There is much debate about what is an optimal time of staying with a company before moving onto pastures new. Unashamedly, I’ve had the pleasure of working for Zonal for 12 years and as the company has evolved so have I.
In that time the business has grown six-fold from 100 employees when I started to more than 600 and counting. My role has grown and with it my knowledge and understanding of the business. Have I become stale and complacent? No – this business and the role I play within Zonal excites me as much today as it did 12 years ago.
At Zonal I am not the only long-timer. We have 111 employees (18%) with 10 years or more service, starting with our CEO Stuart McLean. Being the son of our founder, Zonal is all he has known and he’s proud to share that he’s never had a CV! That’s not held him back – far from it.
Dave Banks joined Zonal 24 years ago working while he was a student in a part-time role as a Helpcentre Analyst. He has since held a number of positions within Zonal and is now our Service Delivery Director.
It’s a similar story for our Tech Lead, Gerald Sieker who has clocked up 35 years’ service. He began his career with us as a Till Developer and would never have imagined a world where he was developing pocket size systems for smartphones and tablets.
But what we all have in common is the fact our jobs haven’t stayed the same. We’ve been given the opportunity to evolve with Zonal and access all the training and support that we need to thrive. I am delighted to share that last year we made 49 internal promotions across the business. Some people will have remained in their current departments and others will have moved into new positions. This is a trend we’re immensely proud of and one we aim to further improve.
For tech companies, average tenure sits at under two years. At Zonal, our average is 5.6 years.
If you enjoy your job, feel that you have a clear career path and the support in place to achieve your goals then why move because you think it’s time? If you think the grass is going to be greener, then it probably isn’t. We’re also proud of the fact, many of our leavers choose to return to us!
There are also positives for businesses where their top talent is compelled to stay. They build a good understanding of the business and how it operates. And through progression, they learn the ‘bigger picture’ over time and develop invaluable insight and knowledge to become Subject Matter Experts (SME).
So, don’t get hung up on how long you have been in a job but consider how much are you getting from it. After all, life is for living and work should be a part of that and not just a means to an end.
