Resume Pay

There are many ways to compensate an employee. When thinking about how to make a job attractive, you must take into account all of these aspects in order to determine the actual value of what you're offering a prospective employee. One of the most underused compensations is what I call "Resume Pay," which is discussed in the article below.

How Resume Pay Works
Basically, resume pay is the experience, skillsets, good references, and other marketable things that an employee gains by working for your company. While working at your company, you assign to the employee tasks which they want to learn, and responsibilities in which they would like to invest their time. They are getting this work done for you, and in return, you will be a reference should a future employer question that employee's experience and mastery of those related skills.

White House interns make little money, but can turn their experiences into millions.

The Philosophy Of Employment Slightly Altered
In order to fully take advantage of resume pay, you have to install an environment that is open and supporting of personal growth. You have to begin and maintain an honest, constant conversation with your employees about their long-term goals and personal needs -- one which most employers are hesitant, if not completely afraid to establish.

In a nutshell, you have to tell them that you know they are eventually going to leave, and that you want to help them move on to bigger and better things!

To many managers, this isn't just harmful, it seems like stability suicide. Many managers will currently fire an employee if they discover their resume being shopped on the likes of Monster.com and other employment web sites.

The Current Philosphy Is Hurting You
If you currently foster an environment where employees are discouraged from talking about leaving the company, you're only hurting yourself. Instead of giving you more than enough notice of their departure, employees are giving you two weeks or less. For some positions, this may be adequate time. For most, it's hardly even scratching the time you'll need to find an adequate candidate. (see the article "Why 'Expensive' Is Actually Cheap" for more on this)

Employees who cannot talk about moving on are also not going to talk about the skillsets they want to learn, and why. Maybe your broadcast producer would eventually like to be a broadcast art director. If she doesn't tell you she wants to learn more of those skills, she's going to continue to grow more unhappy that she's not learning them. As her morale continues to sink, her work will deteriorate, and she'll start looking to move out of your department, or even your company.

The best possible employee is one who actively maintains the dialogue with you about what they are doing, and what they would like to be doing. If you discourage them from doing this (such as by punishing them, or ignoring them), you're only hurting yourself. Afterall, your job as a manager, first and foremost, is to find the best and to keep them happy and productive. If you fail to do this, it's your fault, not theirs.

Santa promoted everyone at the company Christmas party except Bob, who got a handshake.

Even You Don't Like The Current Philosophy
Let's be real -- you would eventually like to move on to bigger and better things, too. Maybe you don't feel entitled to a raise now, but you soon will. Your friends and family talk about their new positions, salaries, and benefits during your family's Christmas party, and you measure yourself up against these peer reviews. When everybody at your 15th high school reunion has made vice president and you haven't, you're going to wonder whether your current company is good for you.

Why would you think your employees aren't thinking the same things?

Opening Up The Discussion
Sit down with each of your employees and tell them you want to help them grow. You will make it your job to give them the things they want if they work hard and give you the things you want. The difference between an employee and a contractor is that the employee is probably giving you a better price, and has made a longer-term commitment to you. As long as you realize they're giving you what you need, you've got to make sure you're giving them what they need.

Ask them where they'd like to go next. Ask them what they'd like to learn next, and why. Don't simply take note, actively listen and give you advice as to how they can better achieve their long-term goals. Introduce them to people that can teach them the things they want to know, and when you can, assign them to projects that will build the skills and experiences they're looking for.

Learn to support the long-term goals of your employees, and to discuss timeframes. Learn when your employees will be leaving long before they actually do, so that you take the time to find and train proper replacements, and to ensure smooth transitions.

Regularly Continuing The Discussion
These discussions should happen with each employee on a regular basis. Although it's your job to randomly swing by and ask them how they're doing and what's on their minds, you should regularly schedule meetings with them to follow up on their progress. You should be doing this anyway. Once-a-year evaluations are a pathetic minimum, and if you're not even meeting those goals, you are failing terribly at your job.

Try to meet with your employees every three months or less. You don't always have to turn these into formal meetings, rather, call them into your office and just give them the time to discuss what's on their mind, and what's on yours. This is the time to do two important things:

1. Evaluate Them -- It is your responsibility to be active in explaining to your employees what they are doing right, and what they could be doing better. If they're not pulling their weight, it is also your responsibility to explain why they are not, and work with them to get them up to speed. If you don't tell them specifically how you feel about their work, and their overall current value to the company, you are only hurting the company, and there is no one to blame but you. Every time you fire an employee without working hard to get them back on a valuable, productive track, it is a sign of your inability to properly do your job.
2. Evaluate Yourself -- Meeting with employees is the perfect time to evaluate your job as a manager. Ask them how they feel you are doing. Ask them where they think you're helping, and where they think you are failing to perform necessary tasks or responsibilities. Discuss with them your plans for them and your section, and ask them what they think about your ideas, and how and why they would do them differently. Remember that they can do their jobs better than you can, and probably have better ideas how you can help them do their work better.

These evaluations, in combination with your awareness of their professional growth, will help your employees gain the job satisfaction most companies discourage, and build a significantly strong team environment.

Moving On Is For Everybody
Eventually, even you will leave your company. It doesn't matter who you are, you are now living in a business environment where everybody changes companies throughout their entire careers. Even the owner of a company most likely will sell it at some future time and move on to another endeavor!

In a few years, you will apply for a job at another company, only to find out your potential new boss was a former peer, or even a past employee of yours! It's quite possible you'll be reporting to someone who is currently your contact person at a client company. Creating open, honest professional relationships now is not just good, it's required. If you become known now as being the boss who fires people without significantly helping them, or the person who discourages personal growth, you'll be the pariah in future companies, if they even bother to interview you in the first place.