So Your Assignment Ended… Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love The Bench

By Matt Graham in collaboration with Stephanie Sunday 

Gripping the overturned trophy, the petrified homeowner skulks towards the slightly ajar door.  Only shadows thrown by an aquarium lamp and overturned furniture illuminated his path. The audience knows that certain doom lay just beyond the threshold of the door as the man inches closer, eyes shifting nervously. As he reaches out shaking fingers to push the door open, you fill the theater with a panicked “DON’T GO IN THERE!” 

If you’re like most regular SolutionStream employees, you’re hired, put on an assignment and happily code/manage/boss/design/sell/recruit away. You remember hearing about The Bench but the idea is slightly foreign. When you see that an end to your assignment is looming and another one hasn’t been chosen for you yet, The Bench can seem a bit more ominous. To you, it’s uncharted territory.  After all, an assignment ending feel exactly like the last time you left a job. You pack the box, eat farewell spaghetti with coworkers, and drive off.  

Tomorrow is Monday morning. You picture sitting at a strange desk at SolutionStream office, wondering what you should be working on. Rumors of sideways glances and second-class citizenship have you losing sleep and eyeing your resume. Going on The Bench can feel like reaching shaking fingers to push the door as your inner paranoid screams “DON’T GO IN THERE!”   

Being on The Bench means you’re not on a project. 

That is, there is no client that SolutionStream can charge for your 8-hour day. But this does not mean non-productive. Nor does it mean that you’re a target. Being on The Bench is one of the things that sets SolutionStream apart from our competitors. When you’re offered Bench time it means that the company values you and pays you while you’re between assignments. 

Please note that management is equally anxious to get you off the bench as they are happy to have you there.  

Life from the bench. A perspective seen by RC:

I am now on the bench for the second time in my 5 years at SolutionStream. My last project ended a week ago, and honestly I was looking forward to the break. I was stretched to learn some things I hadn’t been able to learn previously. I was very grateful for this opportunity to grow but I also felt like a new project would do me well.

My new project is ramping up shortly but in the meantime, I have a few days on the bench. I work on internal projects; we have projects that need attention too. I have also been working on the text that we are adding to our microsite. Because I am still an employee and being paid, I try to find any work I can do. Even if it's outside my wheelhouse.

The bench is an opportunity to build your knowledge and shouldn’t be wasted.

When there isn’t anything else, then I learn something new or If I know what I am going to be using on my next project, then I can get a jump start studying up on it before hand. I’m also a Manager. For me, I have enjoyed the work it takes getting my practice to be its own standalone offering. 

Benched. The perspective of DG:

Downtime can sometimes be inevitable in this industry. While on the bench, I’m a bit board, I’m scraping for projects. Because after all, I am an employee, not a contractor I’m still paid full-time hours and worked on internal projects for the company.

Being on The Bench is a good time to reflect on your own responsibility as a SolutionStream employee. While it may be up to Sales and Management to find you a new assignment, there are many things you can do to increase the likelihood of finding something quickly. 

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking: We operate like any other software company. Our employees are just that, our employees. Not contractors.

1) Ask for projects. I’ve often been on projects where we need short-term testers, documenters, bug-fixers. Check with the managers of all the practices, asking for spare projects. Ask about internal project you could contribute to.  A “Will work for food” and “I do windows” attitude will speak volumes here. Don’t be afraid to scrounge. 

2) Be productive. The Bench can sometimes feel like a refuge from client demands, but don’t check out. Talk to your Manager about technologies you’re interested in learning, and have a plan to get started. Reporting that your Bench day was filled with “Learning and writing small mobile apps” instead of “Family Guy on Netflix” will show your commitment to SolutionStream and will help you in the long run.

As a side note, no company (besides Netflix) appreciates you watching Netflix on the clock.

Remember that The Bench isn’t a shadow-filled, creaky-floor room that you should avoid. It’s more of a mahogany-lined reading room with great friends and endless possibilities. Use your short time on the Bench to help people get to know you, learn new things, and find new ways to contribute. After all, you are still a member of the team. 

?Photograph Credit:

• Twitter @Talkingbench
• Twitter @Fromthebench
• Facilities at University of Pennsylvania