TOURS OF DUTY: THE NEW EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE COMPACT

For most of the 20th century, the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. But none of the new approaches offered so far have really taken hold. Instead of developing a better compact, many - probably most - companies have tried to become more adaptable by minimizing the existing one. Need to cut costs? Lay off employees. Need new skills? Hire different employees. Under this laissez-faire arrangement, employees are encouraged to think of themselves as "free agents," looking to other companies for opportunities for growth and changing jobs whenever better ones beckon. The result is a winner-take-all economy that may strike top management as fair but generates widespread disillusionment among the rest of the workforce. A workable new compact must recognize that jobs are unlikely to be permanent but encourage lasting alliances nonetheless. The key is that both the employer and the employees seek to add value to each other. Three simple policies can make this new compact tangible. They are: 1. hiring employees for explicit "tours of duty," 2. encouraging employees to build networks and expertise outside the organization, and 3. establish active alumni networks to maintain career-long relationships.