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When I was running a small state intel shop, one of our concerns (especially as the analysts began to make a name for themselves) was the possibility of other agencies "poaching" them...many tried, none succeeded. Here& #39;s some thoughts to hold on to good people...
First, make sure that keeping your high flyers is good for both *them* & the organization. Sometimes, it& #39;s time for them to move to new opportunities & professional development.
That said, a bigger paycheck or prestigious organization doesn& #39;t always equal better opportunities.
That said, a bigger paycheck or prestigious organization doesn& #39;t always equal better opportunities.
I couldn& #39;t compete with federal agencies on pay or access to "cool secret stuff" so what did I offer instead?
1) Opportunity for junior analysts to have a seat at the table & demonstrate their subject matter expertise.
This was HUGE.
1) Opportunity for junior analysts to have a seat at the table & demonstrate their subject matter expertise.
This was HUGE.
Our rule was, if it& #39;s your portfolio/product, you& #39;ll brief it...regardless of the audience (there were a VERY few exceptions).
This was different from what our analysts saw their peer doing...frequently senior people would brief the work of junior folks & get the credit.
This was different from what our analysts saw their peer doing...frequently senior people would brief the work of junior folks & get the credit.
2) Professional development - Instead of pay increases (which we couldn& #39;t alter) we carved out training budgets for everyone so we were able to get analysts to some big conferences & training events that most agencies wouldn& #39;t send their analysts to.
3) as a subcategory to that, we made sure to get our analysts access to leaders in the field like @selectedwisdom @intelwire @MiaMBloom & this was seen as a BIG advantage over their peer in other & #39;big name& #39; agencies where junior analysts didn& #39;t seem to get the same opportunities
4) We also experimented (successfully) with a "deputy bureau chief" opportunity where I& #39;d rotate analysts for a month and have them help run the shop. They& #39;d work budget, scheduling, leadership issues, etc. to prep them for leadership positions
5) We afforded them time/flexibility to explore analytical lines that may not have seemed to have immediate applicability to our mission but kept their intellectual curiosity fired up. Sometimes they& #39;d get six months in & find nothing...sometimes they& #39;d hit gold.
6) We created strategic plans with our analysts so that they& #39;d have some predictability of what opportunities they& #39;d have over the coming year.
This all was pretty resource/time intensive for me (I had to take a significant amount of work home to make sure I could do these things at the office) but:
a) if you& #39;re going to say people are your most important resource you should treat them that way
b) it was fun
a) if you& #39;re going to say people are your most important resource you should treat them that way
b) it was fun
Generally, I told my analysts we& #39;d expect to keep them 3-5 years & then they& #39;d be ready to move on (and up!) as we wouldn& #39;t have a whole lot of offer them at that point.
But before that time, I think we were very competitive in terms of a complete package of opportunities
But before that time, I think we were very competitive in terms of a complete package of opportunities
One caveat...With all this opportunity can some hefty expectations in terms of professional bearing and quality of work. They were, after all, representing a state cabinet official, sometimes on VERY weighty matters, as well as the reputation of the office.
They did great!
They did great!
