Motivate to Initiate

The question had entered my mind before: Is it possible to work hard and get a promotion/salary increase without leaving the company?

I wanted to run it by Cris, Gina, or David, but none were around. They'd all left the company. Rumors were all that remained. "A better position.'" "A chance to move up." "More money." I guess that's why they left.

Since then, I've thought about what it takes to retain people:

• show they have an affect
  
• solicit their input (especially the veterans that have stayed)
  
• give them a career path
• compensation should be a factor of performance, not just attendance
• train them in the way they should go (and require teach back to the group)
• focus on the person, not the process
• provide time for creativity
• leadership should help them manage the workload

It seems there are two parts to being an employee: 1. what you do and 2. the environment in which you work. An employee may love project management, but without some of the above list they will go manage projects elsewhere. If you don't love what you do, and you don't like the environment, then you're better off changing job and location. You really need to strive to love both 1 and 2. If you have one, but not the other, I think you are holding yourself back. Take responsibility. Don't blame the company.

The phrase, "Bloom where you are planted." is not applicable here. That's about attitude. What I'm talking about affects your attitude; even your health. You can't just put on an attitude for your job. It may work in the short term, but won't hold up to the test of time. Honestly, I think most people can sense a lack of sincerity (if they slow down enough to care).

Many of us focus on pay when we evaluate job satisfaction. I myself am just now starting to see a trend in pay rates. It appears technical knowledge and experience affect salary ranges when you apply for a job. Technical knowledge and experience are less of a factor over the time you have a job. In many cases any pay adjustment is based solely on your title. Adjustments based on continued education seem less probable. It appears that pay is a factor of a person's responsibilities too. I've seen cases where a department grew under a manager, and so eventually they were promoted. Still we all know of cases where the pay didn't increase in that scenario. It's my conclusion that if you want more money you have to take on more responsibility, or switch to a higher paying job that fits your experience and knowledge.

One would think it's obvious that to maintain status quo is not good enough. Yet walk into any large corporation, and some small businesses, and you'll find people doing just that. Sometimes they're the ones complaining about the lack of raises, benefits, etc. How do they justify their actions? I don't think they do. I think it's just a reflection of their unhappiness. It's like the person who is sick and acts grumpy all day. Their sickness could be complacency, baggage, incorrect expectations, or even exhaustion.

So what do we do? Is it management's fault? Doctors can write prescriptions, but it's up to the sick patient to take their medication. Somehow we've got to stir up the energy to do something . As a manager or as an employee do something about the situation. Do something about our skill set. Do something about not being heard. Look around. Find a way.

Otherwise I have to ask, is it possible to enjoy a job for more than 4 years?