Keep transition simple

Sara Miller

Now the days of working 20 years for the same company are gone, moving between jobs with professionalism and adjusting smoothly to a new business culture are desirable skills.

But how are these skills acquired? How do people extricate themselves from an existing employer without creating bad feeling? Does the intellectual property of a former employer stay protected when the move is to a competitor? And what's the best way to get to grips with a new business culture and to gain the respect of colleagues and senior management?

Richard Cane, chief operating officer for wireless telecommunications carrier Woosh Wireless, says while his previous employer, US-based PrimeCo (also a wireless carrier) did not want him to leave, it isn't proper for an employer to hold an employee back, or to make them feel disloyal for moving on.

"A business should not be an employee machine. People should not be afraid to present a new opportunity and employers should support their employees in taking up those opportunities," he says.

But isn't this a bit too hopeful? Surely former employers have a right to be affronted when their genuine investment in the development and training of an employee results in a competitor scooping the reward? And what about that transfer of intellectual property issue?

Cane says while intellectual property is typically protected through employment contracts, company policies and procedures, people still transport skills and knowledge to a new employer when they move.

He says ethically you should not reveal your former company's secrets, nor should you deliberately take customers from them. "But people will naturally take skills with them when they move and sometimes customers decide to follow those skills - there is a fine line between what has intentionally been done and what has not."

John Harland, newly appointed managing director for recruitment and psychometric testing firm Chandler MacLeod, used to work for Australian recruitment firm Manpower. He says it is imperative to maintain confidentiality between employers and to not divulge information that could harm the company being left.

"It is particularly essential not to take intellectual property from one company to another. People should be employed for skills and competencies rather than intellectual property."

Harland says the key to leaving a position professionally is to observe personal and business ethics, communicate in a businesslike manner and avoid acting on grudges.

"Don't solicit business from your previous employer, and make sure you discuss with them your reasons for leaving. So many people burn their bridges," says Harland.

Those who manage to keep former bridges intact will usually find it easier to construct new ones - particularly important if they move to a former competitor and need to gain the trust of colleagues to perform.

So what's the best way to align with a new business culture and gain the respect of colleagues? One option is to enter a new work environment gradually, working from lower to higher levels of responsibility over a short time frame.

Last month, Romanian migrant Cristian Giurgui told the Herald of his first job packing DVDs for Media Technology, the company he is now group IT manager for. Although Giurgui was qualified in IT management when he arrived in New Zealand, he says he was pleased to begin work in his employer's warehouse.

There, he got to know the business from the ground up.

Woosh's Cane took a less extreme but similar approach. Despite 16 years in the wireless telecommunications sector, and 10 in executive management, Cane initially worked for Woosh Wireless as a contract consultant. He says six months in a technical advisory role helped his assimilation into the COO position.

"It was a huge benefit. If you come in at the top it is a lot more difficult to find out how things work in the business and to learn people's strengths and weaknesses than if you are working alongside of them," he said.

Cane says new senior executives need to get staff buy-in as soon as possible and build mutual respect early. "I can work 24 hours a day and still won't get everything done on my own. I need to respect what Woosh employees tell me about the business and they need to respect the [management] experience I bring."

Chandler McLeod's Harland agrees with this approach.

"When you first start, you can earn respect only through communication and working closely with your colleagues."

He says the first step for senior executives in a new position is to talk with existing managers in the organisation, and to learn the business and personal goals of each.

Cane says one of his first tasks as COO was to gather the Woosh management team together for a two-day offsite meeting. Discussions included company objectives, an assessment of where the business was at, what needed to be done differently, and making sure each person understood their role in the company.

"It's vital to understand how the informal organisation works - how things really work as opposed to how they officially work," says Cane.

Ironically, sometimes moving between jobs is not expected to go smoothly and it is hoped new employees will not fit in. Harland says this happens when business boards seek an individual able to provoke and drive cultural change.

So is there a fast track to fitting in? Sara Miller, a sales account manager for IT implementation and consulting company Certus, says it's the simple things, like getting to grips with different IT systems that help.

"Many companies have different IT ordering systems and differ in other software applications. [Some employers] do a very brief company induction, throw you in and then leave you to gain systems-and-procedures knowledge through other people. If you are a bit shy and don't ask questions you will struggle."

Miller says people will naturally buddy up, so employers keen to assist the transition process should mix formal inductions with informal social occasions or meet-and-greet morning teas.

Cane says, "Someone who charges in and says 'right, this is what I know and everyone should follow what I say' - that's not going to work. One person cannot run a [large] organisation."

Miller, who was employed by IT consultants Computerland and Gen-I, is used to the challenges of moving between competitive organisations.

She says it's important to learn people's titles and responsibilities and to gain an understanding of their role in the organisation; rash assumptions are unwise.

Harland says employers have a responsibility to deal with leaving and arriving employees in a consistent manner. The business culture they promote to attract talent and customers must actually exist.

"So many companies say they are people-focused. That's only true if the leadership of the business is acting on people-focused policies."