What Does Your Implicit Contract Say?

When 300 engineers at a major East Coast utility were told to re-apply for jobs in their department as part of a major reorganization, they were livid.

"I've been here 18 years."  (Longevity means immunity to change)

"I hired the idiot who's running this thing." (If I gave someone their job, they won't mess with mine)

"They already know what I can do." (I only have to prove myself once)

"No other utility has ever had to go through this." (This place isn't being run according to the norm)

"No one told me this could happen when I was hired." (This wasn't part of the deal)

"My wife and I have planned our retirement for 23 years." ('They' are responsible for my cradle-to-grave existence)

The Danger of The "Invisible Assumed"

When you signed on with your current employer you probably discussed:

Salary, benefits, corporate vision, the marketplace, performance expectations.

Chances are you won't  become really upset as a result of any of those items changing a bit. It's the ones you assumed to be true that will come back to haunt you.

You'll become disenchanted as a result of someone breaking the implicit contract .

The contract that you created in your own mind. Visible only to you.

In the real-life example above, the implicit contract had to do with the unspoken nature of Utilities:

Stable, Secure, Lifetime Employment, Methodical Career Progression...

No one ever said those things out loud. They were just "known."

Q: Do you and your spouse get upset about what you talked about before you got married or what you assumed would be true?

Tips for Employees and Employers

Employees:

1. Before you sign on the dotted line, check out your assumptions.

2. Make a written list.

3. Check out their validity with your prospective company or boss.

Employers:

1. Before introducing a change, take a look at the culture.

2. What is it that drew people to your company in the first place?

    Security? Action? International travel? Work close to home?

3. If one or more of those traditional characteristics (the unspoken attraction) will change, then help neutralize the impact by discussing it openly.

Tell what is going to happen and why. Explain the reality of implicit agreements and that you realize this might be one such example. You'll give people a mental model to understand what they are experiencing.

Finally: What happened to our  300  engineers?

a. They had been told before the process started that no one would lose a job with the company. They would hopefully be better matched as a result of the process. And, everyone did remain employed.

b. The department as a whole was more effective.

c.  About 10% chose to retire rather than  make the change.

What is your implicit contract? How did your employer's reputation contribute to that?

For more on Change:

Making Changes: Does Everyone Know Why Part I

Making Changes: Does Everyone Know Why? Part II

Change or Die from Holger Nauheimer

Photo attribution: www.barco.com

Comments

[Dean Fuhrman]

One of the problems is that frequently neither the employer nor the employee take the time to articulate their underlying assumptions let alone examine them to see what is valid and what is not. What may then happen is that reality collides with the cherished assumption with resulting disappointment.

This may be another case where what is required is a well balanced person, either employee or employer, to drop their ego and become totally aware of what script they are running and what that is doing to their actions. Easy to say, difficult to do.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Dean,

It is easier said than done, for sure.

Part of the issue is that we don't take time to try to "be aware of what we're not aware of".

[Dean Fuhrman]

Steve -

Do you find it an interesting aspect of life and work that so much is running under the radar, behind the scenes, mostly in our heads, and that paradoxically most of what is happening there is what is the driving force of our actions?

[Steve Roesler]

Dean-

That is one of the most meaningful questions I've been asked in a long time. So meaningful that it forced me to think about what I do for a living and why.

You made me realize that what I actually do in my organizational consulting practice is this: I find patterns of performance (or lack) and uncover the unspoken or "unaware" parts so that they can be dealt with explicitly and productively.

That is really what I do in a nutshell. And yes, it is absolutely fascinating. In fact, in between our exchanges here I got a humorous email from a client (Engineering firm) who joked, "Are you our spiritual advisor or performance consultant?" His reference was to an under-the-radar situation.

The exact description was below my own radar screen until you asked the question.

The Emperor Has No Clothes!

Thanks for the wardrobe.

[Chris Young]

Steve...

You always have an interesting perspective.

As an OD "behaviors and values analyst", I see something very interesting here.

First... We are talking about engineers - who (for the most part) aren't always the biggest fans of "change". They like to think things through. That is probably what makes a good engineer a "good engineer".

Second... I agree completely with your advice about looking at the culture. The opportunity here is to look at the collective behaviors and values of the group as well as at the individual level to understand the thought process and adjust from there...

Third... I agree with your "check your assumptions" thought... I believe we see our lives in terms of the "stories" we create. We make assumptions and we see the rest of our lives in that "light". The other day, I convinced myself that my keys were in the car. They were on the counter right next to my books I was reviewing. When I left - I grabbed the books - ran to the car and was absolutely certain that someone had moved my keys. They were right where I left them! It should have been obvious. But I didn't "see" them the first time.

The mind is really quite powerful. "It" sees what it wants to see.

I really enjoy your blogs, Steve... Keep them coming!

[Steve Roesler]

Chris, thanks for your professional take on the phenomenon.

What seemed to help the engineering group the most was a carefully designed, systematic, step-by-step, detailed process of what would happen, when, and how.

The client (V.P Engineering) reviewed my process and then edited it into something that he knew would help his department understand the changes. He used to laugh at me because what I thought was "detail" his mind still processed as "concept."

Now: about my eyeglasses that are still lost in the car (maybe they're near your keys!):

I've convinced myself that a missing pair of glasses are in the car under the passenger seat. They "have" to be. I last remember seeing them on the seat last Thursday. So each day I comb the car knowing that I will find them. On Saturday I decided, "Aha! I'll go out at night with a flashlight and shine it under the seats. That way I'll see the glare from the lenses and snatch those little buggers!"

Sunday I took the car through the local car wash. I paid for the "extra super duper" so the guys would come close to detailing the inside. They insist there were no eyeglasses anywhere.

Today it is Wednesday. I just came back in from the garage and the specs still aren't where they're supposed to be. Thus, I'm banging out this--and all other correspondence--while wearing prescription sunglasses.

Do you have a little something in your bag of OD/behavioral tricks that will help me address the issue of "Reality in the 21st Century"?!

Thanks for the kind words about the articles here, Chris.

Look forward to seeing you again soon...