The shadow knows: performance expectations of new hires in an IT organization

ABSTRACT

As organizations reshape themselves to meet market and customer demands, expectations companies have of their employees change, which means employment contracts must also change. Social research on organizations has gained interest in recent years, but research on psychological contracts has been particularly limited. Rousseau (1995) noted the importance of performance expectations, but that these expectations were frequently not conveyed to employees, due, in part, to the dynamic nature of the industry and the market. Performance expectations, however, are of critical importance for organizations, as they provide predictability, enablement, and clarity (Rousseau, 1995), which are all essential for organizations, particularly in a dynamic environment.This paper examined performance expectations for newly hired information technology (IT) professionals in a systems development organization of a large telecommunications company in the US in 1998. Expectations of middle managers, upper managers, and technical team leaders were gathered and summarized, and analyzed for trends, differences, and similarities. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore expectations of both IT professionals and an IT organization, and provide a recent, accurate summary of expectations of new hires. The intent of this study was to assist prospective employees, newly hired employees, and hiring managers and their organizations by providing consistent documentation and clarity in organizational goals and expectations. Once preliminary areas are noted, additional research may then provide specific needs. By providing consistent, current and accurate information, IT professionals can learn more about the organization in less time, match their skills and goals more effectively to those of the organization, and quickly become contributing organizational members.For organizations, this could assist hiring managers by enabling common understandings, potentially reducing cost and turnover, increasing retention rates and creating more productive working relationships.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Management techniques (e.g., PERT/CPM)

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Training; Staffing

General Terms:
Management

Keywords:
employment contracts, employment relationships, organizational and individual expectations, performance expectations, psychological contracts, technical professionals