I agree that the way we behave towards our staff (senior and
otherwise) is the important part. Unfortunately, we have two problems
in that area.
First, we have recently been interacting with the RSE in ways that
seem unlikely to encourage strong professionals to expect positive
treatment. I do not think that was the intention, even of those who
want changes in the series. But I think it is a likely effect.
Second, we are in the process of hiring the person who, if the RSE
were to be an employee, would be that person's boss. So it is hard for
anyone interviewing to judge how the organization will work. Again,
that was not a deliberate choice on anyone's part. But it is an
important part of the reality.
It seems to me therefore that we have to find ways to define and
describe the job so that we can give likely candidates confidence in
what they are likely to face / be supported by. While the formal part
of that falls to the RSOC, we all share in the informal part of it.
Yours,
Joel
On 7/29/2019 2:08 PM, Wes Hardaker wrote:
Michael StJohns <mstjohns@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Let me run a few terms past you (we can quibble about each, but this
seems to be the general set I've seen - there are variations within
each):
I think your terms and definitions are reasonable, so I won't quibble
about those. I've been on both sides of most of those terms. And none
of them are as rigid as you state, of course, because there is a lot of
gray area in any definition list. I've seen contractors be told exactly
what to do and be micro-managed (and they put up with it or they lose
the contract), and I've seen employees be let free to roam and do what
they thought was best because they were hired to be smart.
* Employee - generally at will employment, most positions within a company, can be
told what to do, when to do it and how to do it generally by anyone above them in the
food chain. Generally only has a single employer (at least for salaried employees).
Your use of "can be" in the employee definition is the important part.
Its not the definitions of the position type that matters. It's how we,
as the organization and people that are defining the role interact and
manage said role. If we want to attract and keep good talent for the
critical RSE role, then the way to do that is by being the type of
organization and manager that will attract talented folks and make them
want to stick around regardless of the business relationship type we select.
[...other quotes snipped for length...]
