I recently made the jump and left my current job (Account Executive/Business Development Coordinator for a large domain registrar) to take a position with the Department of Energy. This was a pretty big change going from a private equity company to an agency that is for the people. Thus far it is amazing to see the difference in a person’s attitude when the company or agency actually cares about their employees. My new job is extremely pleasant and the people have been great.
My story is ultimately about the notice that I gave prior to leaving. Because of the way the government sends out letters for your background check, I decided to give about a month notice in case a letter was sent to my current company. As a result of what I thought was being kind, I found that many people around me started to push me away and exclude me from a great deal of projects I was previously involved with. I was alright with being pushed out of projects; the only problem was that I felt that they left a lot of feedback on the table by excluding me from those meetings.
My key takeaway has been to not push people out just because they are moving on to bigger and different things. As a manager I think it can be hard to be proud and encourage your employees to move around or move on, but I think it can also play to your benefit. Supporting staff that has the opportunity to do something new and make a difference should be praised and you should show support.
Another interesting thing that happened is that the people around me started to use “you won’t be here to see that happen” or “sure, short-timer” as excuses for ideas that I was bringing up. A couple examples were implementing certain portions of projects that were more difficult that doing something in a temporary way. “Well, you won’t be here to get that done or make sure that it gets completed.” Regardless of whether I am there or not, the tasks should be completed the right way and not the quick and easy way. When employees around you have a worse case of short-timers than you, you know there is a problem in that company…
The most powerful thing that I gleaned from the company I left is how I would never do things. I learned a lot of great things about management styles and the differences that right people can make in important positions. Having a leader that lacks personality or the ability to have a conversation with employees is not a great way to grow a company. You have to lead by talking to your team and working to help them grow professionally.
As a leader excitement should come from seeing the accomplishment an employee feels from you telling them that they did a great job, not hiding in your office like you’re afraid to talk to your employees. Take the time to meet every employee, learn their name and find something in common and that bond will have a great yield over time.
I know it’s a long post, but give it a chance as I’m sure you can relate to some of it. If nothing else, it may confirm things you already know and show you that you’re not the only one.
I just stumbled across this great post on Employee Evolution about how Generation Y is going to change the workplace. While reading this post I was surprised to see how many points I could relate to. This type of problem, in terms of lacking the understanding of how to relate to Generation Y, is a serious concern for me as I have progressed through my career. It is very common for me to meet with a baby-boomer senior manager that has no idea how to relate or what is important to my generation. I’d like to elaborate on each point with some of my personal and professional experiences:
1. We’ll Hold Only Productive Meetings
My experience has been that many companies I have worked for specialize in, what I call, over-meeting. Each company has meeting after meeting to talk about the previous meeting and there are never any decisions made. I think that moving forward on-the-spot, educated decision making is going to be key to keeping businesses moving forward and keeping Millennials engaged.
2. We’ll Shorten the Work Day
I’m a big believer in shortening the work day. Most often, you can really hammer through your tasks and move forward on projects in less than 8 hours. I believe it is important to keep enough on your plate so you aren’t bored, but I also think that management based on project quality and completion is more important than managing on the amount of time spent in the office.
3. We’ll Bring Back the Administrative Assistants
This point will take a few different forms. Gen Y will have more admin and task workers in their offices to make sure the daily things get done and maintained and also work with virtual help outside of their office. I think that making sure you have enough people to do tasks as they come up is important to allowing you stay focused as a knowledge worker and keep innovating new ideas. Gen Y will not be bogged down with details like fetching mail and filing paperwork, it just takes too much time away from the “important” stuff.
4. We’ll Redefine Retirement
Many of my friends have already taken time off for having a baby and/or to spend sometime traveling. I think this is essential to recharge your batteries and maintain the ability to keep things fresh and continue driving to succeed.
5. We’ll Find Real Mentors
Personally, I have found that having a mentor, coach, or someone that you can rely on to help you in professional development is essential for a Gen Y to take it to the next level. I have worked with a coach to help increase my understanding of baby-boomer management, how to work with them, learning about what they value in order to help connect with them. Not an easy task I tell you.
6. We’ll Restore Respect to the HR Department
This is something that MUST happen. I have yet to work for a company that understood the value of the people within that organization. People make the biggest difference in the performance and culture of an organization. As soon as a company can show they value employees and understand that a work/life balance is important, they will start to see an increased ROI within their business.
7. We’ll Promote Based on Emotional Intelligence
What a novel concept! I have seen companies overlook internal candidates that are most certainly qualified for the position in favor of someone who lacks an understanding of the space the company operates in. By not promoting within, or based on seniority, you can most certainly expect to get mediocre results and disengagement among your employees. Gen Y won’t stand for that and will expect to be promoted based on their skills, plan to upset a Millennial if you promote on seniority.
8. We’ll Continue to Value What Our Parents Have to Offer
I really value my parents opinion and their experience on almost every issue. Their experience working and managing people has truly helped me understand the importance of surrounding yourself with a great team to get the job done. Another powerful takeaway, that I’ll never forget it to always make a big effort to learn every person’s name and something about them that you can talk about. Being able to connect with people, even in a passing moment, is very powerful in developing strong relationships.
9. We’ll Enjoy Higher Starting Salaries
This must be the most important thing, money always is, right? Not really the truth, but many of my friends are commanding a higher salary purely based on their talent. Gen Y typically moves from company to company by promotion or to add to their skill set and join a new team. Doing something you love and having a great work/life balance are typically more important than money to Gen Y.
10. We’ll Re-invent the Performance Review
Another point that hits a personal note. My experience has typically been about 2 years and a few months at each of my employers. I make every effort I can to learn a great deal in the time that I am at a company and look to move on when I feel like I am no longer learning. Performance reviews quarterly are much more effective at directing traffic and performance of an individual and group. Frequent reviews and coaching helps keep everyone engaged and aligned with the same mission. Learning, growth and freedom drive Gen Y don’t be shocked by a new job every 2-5 years. Find out why they’ve moved around, I assure you it is for good reason.
Every time I go into my local Starbucks, I’m never let down. The coffee is always consistent and there is always a student or businessperson diligently studying in a corner. It has always amazed me that people are able to focus and get all their work done in that type of environment. I am the type of person that needs to be able bounce from task to task, to complete many. At Starbucks, I get to busy watching people and trying to figure out why they are meeting other people, what projects they are working on, and any of a number of other things.
So this leads me to ask you, where is your favorite place to get things done?
