As you know I am a huge hockey fan. The concept of free-agency (restricted and unrestricted) is part of contracts in the NHL (also in other major league sports leagues). When you are a restricted free agent (RFA), you contract is not at an end, but can be re-negotiated when certain points (age, performance) are met. Those renegotiations can turn tedious and leave an impact on the relationship between player and club and sometimes they even effect the outcome of a season.
In a corporate environment, especially in the communications industry, employers have to watch out for “silent” RFAs. Those employees who have been with the “club” for a while, have done their duty, put in their hours, and who are thinking about the future. They want to move on to their next “contract” which they feel they deserve. Although agreed upon contracts maybe termed “open-ended”, you as an employer need to be watchful and address those contracts in advance. The last thing you want to do is loose a perfectly fine employee just because he got bored with his situation.
Have a look at your org-chart right now and identify the people who you didn’t sit down with in a while for “the talk”, be proactive. Especially in these times it is important to retain your good guys.