Once at the plant where I worked as an IT director, they were preparing reports for some kind of regular event. It was necessary to calculate and provide indicators according to the issued list, among them there was a staff turnover. And then it turned out that I have it equal to zero.
Of the leaders, I was the only one, thereby attracting attention to myself. Well, I was surprised myself - it turns out that when employees do not leave you, this is strange and unusual.
In total, I worked as a manager for 7-10 years (I don’t know exactly which periods to include here), but zero turnover has been preserved. No one has ever left me, no one has ever been kicked out. Just picked up.
Zero turnover, as an indicator, has never been my goal in itself. But I try to make sure that the efforts invested in people are not in vain. Now I’ll tell you about how I manage so that people don’t leave - all of a sudden you find something useful for yourself. I do not pretend to complete the disclosure of the topic, tk. I'm only based on personal experience. It's possible that I'm doing everything wrong.
Manager's responsibility
I have always believed that the failures of a subordinate are the failures of his leader. Therefore, I always smile when I hear how the boss at the meeting vilifies his subordinates.
If I manage a person, and he does not work well, then I am doing something wrong, and bringing him to the required (me) level is my task. Well, i.e. I have to think about how to make a man out of him, not him.
I stumbled over this point several times. A man comes to me and wants to quit in a month. I ask - what are you? And he--I don't qualify. I say, why do you care? Well, he says, I'm bad, I should be fired.
I have to explain that if it does not work well, then this is something wrong with my control system, and I will change it. And he should not take a steam bath and just work. I'll think of something.
Accounting for individual characteristics
Sounds trite, but I use it. People are very different, and you need to use it. One is a good developer and needs privacy. Great, here are your headphones and the far corner, you will receive tasks by mail. Another loves and knows how to talk and win people over - great, go remove the requirements and hand over the tasks.
The third one is slow to think - ok, he doesn’t care about doing it on the support line. The fourth has 8 out of 10 in terms of "Luck" - that means get the most stupid tasks. The fifth one does not have abstract thinking, cannot design a solution in his head - excellent, we use a Korean breakfast.
Well, etc. There was a time when I tried to scratch everyone one size fits all - it doesn’t work, it causes internal resistance. Everyone wants to be themselves.
People in employees
I always try to see people in employees, and talk to people, not employees. These are completely different entities.
An employee needs to fulfill a plan, behave in a certain way, go to corporate parties, etc.
A person needs to pay a mortgage, take a child to training during working hours, cry in a vest, get more money, gain self-confidence, think about the future.
So I try to work with a person, and not with his projection on corporate standards.
Release from work
Oddly enough, many people have such a problem - get the hell out of work, especially if it needs to be done systematically. Then you need to work it out, then take a vacation at your own expense, then coordinate an individual schedule.
And I myself have children who go to some kind of training all the time. And for four years now I have never worked all day long.
I do the same with my employees. There was a dude whose child went to a speech therapy kindergarten, and there you have to pick it up before 17-00 - it’s a pity or something, let him leave an hour earlier every day. Well, there are all sorts of things to go to the hospital, to the Christmas tree to school, to run away to buy insurance - no problem at all.
Oddly enough, no one has ever abused it. And they appreciate it a lot.
Corporate values and standards
I wanted to spit from a high bell tower. I used to believe in this nonsense when I worked in the first office, then I realized that it was nonsense. As the design of the stores - one is blue, the other is red, in the third they give sausage to try, in the fourth fresh bread. Wouldn't I in my right mind go to a store just because it's red?
And I spit myself, and advise my subordinates. I don’t forbid, of course, if someone has a high need for belonging and wants to participate in the production of a musical, but I won’t support it either.
DEF
Protecting the employees of the company, as a rule, falls on the company itself. For example, from the bureaucracy. If everyone is forced to write some kind of report, then I try to save my own from this, sometimes I take this report on myself.
It happens that you need to protect yourself from people - managers, customers, other bosses, etc. Programmers are often introverts, and there is little experience in office swearing, so I transfer the conflict to myself and somehow try to resolve it.
