Monday, March 12, 2007

Note To Employers: How To Tame A Geek

 
There are many reasons to let geeks work the way they want to work. Today they work in every industry. They are the knowledge base, blood and sweat equity of many businesses. They work harder than most. They work longer than most. Their job isn't a separate "thing they do" while they look forward to going home and relaxing. Geeks *live* what they do. They eat, sleep and breathe it. They are your systems administrators, your IT team, your programmers, your web developers, your designers… and sometimes even your customer service and sales people. Anyone who understands how to leverage todays technology to increase intelligence, productivity and efficiency; anyone who stays up nights working to get better at what they do; anyone whose job is their life - is a geek. These are the most important asset your company has. For this reason, its important to give geeks what they want. Best part is, if you do, they most likely will not leave your company to work for someone who will.
 
Found via Reddit, but blogged, and quite successfully, in my opinion, by Nomadishere, the Seeker of Truth.  He goes on to actually list eight ways to satisfy this distinct personality type at the office.
 
Reading the article, I tend to agree with a lot of the points made; I think the post is an excellent summary.  As an employer, I would guess that following through on several of the mentioned suggestions would make any intelligent, tech-oriented, slightly compulsive but hard-working person pause before vaulting a position. 
 
On the other hand, if you ARE that intelligent, tech-oriented, slightly compulsive yet hard working person, you might find an employer who actually follows the eight steps outlined in the article rather difficult to find.
 
Good suggestions.  Your mileage, however, may vary.
 

 

No comments: