![]() So, even successful Amazonians frequently face compelling opportunities to work elsewhere. Companies of all types attempt to lure away successful Amazonians post their one-year marks because these Amazonians have become a proven quantity and have been forged by the Amazon ways of doing business. And I was not, by any means, an exception. It certainly did happen to me - after I clocked my first year at Amazon, the number of companies trying to poach me (via LinkedIn and elsewhere) jumped significantly. And they are lying in wait, happy to take advantage. Given Amazon’s hectic pace and its focus on results, the one-year mark is a huge deal. In a way, Amazon has become a cradle of talent, bound to move on to bigger projects, which at times means having to leave home. And yes, finishing your first year there is a badge of honor. Working at Amazon is like a Navy-Seal training, which empowers you and teaches you skills you didn’t have before. After a year, lots of top performers find themselves courted by other employers who know that to have lasted for a year, or longer, at Amazon is a badge of honor. Amazon is prone to dramatically improve the skills of those who work there, by putting its best people in charge of ambitious projects. Why is that? In a way, it happens because Amazon is a great place to work. What is also true though, is that, around the one-year mark, some strong performers start leaving Amazon too. ![]() As a result, Amazon seeks out underperformers and jettisons them from its organism like foreign bodies. ![]() In addition, the culture welcomes the efficient removal of such underperformers, in order to improve output as rapidly as possible. In an environment that sheds an incredible and constant amount of light on accountability, it’s impossible for underperformers to hide. What enables Amazon to “fire well” is its strong culture, which obsesses over results. Facebook, Netflix, Amazon.) This is true: Amazon is exceptional at removing its underperformers quickly. You can Either hire well or fire wellĪs the adage goes, successful companies either “hire well” (e.g. But, as is usually the case, there is more to this than meets the eye. Even though headcount growth seems to have slowed down since, it does remain a factor that drags down Amazon’s tenure. As of March 2018, Amazon had grown its total headcount by 60%, year over year. To be fair, there is a lot of truth to this statement. If you ask an Amazon PR person why the high attrition, you will hear how Amazon’s rapid headcount growth deflates the average retention number. Amazon’s Official Explanation is that its Headcount Growth Deflates its Retention The main point is to offer a base hypothesis of why the average tenure at Amazon tends to be lower than tenure at other tech companies. I am sure that the one-year-tenure estimate is more of a directional number than an absolute one. However, my main point is not to debate the veracity of this estimate. And 2) Payscale’s latest survey of employees’ median tenure at a number of companies, pegs Amazon’s tenure at exactly one year. Why is that?īefore venturing an explanation, I should clarify a couple of house-keeping items: 1) the one-year-tenure estimate excludes Amazon’s fulfillment-center employees and seasonal employees. The average tenure of a full-time Amazonian is roughly one year, while tenure at other tech places like Facebook, Apple, and Google tends to be roughly about two years.
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