1. Reframing Employer-
Employee Relationships
Personal Thoughts on Reid Hoffman’s The Alliance

2. Reframe what, you say?

3. Activating the Non-Engaged Employee
“Well, I generally come in at least 15
minutes late, after that, I sorta space out for
an hour. I just stare at my desk, but it looks
like I’m working. I do that for probably
another hour after lunch too, I’d say in a
given week I probably only do about fifteen
minutes of real actual work.”
- Peter Gibbons, Office Space

4. What I’m Going to Cover Today:
● We need to reframe employer / employee relationships
● I will introduce to you a new perspective on employment
● Based on some of the key points in my talk, I hope that can encourage
NEO’s managers and employees to create mission-focused and
personally rewarding work.

5. Why Is This Important
● For most of my recent work history, I’ve felt disconnected & under-utilized, out
of sync with how my goals and values fit with my employer’s until I came to
NEO.
● I have always been fascinated by how companies can motivate & retain
employees.
● Importance of company culture; influences positivity & loyalty
● Neo practices many of these concepts but can always improve.

6. Introduction to the Concept of “The Alliance”
● The Alliance is a book on a new framework for
companies to develop their talent, by Reid
Hoffman, co-founder and Chairman of LinkedIn.
● Hoffman argues that employee/employer
relationships are based on lies. Employees have
a different set of motivations & goals than the
company. Neither side is acknowledging that
difference. Creates a disconnect.
● What if we had a working contract between
managers and employees that aims to define and
align the employee’s personal/professional goals
with company mission & goals.

7. Traditional Employer-Employee
Relationship is Broken
● Traditional Employment
○ 50’s and 60’s was an era of big business that could offer long-term
employment with benefits and pensions.
○ A new employee could stay in same company and climb the corp ladder.
○ Loyalty on both sides - like a marriage.
● Breakdown
○ Traditional career ladder is broken
○ Life-long loyal employment at companies shortening b/c pace of
innovation ; unprecedented pace of company creation & destruction as
well as an increase in employee opportunities
○ Trust & loyalty less meaningful in business: Employees feel expendable
○ End of long-term thinking and relationships between employee & company

8. How Do We Fix It?

9. Solution 1: Building Alignment
● The emerging model of employer-employee dynamics is built on establishing mutually
beneficial relationship
● Starts with thinking of each other as allies in a win-win environment, recognizing the
value of your employees. Working-with vs working-for.
● Aligning company and employee’s Missions, goals, values and aspirations
○ Honest conversations between employer and employee
○ Define expectations and benefits of relationship
○ Enable employees and employers find overlaps and commonality
○ Create a Statement of Alliance that lays out a mission for the employee to lead to

10. Constructing the Alliance Contract
Terms of the Contract
● A pact that defines scope of work
● Timeframe
● Goals
● Sweet spot where company
mission and goals overlap with
employee
● What the company will do for
employee’s career
● What the employee can do for the
company
Goals of the the Contract
● Build Trust
● Strengthen employee / employer
relations
● Commitment
● Loyalty
● Productivity/engagement
● Encourage long term thinking
● Transactional work is transformed

11. Solution 2: Create ‘Tours of Duty’ as
New Work Paradigm
● What is a “Tour of Duty”? Tour of Duty for military soldiers is a structured
period of time spent performing operational duties for a specific mission. It is
part of a rotation of similar tours over several months.
Within the context of work, a tour of duty is short-term, project-oriented work designed to support
employee and employer goals in a mutually beneficial way.
As a manager you want to construct an environment where your employee can help to transform the
company for the future and your employee wants the company help them transform their careers for
the future

12. 3 Levels of Tours of Duty
Designed For Focus Commitment Transition
Rotational Incoming and
entry-level
employees
Learning the
basics & entry-
level training
Few months
to a year
To another rotation
or Transformational
or leave
Transformationa
l
Mid career
employee
Mission
oriented:
Transformation
of an
employee’s
career while
impacting the
company
Usually 2-5
years
Negotiate a new
Transformational,
leave, or move to
Foundational

13. 3 Levels of Tours of Duty (cont.)
Designed For Focus Commitment Transition
Foundational Senior For long-term
employees
who serve as
stewards of
the company
mission ;
Preparing
employee to
lead
Ongoing Long-term

14. Solution 3: Network Intelligence, Alumni Networks
● Embrace Network Intelligence
○ Encourage employees to cultivate relationships outside of the company via
conferences/linkedin/meetups/lectures
○ Helps employee grow their professional network & in turn helps companies stay relevant.
“Lifetime employment might be over but a lifetime relationship
remains the ideal” -Reid Hoffman
● Alumni Networks
○ fosters sources of expertise for new employees
○ creating alumni networks is great for both employee and employers
○ Keeping alumni connected, creates a boomerang effect; they can return for a new
tour

15. Why Consider Applying These Practices Here?
● Re-energize passions
● Create a vibrant collaborative and innovative culture
● Get unstuck - both employee and employer
● Create a sense of purpose at work
● Ensure higher retention of employees if they are engaged
● Create more loyal employers and employees
● Strengthen the long-term alliance between companies and its talent

16. Thank You!