Introducing the new, "realistic" loyalty pact between employer and employee.
T
he employer-employee relationship is broken, and managers face a seemingly impos
sible dilemma: the old model of guaranteed long-term employment no longer works
in a business environment defined by continuous change, but neither does a syste
m in which every employee acts like a free agent.
The solution? Stop thinking
of employees as either family or as free agents. Think of them instead as "allie
s."
As a manager you want your employees to help transform the company for the
future. And your employees want the company to help transform their careers for
the long term. But this win-win scenario will happen only if both sides trust e
ach other enough to commit to mutual investment and mutual benefit. Sadly, trust
in the business world is hovering at an all-time low.
We can rebuild that los
t trust with straight talk that recognizes the realities of the modern economy.
So, paradoxically, the alliance begins with managers acknowledging that great em
ployees might leave the company, and with employees being honest about their own
career aspirations.
By putting this new alliance at the heart of your talent
management strategy, you'll not only bring back trust, you'll be able to recruit
and retain the entrepreneurial individuals you need to adapt to a fast-changing
world.
These individuals, flexible, creative, and with a bias toward action,
thrive when they're on a specific "tour of duty"--when they have a mission that'
s mutually beneficial to employee and company that can be completed in a realist
ic period of time.
Coauthored by the founder of LinkedIn, this bold but practi
cal guide for managers and executives will give you the tools you need to recrui
t, manage, and retain the kind of employees who will make your company thrive in
today's world of constant innovation and fast-paced change.
