For sure, the moment the New Year came in, a lot of employees resigned from their current companies and decided to transfer to a different organization.  With such a move, they most likely thought they should just serve a different company who would provide them what they need or desire with their careers or be their own bosses by putting up their own business ventures using their savings rather than stay and prolong their miseries.  Yes, I was very particular with “prolong their miseries” because one of the major reasons why people turn in their resignation letters is that the position that they had long been aiming and working hard for was not given to them, they were given false hopes that they were going to get them eventually because they deserve them, or the management has not had anything to offer at all due to mismanagements, absence of company growth/expansion and all that.

While it is understandable that there aren’t really any vacancies (period) with those companies that have financial or manpower plights, it is definitely not excusable if the situation is something like the undeserving ones go up just because they have been in the company since time immemorial while those who deserve the promotions, even though they are relatively new, are left out at the bottom.

But how come this happens?  That is because there are some organizations that have leaders who only promote based on a person’s tenure in and loyalty to the company or worse, who only move up those who fawn over them.  In other words and in the vocabulary of some, who “kiss their a***s”.

I hope that this article reaches those office managers and organizational decision-makers who are guilty of this so as to put a stop to this unethical and flagrant practice.  For one thing, this only encourages employee attrition and secondly, it is but unfair that those worthy employees who have been exceeding the company’s expectations thru their commendable diligence and relevant contributions are taking a backseat while only those who suck up to the concerned authorities are the ones who are getting so much attention.  They have to bear in mind that not everyone has the personality of flattering them, pleasing them, staying very close to them, or making advances with them just so they could be noticed for a crack at promotions.  There are some who are just, for lack of a better term, “silent killers”.  They do not need to get attention but they are exceeding all expectations.  They do not have to get their bosses’ attention in a not-so-ideal way but they are showing a tremendous effort and commendable results.  You do not see them sleeping on company time, wasting operating hours blabbering with their co-workers, eating out during office hours, and most important of all; they work the hardest.

Think about it.  A person’s tenure or loyalty may play a big factor in considering a person for a well-deserved promotion.  This is because how long an employee has been in the company for may be indicative of his allegiance despite the ups and downs that hit the organization.  It may also be a determinant that a person is very reliable and dependable that no matter what challenges the company faces, he will stick around and will be there at the company’s disposal to serve, protect, and assist.  However, they should not be the only bases or rather they should not be the primary criteria in deciding whether a person goes up or not.

Let me give you something to ponder on.  If you were to choose, who are you going to pick? An employee who has already been in the company for ten years but has only been doing what is expected of him based on his job description or someone who has been around only half of the time the former has stayed around for but has introduced new processes, has been consistently exceeding standards, has amazingly enhanced existing processes, and has been working twice as hard as the former?  I’ll leave the answer to you.

It is worth taking note of that there are some critical consequences to promoting those who only suck up to their superiors or who are only being done a favor as a reward for their loyalty to the company. Here are just some, not even all, of them:

1. Those who get promoted but do not really possess both leadership and management skills end up failing or losing people really bad.  It is either they have challenges making their subordinates acknowledge, respect and follow them or they have a rough time managing their differences, tasks and personalities.
2. Forcing their promotions just because they have been in the company for quite a while now is like serving an uncooked or under-cooked food to a choosy restaurant customer with a very sensitive and demanding taste. Because they do not really have what it takes to be a supervisor or a manager, they are left groping for what needs to be done especially during the worst times or they do not know how to maximize their subordinates’ presence and talents or make their positions work to their full advantage.
3. Being a great leader or a manager requires not just the know-how (knowledge) and the strategies (skills) to face the challenges in the workplace and to meet the expectations of the company but also the attitude to be resilient and to remain positive.  It also entails the charisma to make the people around him look up to him, follow him, and trust him.  Remember that knowledge, skills, and attitude make up the totality of a person.  More ofthen than not, forced-promoted individuals alienate their subordinates because they do not see eye to eye frequently, they do not respect their individual differences, they do not make the most of what they are capable of doing, or they keep key decisions to themselves; leaving their people feeling they do not have a say on most things or they do not feel they truly belong.
4. Most supervisors or managers who do not really deserve their “gift” designations may already have such titles attached to their names but they cannot seem to get over with being an assistant, a specialist or an officer.  Because they are not ready for leadership positions yet, they end up doing things or spending more time doing things that are already supposed to be done by their subordinates.  This usually stems from their inability to trust and delegate thinking they could still do the job better more than they could or they are afraid that the people under them might commit a mistake or put their name, as the person they are reporting to, on the spot when they make a serious and embarrassing blunder.  It might even mean they have not transitioned from a staff member to a leader yet, which is why instead of effectively gaining from the fact they can share the workload with the members on their team, they just keep the tasks (especially the delicate ones) to themselves.
5. It has always been tested and proven that most employees leave their bosses and not their companies or colleagues.  A supervisor plays a vital role in retaining their employees or making the workplace a fun place for them to thrive in.  Therefore, when a questionable leader (usually forced-promoted individuals at that) does not know how to take good care of his people or does not understand what makes people stay and perform more; people leave and look for a better management somewhere else.  That is the truth.

