them. The important thing is that they aren’t stuck as they have options to go somewhere else. It’s never healthy to feel stuck in anything, a job, a relationship, or a 2007 Toyota Camry XLE V6. I want to make sure no one on my team feels stuck, because then they can make the conscious decision to stay in their role because they are happy.
Ultimately, The Great Resignation and related vocal groups like r/AntiWork on Reddit are reshaping the discussion around what employers and employees want out of each other. It’s fair and appropriate to insist that you are being paid what you’re worth, but I think there’s a lot more to a job than just your paycheck. (Clearly, I must feel that way to have an almost 20-year career in the public sector). So often, I think some of these job switches are for nonfinancial reasons as people seek a better quality of life. I think part of the way that we as managers can help influence the stay-or-go decisions that our team members are facing right now is to make sure that they have opportunities to grow and develop and feel like a valued part of the team. If they feel like they’re being paid fairly, that they have opportunities to continue to grow, that they work with great people, and are valued - at least you have a fighting chance to retain them. So much of this equation relies on how you lead your team and the environment that you create for them.
As it turns out, doing many of these things or providing these opportunities may make them more marketable at another employer. And again, I think that’s a good thing. It’s easy to think of an employer/employee relationship in IT as a strictly transactional role: you do this technical thing, and I’ll pay you for it, but like all truly solid team relationships, there’s quite a bit more involved. I like to think of it as a bit of an unspoken contract that looks something like this: As a boss, I’ll provide an environment that is challenging, supportive, respectful of your unique value, and gives you opportunities to grow and stay at the front of your industry. In return, you’ll bring your A-game and try to add substantial lasting value to our operation.
In such an arrangement, one of the ways that I make sure I’m keeping up my end of the bargain is to be a boss that strives to make sure that my team can quickly get a new role if they so choose or if they need to because ultimately, it’s good for them - and I truly believe that it’s good for us as an organization as well.
Questions for reflection:
Have you ever had a manager that held you back from training or prevented your development? How did that impact your feelings towards your employer?
What potential risks do you see for an organization where everyone would have a very difficult time finding a new job quickly?
What are some tools you can use as a team leader to ensure that your team is happy in their current role?
