In The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, the authors, three prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, propose a new employment model. Those authors are Reid Hoffman, the Executive Chairman and cofounder of LinkedIn Corporation1; Ben Casnocha, an award-winning entrepreneur as well as an author and speaker on talent management and innovation2; and Chris Yeh, an entrepreneur and avid blogger whose mission is “to help interesting people do interesting things.”3 It is their work with and as part of startup companies that led them to write the book.

 

The Current State

The current employee-employer relationship is no longer viable. Companies no longer offer lifetime employment. Employees are seen as expendable and layoffs are seen as a way to improve the company’s bottom line. From an employee standpoint, there is little loyalty toward employers. When a better offer comes along, the employee can leave the company and take his talents elsewhere. It is a sad state in which neither employee nor employer benefits.

 

What is the Alliance?

The Alliance is “a new employment framework that facilitates mutual trust, mutual investment, and mutual benefit. An ideal framework encourages employees to develop their personal networks and act entrepreneurially without becoming mercenary job-hoppers. It allows companies to be dynamic and demanding but discourages them from treating employees like disposable assets.”4

 

How do you form an Alliance?

The Alliance is based on ‘tours of duty.’ “A tour of duty is an ethical commitment by employer and employee to a specific mission.”5 These tours have specific timeframes and cover how the employer and employee will benefit from working together.

 

Types of Tours

There are three types of tours: Rotational, Transformational, and Foundational.

“A Rotational tour isn’t personalized to the employee and tends to be highly interchangeable–it’s easy to swap an employee in to or out of a predefined role.”6 It mostly used with entry-level employees and lasts for a specific period of time. “The purpose…is to allow both parties to assess the potential long-term fit between employer and employee.”7

A Transformational tour focuses on the completion of a specific mission. Lasting from two to five years, this tour is personalized allowing each party to negotiate the benefits they expect to receive. For the company that will translate into a business objective being achieved.  For the employee, it involves the opportunity to gain career experience, knowledge, and the ability to grow their network of contacts within and outside of the company.8

A Foundational tour occurs when there is “exceptional alignment of employer and employee.”9 “[T]he employee sees working at the company as his last job, and the company wants the employee to stay until he retires.”10

The type of tour depends on the needs of both the employee and the employer. “Rotational tours provide scalability by helping companies hire large numbers of employees into stable, well-understood roles.”11 “Transformational tours provide adaptability by helping companies bring in the specific skills and experiences required.”12 “Foundational tours provide continuity by helping companies retain employees who focus on the longterm.”13

 

Steps to Build Alignment

  1. Establish and disseminate the Company’s core mission and values.14
  2. Learn each individual employee’s core aspirations and values.15
  3. Work together to align employee, manager, and Company.16

 

Implementation of Transformational Tours

  1. Start the conversation and define the mission.17 What is the objective and how will both parties benefit?
  2. Set up a system of regular checkpoints for both sides to exchange feedback with each other.18
  3. Before a tour of duty draws to a close, begin defining the next tour of duty.19 Keep in mind that the next tour could be with a different company should either party not wish to pursue a another tour.
  4. Managing the unexpected: When a there’s a change in the middle of a tour.20 There are many reasons why a mid-tour change may occur.  If one party breaks the alliance, there must be consequences to that party.  If a new manager takes over, the parties must review the current tour objectives and mutually agree to any proposed changes. When performance is an issue, take a long-term view. And, if the employee wishes to move to a new role within the company, the employee is responsible for an orderly transition.21

 

Strengthening the Alliance

The last sections of the book discuss ways companies can strengthen their alliances.

Employee Networking Intelligence generates hidden data, serendipity, and opportunity.22 Employees should be encouraged to reach out to and grow their networks for the benefit of the company.

Corporate Alumni Networks are important. “Lifetime employment may be over, but a lifetime relationship remains the ideal.”23 Companies should invest in alumni groups as an opportunity to find talented people and gather useful intelligence. These networks can also be a source of customer referrals and provide the company with potential brand ambassadors.24

 

The Alliance offers a new employment model. The startups in Silicon Valley have proven its viability to engage and retain employees while simultaneously achieving their business objectives.

 

What are your thoughts on The Alliance? Let’s talk about them in the comments below!

 

 

1 Hoffman, Reid, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh. The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age. No ed. Harvard Business Review, 2014. 191. Print.
2 ibid., pgs. 191-192.
3 ibid., pgs. 192.
4 ibid., p. 7.
5 ibid., p. 23.
6 ibid., p. 28.
7 ibid., p. 29.
8  ibid., pgs. 30-31.
9  ibid., p. 33.
10 ibid., p. 33.
11 ibid., p. 38.
12 ibid., pgs. 38-39.
13 ibid., p. 39.
 14 ibid., p. 61.
15 ibid., p. 64.
16 ibid., p. 66.
17  ibid., p.76.
18 ibid., p. 80.
19  ibid., p. 81.
20 ibid., p. 85.
21 ibid., pgs. 86-89.
22 ibid., p. 102.
23 ibid., p. 127.
24 ibid., pgs. 132-136.

 

 

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