At this point, on the other hand, let us talk about some of the several benefits of promoting an employee not just because of his tenure in or loyalty to the company but also depending on his contributions, leadership track record, potentiality to be a great leader, and innovative ideas.

1.  Once an industrious contributor; always an industrious contributor.  It applies all the time.  Contributors dwell in ushering something in that will help the company solve its problems, fix its issues, address its concerns, improve its processes, make it much more profitable, and contribute to its growth and expansion.  They survive with being able to introduce something new or unique that will not only please them but the company that they are serving as well.  Contributions are what sustain them and make them fulfilled and complete.  Thus, when a company promotes someone who is proven in terms of being able to contribute a lot of great ideas non-stop, that person can be counted upon to carry on with such a habit even at a higher level.  The greater thing about that is being on a higher position puts the person at a vantage point where he has a better view of things and he gets a better understanding of what must be done to better utilize his creative ideas.  He sees how everything will fit in the big picture more.
2. A person who has a more impressive and substantiated leadership background can be expected to perform better with minimal to zero supervision.  He has been there and done that.  That is why.  All he just needs is a little orientation of what is going on and he can take it from there. What more if in his previous leadership experiences, he did a lot of things that resulted to the company gaining more financially and the conduct of the business being executed more effectively as well.  With that, it goes without saying that he can be expected to know what he should do on top of understanding how to take good care of his people. Keep this in mind though.  This should not be a sole requirement for anyone who is considering his subordinate for a promotion because there are some who have yet to be promoted to a higher position.  If the decision-maker falls into this error, then it does not make him any different from or better the one who only moves people up on the basis of tenure and loyalty.  Furthermore, especially when the opening is internal and when there is potential among the different aspirants, decision-makers are highly encouraged to give their non-supervisory/managerial staff members a chance at a leadership experience.  This is the gist of what we are going to elaborate on the next item below.  Read on.
3. What is unfair or traditionally wrong with key leaders nowadays is that they fail to trace or are blind when it comes to spotting their staff members who are already ripe for promotions or who deserve to be given a chance to prove themselves on a higher position. More often than not, they confine the requisites for moving up to those who have already been supervisors or managers after graduation themselves.  They discriminate those who have just graduated recently or have never been a supervisor or a manager since graduating and they scrap their applications right away with no second thoughts.  Perhaps, they are just worried that their inexperience or lack of experience might pose a danger to the company, the department they will be assigned to, and the people that they will be supervising.  If this is the kind of thinking that they would have, then it defeats the purpose of people development which is the very core inspiration of upward movements.  You see, we do not discriminate when it comes to promoting people.  Career growth should be open to everyone for as long as they are ready and deserve it.  Take note that there are some of our employees who might not have leadership experiences as a professional yet but they might be proven and multi-awarded youth and student leaders back in college.  Who knows?  For sure, that is a big deal.  That is certainly a major statement when an employee has a backgrounder like that.  It is because being a leader in school and having a supervisory experience in the corporate world are no different from each other.  The only difference is that the former is not being paid as a student council president or an organization head and that arguably, the latter is more complex.  Nonetheless, they are pretty much the same.  In fact, it is more impressive to have leadership experiences as a student where it is much more difficult to make people follow you and to see marked results from them because they (your members or volunteers) do not get anything else in return, compensation-wise, aside from bragging rights and the fulfillment that comes with serving other people.  Believe me when I say this.  The more fresh and idealistic minds you have at the supervisory level, the more great ideas can be brought in.  In the same vein, the younger leaders are the ones that are more exposed to what is cool, trendy, creative, and marketable out there.  That means, without a doubt, having them around to help you with the crucial decision-making will work to your favor.  You just have to recognize that.

The objectives of this article are not just to emphasize the negatives in promoting people just because they are the most tenured or the most loyal and stressing the “good” in promoting based on what a person has contributed and the level of his performance.  This also aims to open the eyes of most managers (who err in this aspect) to how promotions should be done ideally and what the sound measures are.

Ergo, before looking into the tenure of an employee, it is very critical and more significant to consider the following:

1. Milestones in the company on the basis of ideas contributed and processes proposed, implemented and enhanced;
2. Degree or amount of conspicuous hard work, diligence, dedication and determination regardless of the tenure;
3. Level of performance against set standards or key indicators/areas.

The ones mentioned above should be the primary grounds of promotions and not tenure and loyalty.  Although it is much better if the candidate possesses all.

When managers and leaders understand this basic concept of employee development, then people would stay longer with their companies more.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

“Myron Sta. Ana is a renowned corporate, communication, customer service, self-development, and work excellence expert in the country who is also known for his motivational, inspirational and keynote speaking and events hosting. He also specializes in youth/student leadership and volunteerism trainings being a multi-affiliated and highly-recognized student and youth leader.

Additionally, he is the Founder and CEO of Myronosophies: The Learning and Development Powerhouse (a training and development venture) and Founder and Publisher of Mandirigmang Pinoy (a Philippine Boxing-themed online magazine).

To know more about him and his professional services, you may visit his corporate website at www.myronstaana.wix.com/myronosophies and personal blogsite at www.myronstaana.wordpress.com .“