Profits
There is a problem with programmers - it is not always clear what they are paid for. Therefore, it is difficult to make it so that they pay more. But I'm trying.
Usually I go through a change in the motivation system - I come up with one so that I can earn more by putting more effort or increasing efficiency. Those. everyone has one system of motivation, and mine has a different one. Then they ask other departments to come up with a motivation system when they see the effectiveness of the programmer.
Working after hours
I hate working after hours. Therefore, I strongly advise everyone not to do this. At the plant, this was the basis for constant conflicts with other leaders.
They are used to leaving their people after work and taking them out on weekends. They need a programmer on Sunday - they come and demand. And I send. I say that they are stupid deer, since they cannot plan their work in such a way as to meet the 8-hour day.
Manipulation
Any person can be manipulated, including the leader. I think it's disgusting. Therefore, I stop any attempts to manipulate me.
I never have favorites, ugly ducklings, right hands and favorites. And anyone who tries to become one gets a lecture on manipulation.
Goals
The goals that the company sets, I always supplement or completely replace. The final goal of mine is always higher and wider.
In general, to be honest, the goals of employees are not normally formulated in any company. There are some general, meaningless, and therefore not motivating.
And I put ambitious. Well, something like double the performance.
Personal goals
I try to find out the personal goals of everyone, and help them achieve them through work. Usually, the personal goals of programmers are somehow related to the profession, or can be realized with the help of it.
For example, if a person wants to become a boss, I help him. Now I have opened an internship program, a sandbox for managers - I just give part of the team to management, I help, and, with normal results, the person receives the team at permanent disposal.
Forced development
I make you develop. Based on the fact that I recognize development only through practice, a person simply receives tasks that are difficult for him.
Not all, but 30 percent - something unfamiliar, new, complex. So that the brain constantly strains, and does not work on the machine.
Now he has generally made development the norm, laying it in metrics. Those. there is no nirvana at all - every month you have to grow. It seems to work so far.
Conflicts
I love conflicts because they reveal problems. I do not pass by, but pick it up and look for a solution. This applies to both internal and external conflicts.
In general, one should rejoice at conflicts. There is nothing worse than hidden problems that pop up at the most inopportune moment.
Contacts outside of work
I take it to zero. No corporate parties, meetings, outings and trips to laser tag. If they meet somewhere without me, don't care, that's their business.
It seems to me that meeting the team with the leader in an informal setting is self-deception. Everyone seems to understand that the boss there is no longer the boss. But everyone remembers that tomorrow - to work. And they can't relax completely. So, the situation is no longer quite informal.
Atmosphere
This is where it's hard to explain. There is always a certain atmosphere, mood, mood, tension, relaxation, electrification, lethargy, etc. in the team. Atmosphere, in short.
The boss should be responsible for this atmosphere, i.е. I. I constantly monitor this atmosphere. Even not so: I create it. And then I monitor and correct. Those. I work as something like an animator, clown or toastmaster.
I just noticed that the atmosphere has a magical effect on efficiency. I even have figures on this topic, collected for two years, I’ll write about it somehow. With the right atmosphere, you can grow two or three times without using any other methods.
In principle, it is enough to take the atmosphere into the zone of your responsibility, and then it somehow starts to work out by itself. I don't know how else to explain.
without ceremony
I try to minimize any court ceremonies and communication etiquette. To make communication as simple and effective as possible.
At first, when the employee has just arrived, it is very difficult. It is unusual for people when the phrase “well, you wrote nonsense” is not a curse, but just an assessment of the code. We have to explain, to catch at the exit those who thought that they were hinting at the need to quit.
The most buzz comes later, when everyone gets used to it. No need to chew snot and clothe speech in some kind of standards. Is the code shit? So we say. Is the dude dumb? Tupit. And didn't go in the wrong direction.
Unconditional submission
I always seek unconditional obedience. If I said not to work today, it means not to work today. If I say one hour to write code, another hour to walk on the street - so be it. He said to remove the second monitor - it must be removed. I demand to change places - there is nothing to breed nurses.
