Job tenure is defined as the amount of time an employee has been with their current job. Tenured employees are viewed to be more loyal to the organization and are known to have strong opinions about the organization. The decision of granting the employee tenure status is determined by the time the employee has been employed at the organization.
Comparing Tenure Experiences
New to the Working World
When a graduate sets foot in the working world, they usually start off with an internship or an entry-level position. These types of work experience give candidates their first exposure to the working world. Gaining work experience is key for boosting their employability in the future. It gives them the foundation of a basic skill set that they can continue to build on as they grow professionally.
Connecting with fellow new employees in an organization can help build a network. According to Forbes, building a network “provides the chance to vent shared frustrations, brainstorm ways to handle common obstacles, and generally feel less alone throughout the internship process.” Interns are the grunts of the working world. But the grunt work gets them to learn the value of time and efficiency in the workplace.
Consultancy
There are various types of consultants that come into a company, such as business consultants, sales consultants, marketing consultants, and legal consultants. In general, consultants act as advisors and implementors on projects. Depending on the requirements of the client, consultants provide the necessary information the client needs for their present and upcoming projects. In general, consultants take on projects for the purpose of developing their skill set.
Consultants start at the “junior” level and eventually move on to the position of “Senior Consultant”. Responsibilities for such a position include project management, managing client teams, contributing to sales, marketing and leadership strategies in the organization. As they move up the ladder, senior consultants graduate to the position of a named partner. Partners have a better and higher chance of achieving tenure. According to Indeed.com, partners make the final decisions for the clients in terms of the decisions for a project and the projects to take on.
New to the Company
Employees that are “new to the company” are not necessarily fresh out of college. These employees could be people with years of work experience that are just transferring between jobs. The whole point of new hires is to bring fresh perspectives to the company. Organizations will hire candidates who has worked in a particular field of expertise and can bring that knowledge or expertise into the organization. Experienced employees that are new to the organization bring in high levels of energy and enthusiasm because they are excited for a new chapter. The excitement can come with a clear mind of the goals they want to achieve and a strong work ethic, depending on their previous work experiences.
Transferring between jobs can be a blessing and a curse for employees. When an employee transfers between jobs, they are either stepping into a new line of work or they are stepping into the same line of work with a different company. Stepping into the same line of work can allow the employee to get complacent, or they could use their expertise from their past work to bring fresh energy to their new position, thus finding new ways to apply their previous knowledge. Should they choose to enter into a new line of work, this will allow the employee to learn more and get excited about new topics that will enter their horizon of learning. No matter what work a new employee does, either in a new opportunity or working on the same field, there are many ways to stay engaged, and continue learning, so organizations should foster environments to support that growth.
Tenured Employee
As mentioned previously, tenured employees are employees who have been associated with the organization for a long time. Tenured employees are not just part of the organization. They are the organization. They know how the game works. They’ve seen all the ups and downs and can continue representing the company in the long run. There are two types of tenured employees – short-term tenure and long-term tenure.
Tenure does have its perks; however, it also has its disadvantages. The perks include job stability, expertise in the field, and personal and professional leave privileges. By staying with one organization for the long-term, an employee can accrue benefits and opportunities, depending on the company’s perk structure. The disadvantages of being tenured might manifest as professional complacency and lack of career development. This can come from a company not giving any new or different support to its employees in the long run. Tenured employees are a font of institutional knowledge for an organization but can’t continue to grow unless given the opportunities and options to learn more diverse or technical skills while in their position.
What It Means to Reach Tenure
Reaching tenure is like reaching the peak of stardom. It’s that beautiful feeling of relief when an employee knows that their job is theirs forever. Tenure is granted to an employee based on the number of years they have spent in the organization. According to Foreign Policy, an employee is granted tenure because the organization guarantees that they are the expert in their field. The organization has faith in the employee that they will be able to continue to grow in their field for the rest of their life.
As a tenured employee, options for branching into other opportunities are usually available, such as passing on the hard-earned knowledge from tenure through serving as a leader or manager or taking on mentorship opportunities. A tenured employee could also seek new and challenging roles and projects after proving their skills over their time at the company, and could also put their time and energy towards learning new skills to improve their current work.
Understand Your Employees with PxidaEX
To better understand your employees and what they need to stay and continue to grow at your company, you can use PxidaEX to gather their feedback on their experience. This way, you know what aspects about their experience matters to them so that you know how best to support your workforce. By gathering and acting on their feedback, employees will see that their employer is open to evolving and changing based on how the employees experience and work towards the company’s goals. This will allow you to retain your talented workers longer, and keep their expertise at your organization to continue helping your company grow. Try out PxidaEX for your organization and employees today!