Sometimes, as a manager in a technical organization, you realize you need to change technologies. In my experience, this is a change that takes place over time. So when I’ve used this strategy, I have hired people with expertise in the new technology and who could coach my current staff with their learning. And, I have hired people who could do the current work and learn the new technology. I paid more attention to problem-solving skills, adaptability, and cultural fit rather than technical skills. And I paid attention to the levels of the staff I was hiring, to make sure I didn’t bring in people at all one level.
Let me caution you against a technique I’ve seen used: relegate current staff to the “old stuff” and bring in new people to use the “new stuff.” I don’t recommend it. If you have some staff who don’t want to transition to the new technology–ok. But my experience with technical teams is that most people want to learn and use the new stuff. If you use this technique, the team will lose trust in your ability to watch out for their interests. Since you aren’t looking to help them learn, they will find a manager who will–generally at another organization.
I received an email recently from an engineer who was considering a job at a non-profit. They offered him a much lower salary than he was expecting, because they were a “non-profit.” Some people are slimeballs, even if they work at non-profits.
A non-profit has revenue. A non-profit pays salaries and benefits to its employees. What distinguishes a non-profit from a profit-making company is just this: A non-profit does not distribute gains to its shareholders. That’s it. The gains go to the employees, the cause(s), the salaries of the top execs, etc. But not to shareholders. The best-run non-profits have most of their gains go to the cause, not the employees, including the execs.
So if anyone tells you they can’t pay you a reasonable salary because they’re a non-profit, ask to see the salaries of the executive team. I bet those people are paid “reasonably” for their positions. And if they are, so should you.
Lowballing anyone on salary is a no-win/no-win position. Savvy candidates won’t take a lower-than-expected salary (unless you’re negotiation on things other than money). Employees who realize they’re underpaid quickly go somewhere else. And then they’ll tell anyone who’ll listen how unfair that employer is.
The bottom line is: know your worth as a candidate. If you’re a hiring manager, know what this position is worth to you and what people would expect for this position. Then negotiate on salary fairly and reasonably, so you have a win-win.
Sometimes, technical managers realize their groups aren’t performing all the necessary work, and worse, the people in the group don’t have the background or capability to do the new kind of work. The example I used in the book was that of a test manager who had been hiring testers who had all the same functional skills (manual black box testing), and now needed to have testers with different functional skills (performance and reliability testing).
I have a difficult time with this one. My expectation is that the manager should be able to foresee when their processes need to change. However, there are certainly managers out there who don’t have the technical knowledge to foresee when their group’s work needs to change. If you are one of those managers, bone up on what the people in your organization do and could be doing.
But especially if you’ve taken over a group with all one kind of skill, or if you realize that you can’t do the work as you’ve always done it, this strategy is one to consider.
What’s most important here is the set of functional skills already in your group and the set you need. Defining those functional skills requires care; I suggest you review the job analysis and make sure you understand the activities and deliverables required.