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http://pete.io/Hiw9 You can watch this talk here: http://vimeo.com/65544302 How to retain your hardest to hire positions (DevOps, System Automation, Release Engineering) Abstract: We all talk about how to recruit and hire DevOps minded people, but something we don't often talk about is how to manage and retain them once you have hired them. There are lots of studies and statistics that discuss how expensive it is when you lose an employee. Often times the business side believes the only way to keep employees is via monetary compensation, and this is a terrible way to motivate. I have found that motivating thru autonomy and purpose can yield a much higher benefit to all parties. Most important to Startups as they often are more cash constrained and need to compete with more profitable and established companies. The Theory of Constraints states that an hour lost at a bottleneck essentially shuts down your organization. What happens when your constrained group (most likely your evolving operations team) loses a highly valued engineer? In this presentation, I want to discuss some of the techniques that were helpful for me when trying to keep my team motivated, when the world was coming down on our heads. Techniques found within process and culture changes such as Agile and DevOps, collaboration and cross functional teams, help everyone to feel as though they are part of something greater than themselves. My talk will expand and focus on the specifics of what has worked for me, and hopefully provide enough options that most any company could cherry-pick and start using within their organization. With the ultimate focus of keeping people happy and productive members of your team.
Citation preview
How to Keep the People You Need
System AutomationRelease Engineering
Operations
@petecheslock@DynInc
Pete Cheslock
Twitter - @petecheslock
Github/Freenode – petecheslock
Director ofDevTools
Pete Cheslock
Twitter - @petecheslock
Github/Freenode – petecheslock
Director ofAutomation
Pete Cheslock
Twitter - @petecheslock
Github/Freenode – petecheslock
Director ofRelease Engineering
Pete Cheslock
Twitter - @petecheslock
Github/Freenode – petecheslock
Director ofGSD
Pete Cheslock
Twitter - @petecheslock
Github/Freenode – petecheslock
Director ofDeveloper Happiness
Disclaimer
I’m not advocating The Right Way™
Shared Experiences from: Past/Current Companies Books Blog Posts Personal Interactions
You may not be able to keep everyone
@petecheslock
@petecheslock
YMMV
http-//www.web-cars.com/mpg/epa_ymmv.php
@petecheslock
About Myself
Network/System Admin
Pre-sales
Infrastructure Consulting
Building and Managing Ops Teams
Work/Recruit for companies you’ve never heard of (until recently)
@petecheslock
Recruiting = Sisyphus
Difficult
Painful
Forced to Repeat for Eternity (or so it feels like)
http://blog.anthonycoletraining.com/Portals/10395/images/sisyphus-resized-600.jpg
@petecheslock
Losing People Sucks
It’s even more painful when you realize you could have avoided it.
http://robbieabed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/im-a-quitter.jpg
@petecheslock
Feels Like Failure
Recruitment
Retention
Everything Else
http://leujin.deviantart.com/art/Failure-is-always-an-option-141252872
@petecheslock
Who’s Hiring?
Everyone
Actively Recruiting, Interviewing, Etc?
@petecheslock
Not that bad?Really?
Two Weeks Notice (Sometimes Four)
Two Weeks “Intro to Company”
Three Months Full Ramp-Up
Four Months Total?
Probably more like 6 Months.
@petecheslock
Constraints
@petecheslock
Didn’t Read the Books?
“An hour lost on the bottleneck is an hour lost on the entire system”
“An hour gained on a non-bottleneck is a mirage”
What happens if Brent quit?
Redundant Keymasters?
@petecheslock
http://cdn3.hark.com/images/000/659/522/659522/original.jpg
@petecheslock
System Shutdown
Projects Slow down
Days get longer
More Stress
More People Leave
http://www.dashe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/snowball_effect.png
@petecheslock
“Common sense is not so common.”
- Voltaire
@petecheslock
Money
http://x959fm.com/blogs/post/savery/2013/apr/15/bad-tattoo-day-pay/
@petecheslock
Money
“Everyone takes a paycut to be here”
Above market offer turns into a huge bump
You need to take money off the table
Monetary adjustments = short term fixes (at best)
STPR http://x959fm.com/blogs/post/savery/2013/apr/15/bad-tattoo-day-pay/
http://arnoldzwicky.s3.amazonaws.com/BizarroCarrotStick.gif
@petecheslock
Money
http://arnoldzwicky.s3.amazonaws.com/BizarroCarrotStick.gif
@petecheslock
What Drives Us?
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us: Dan Pink
@petecheslock
I tell my daughter what to do, not my engineers
@petecheslock
But I Need Work Done?
Align work with an owner
Back off and let them work on it
Offer support as needed
Filter unnecessary distractions
@petecheslock
Mastery
Get better at something that matters
Continuous Learning
Skill Improvement
http://www.midwestusergroup.org/RubiksCube.JPG
@petecheslock
Purpose
"I want to write code that no one will ever use"
-Nobody, Ever.
Being a part of something greater
Fulfilling, important work that matters.
@petecheslock
Story Time
We had Nagios
Nagios annoyed my Devs
My Devs annoyed me
@petecheslock
http://www.menspsychology.com/blog/frustration-and-how-to-deal-with-it
Wild Idea Appears
“There is a better way to do this…I think”
One week for a POC
One month for an MVP
Replaced Nagios 2 weeks after
Opensource and Community
@petecheslock
@petecheslock
@petecheslock
Open Source Projects
Gives people ownership
Can make it easier to recruit later
Costs can be minimal
Benefits can be massive
@petecheslock
Unlimited Vacations
You have to have the culture to back it up
“Umm..You already have taken 3 weeks…”
@petecheslock
Unlimited Vacations
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18ixlb19u5z7njpg/ku-medium.jpg
It should not be a way to avoid burnout
@petecheslock
The Remotes
You want to scale, in this economy?
Talent > Location
A manager is responsible for the output of their team
It doesn’t (shouldn’t) matter where people are contributing from.
@petecheslock
The Remotes
You want to scale, in this economy?
Talent > Location
A manager is responsible for the output of their team
It doesn’t (shouldn’t) matter where people are contributing from.
@petecheslock
Conferences
They’re Important (In moderation)
Opportunity to see new technologies
Learn new and interesting solutions to problems
Build a Personal Network
@petecheslock
Unscheduled Time
http://www.georgeambler.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/reflect.jpg
@petecheslock
Culture
Free Food/Snacks
PingPong Tables
Beer
@petecheslock
Culture
Free Food/Snacks
PingPong Tables
Beer
@petecheslock
High Levels of Trust Across the Organization
Personal Ownership and Responsibility
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lodph06Pd51qfcygro1_250.jpg
@petecheslock
Challenging Meaningful Work
Employee Ownership
High Levels of Trust
@petecheslock
Treat Them Like Adults
@petecheslock
@petecheslock
Thank You