This is not a fool, but experiments and testing hypotheses. Everyone knows this, so they don't resist. They, as they say, are for any kipish, except for a hunger strike. Because the results of these experiments increase their efficiency, income and develop competencies. Therefore, no explanation is needed.
special
I noticed that people like to feel special compared to the rest of the company. That's why I make them special.
We almost always have our own system of motivation, our own goals, our own methods, our own performance, our own approaches and our own philosophy.
People especially like it when this feature of them is watched from the side, or even from above. I try to make it so. Well, there, so that the director knows that we are increasing efficiency here, and we are succeeding, and he earns more money. Then I kick him to come and praise people. Well, they rejoice like children, and continue to try.
Quality requirements
I have high quality standards. Well, you remember - so that the boys are not ashamed to show. I extend these requirements to subordinates.
Just because I think it's a useful skill. Well, because I am responsible for what subordinates do.
Often I force to redo, if possible. But more often, I try to be present at the design stage, so that it would be normal right away.
And people get used to it, and they start to like it. First of all, because others have lower requirements, which means that mine has a competitive advantage.
I help a lot
Well, I'm not giving up. If a task needs to be done, then we do it, not him. Those. the whole team is responsible, and since I am part of this team, then this rule applies to me.
If you need to do it urgently, but the person can’t cope, I sit down and help. If it’s not rushing, but the deadlines are running out, I kick out and sit down to do it myself. Then, when we pass, I explain how and what should have been done, what was the mistake, etc.
I make you help each other
Again, not just like that. In our field, competencies are very important, especially in the subject and methodological areas. And they are always scattered among people. Therefore, the efficiency of solving any problem jumps from performer to performer at times.
In general, it is enough to make sure that everyone knows the tasks of everyone. In the morning we quickly spoke aloud, and immediately there were touches. One says - oh, I did the same. Great, you will help.
Like that. One dude did the task, no one could help, spent 10 hours. The second time will do in 1 hour. The other dude, if he is not helped, will also spend 10 hours. And if you help him, he will spend 2 hours. And it will take 5-10 minutes to help. As a result, we save time, and we get two dudes who can solve this problem.
Yes, but you have to force it. Programmers don't like to talk to each other.
Dismissal kit
Somewhere I already wrote an article about the dismissal kit, I will not repeat it. I always tell people what: you are here temporarily, so take everything you can from work. The only thing that cannot be taken away from you at the exit is competencies, experience, connections, skills. This is where you should focus.
No need to try to integrate into the company, study its history, prospects, who sleeps with whom, who earns how much, etc. This is meaningless information, because after dismissal it cannot be used in any way. So don't waste your time on it.
The main feature of the layoff kit is that the person who works for him brings more value to the company than the dude who just came to sit at work. Because doing good for the company is also part of the firing package. A very useful skill.
Show the world
No, I do not organize bus tours for employees. I just try to talk more about what is being done in the industry as a whole, at other enterprises, with other people. Exactly so that people understand their current location.
In a person's self-esteem, his goal-setting, the context, or scale, or standards with which he compares himself is extremely important. If he looks only at two colleagues, then it may well be that he is the best programmer in this world. And if he looks at what the guys from the neighboring enterprise are doing, then the assessment will immediately shift.
I want mine to have the most adequate assessment. So that they think in terms of the whole country, not the IT department or the village. Then they want to develop.
Conclusions
Conclusions are up to you. I have outlined the entry and exit, but I have no idea if one is conditioned by the other.
Entrance - how I manage.
Exit - zero turnover.
It is quite possible that the people do not leave, not because of, but in spite of the way I lead. Then I just wonder why they are sitting here.
But there are markers that I carefully collect.
The first is that when I quit, the team almost always scatters. Can't work with a new boss.
The second is that recently one of my exes went to an interview at a large plant, and the director was ready to take him just because the dude worked in my team.
Third, completely unfamiliar people began to come to me, who came specifically to me, and not to the company.
Fourth, strangers periodically write to me on the Internet and ask me.
Fifth, people from neighboring teams began to come to me. In such numbers that the team is growing at times.
What do you think?
Source: habr.com