A Lifetime In The Company!

Some experts believe that one needs to work in a company for a long time. Others argue that it is useful to work in different jobs and at different companies. In fact, the ideal working period varies according to the company, sector and employee. There is greater loyalty in companies which have an established corporate culture and HR policy. In addition to those who are motivated by changing jobs, there are also those who are more productive as the result of working for decades in the same job. But experts still think that the ideal time to work in a company is an average of five years.

Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy started at Xerox as a sales representative in 1976. She made herself a good career plan in the company. In 2001, in the culmination of her career plan, Mulcahy took over at the head of the company.

John M. Barth is board chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls, one of the most important automotive supply brands in America, and to date he has always worked in the same workplace. When he was appointed CEO in 2002, the company issued the following statement explaining the reason for his appointment: “We have been working with John Barth for 17 years. For this reason, we in the management look on him with confidence. He has a very strong relationship with customers, suppliers and employees.”

There are many similar examples in Turkey. Arçelik General Manager Gündüz Özdemir started his career in 1972 as a sales representative at the Koç electronics company Beko. He has been working in the same group for 36 years. “Koç Holding will be my first and last workplace,” says Özdemir and advises those starting out on their careers not to change jobs frequently.

Orka Group General Coordinator Osman Arar has been working in the group for 17 years and explains the reasons for working for so many years in the same place as follows: “When I started at the Orka Group a total of 10 people were working in the company. Today I am general coordinator of a group which employs 1,100 people, The corporate culture here is very important.”

The Ideal Time Spent In A Job
According to Joseph L. Bower, who is a professor at Harvard University, the ideal time to spend in a job depends on how long the person remains productive. If employees do not lose anything in terms of productivity even though they have been working in the same company for many years then, as far as the company is concerned, they become the best employees.

Ayşen Arıduru from Fortune Danışmanlık says that the ideal time to spend in a company is at least 4-7 years. “For example, for middle level management the ideal number of workplaces is 3-5, while for high level executives it is 5-7.”

Murat Kaan Güneri from MKG argues that the length of time spent in a company needs to be as long it meets the employees needs and that the ideal period is 3-7 years.

Longer Duration In Production
There are differences on a sectoral basis in the lengths of time spent in a job. For example, the length of service tends to be longer in sectors engaged in manufacturing. The leading sectors in this regard are consumer durables, packaging, automotives, electrics, foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals.

On the other hand, with the exception of the top level positions, there is a higher rate of circulation in tourism, hotels, retailing, stores, IT, finance, construction, services, the media and communications. When one looks at the world in general, it is noticeable that employees tend to spent longer at companies which are quoted on the stock exchange.

Hande Yavuz
hyavuz@capital.com.tr