Tales from a botched reorg

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud There probably is some truth to that spin.... I just don't see everybody packing up and leaving without some other 'thing' happening... its not like you were being beaten every day and now it is up to three beatings a day...

If it was an improving economy you would likely see people leaving regularly but not in groups - more like a neverending stream. When a group leaves right after a reorganization it's a stretch to point to external factors. If the folks at the top identify and monitor top performers, they should be very concerned right now. If they aren't talking with the folks that have remained, especially the remaining top talent, they are pretty clueless.

[Bestwifeever]

Brewer, good luck on the interviews--and good to have people precede you out the door so they can hold open their new doors for you one day if you need them to.

And Ed--

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy HAHAHAHAHA! When we lived in Chi-town, one radio station chanted how this was "the great North West territory". Since when??

Ah but it is/was--from 1787 to 1803, Northwest Territory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (more historical info than one would ever want to know). And Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. was founded in 1851 ... "to serve the people of a region that had once been known as the Northwest Territory."

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB If it was an improving economy you would likely see people leaving regularly but not in groups - more like a neverending stream. When a group leaves right after a reorganization it's a stretch to point to external factors. If the folks at the top identify and monitor top performers, they should be very concerned right now. If they aren't talking with the folks that have remained, especially the remaining top talent, they are pretty clueless.

The powers that be started a review process of all the most promising senior staff and lower level officers before the the troops began deserting by the platoon. I am part of it and the review has strong overtones of "run all the prize sheep through the same dip."

These people most hear what they want to hear and nobody that I know would bother risking being frank with them.

[BigNick]

Reorgs can also have their upsides:

[brewer12345]

We got a missive from above, which was a claasic of its kind. Among other things, it acknowledged the recent departures and said that this is a good thing because it means that the business climate is improving and it helps infect spread to other firms our culture and view of the world. Uh, yeah, right.

Meanwhile, I got an offer out West. Its not quite up to what I want, but workable and the hiring manager hinted that there is wiggle room so I think we can work it out. It will involve a messy relocation, but I escape the mess here, get to do interesting work, and get my post career move paid for now. Plus I will be able to look up Dex.

[73ss454]

Just be careful, you may find him.

[KM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 We got a missive from above, which was a claasic of its kind. Among other things, it acknowledged the recent departures and said that this is a good thing because it means that the business climate is improving and it helps infect spread to other firms our culture and view of the world. Uh, yeah, right. Meanwhile, I got an offer out West. Its not quite up to what I want, but workable and the hiring manager hinted that there is wiggle room so I think we can work it out. It will involve a messy relocation, but I escape the mess here, get to do interesting work, and get my post career move paid for now. Plus I will be able to look up Dex.

1 - If they really believe that, then that is scary. If they really believe that the staff will beleive that......then that is even scarier.

2 - Congrats on the job offer!

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KM 1 - If they really believe that, then that is scary. If they really believe that the staff will beleive that......then that is even scarier. 2 - Congrats on the job offer!

The upper reaches of management in this place say such wacked out nonsense on such a regular basis that I have no idea what they really believe. Clearly the staff will be chuckling over this statement for weeks.

Thanks. I am ready for a new chapter in my life.

[samclem]

Don't go! This employer would be grist for hundreds of funny posts. What would have happened if Scott Adams had left Crocker Bank and Pacific Bell?

[East Texas]

Best of luck to you. If they reorganize you out of a job, would you get a severance package?

I agree with samclem... you could entertain us with the "company line stories" for at least a couple of more weeks.

[Lakewood90712]

Paid relocation at least takes some of the sting out of it. Cost of living (Real Estate) varies a lot on the west coast, as does the weather in relation to distance from the ocean. CA property tax rates are low, however income and sales tax rates really stink.

Hope it is a for profit co. I left Mega Corp in 2000, for work in municipal gov't . Employment issues in the gov't sector are really bad now. I would gladly go back to Mega Corp, and work for the worst boss I had back in the , er , uh , good old days. Most of the nut-case bosses here in Govnm't would not be last even at the most evil mega corp.

[Rambler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 Paid relocation at least takes some of the sting out of it. Cost of living (Real Estate) varies a lot on the west coast, as does the weather in relation to distance from the ocean. CA property tax rates are low, however income and sales tax rates really stink. Hope it is a for profit co. I left Mega Corp in 2000, for work in municipal gov't . Employment issues in the gov't sector are really bad now. I would gladly go back to Mega Corp, and work for the worst boss I had back in the , er , uh , good old days. Most of the nut-case bosses here in Govnm't would not be last even at the most evil mega corp.

Ah, California. Love the weather most of the year, but we produce way too many fruits and nuts.

R

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem Don't go! This employer would be grist for hundreds of funny posts. What would have happened if Scott Adams had left Crocker Bank and Pacific Bell?

+1

[chinaco]

It sounds like someone was brought in to change things or thinks certain things need to change... That never goes over well with long-term employees at any organization. Even if pay is not affected, it challenges the status quo and shifts the balance of power around. That is probably part of the reason for the upper management departures.

I have not worked at any organization where someone new comes in and everything just flips into dysfunctional mode. Those dysfunctions were there all along. This type of event just gives a louder voice to it.

I'll bet, everybody was probably complaining like crazy over the last number of years about how FUd the organization is... Apparently someone is making some changes.

From a management perspective...The best thing for the organization would be to go ahead and get rid of as much of the the dead wood as possible... everybody is already upset... might as well take advantage of it. Note: I am talking about the people that do little to nothing... except impede progress... all organizations have them. They survived because they were protected by some long-time friend that rose to upper management or because a lower level manager has been avoiding the uneasiness of dealing with them for years.


Watch... some people will take advantage of the changes and thrive.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 We got a missive from above, which was a claasic of its kind. Among other things, it acknowledged the recent departures and said that this is a good thing because it means that the business climate is improving and it helps infect spread to other firms our culture and view of the world. Uh, yeah, right.

Sometimes executives know very well what's going on but (much like politicians) then make the mistake of thinking that the common folks believe their BS - 'cause nobody has the balls to tell them otherwise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Meanwhile, I got an offer out West. Its not quite up to what I want, but workable and the hiring manager hinted that there is wiggle room so I think we can work it out. It will involve a messy relocation, but I escape the mess here, get to do interesting work, and get my post career move paid for now. Plus I will be able to look up Dex.

Now that's good news. Hope this assignment brings you closer to FIRE and makes work less painful. Same work or something different?

Where does Dex live?

[brewer12345]

Chinaco, this place is not a for-profit company and just about never has layoffs (the one time in modern history they did one resulted in a class action suit for age discrimination which resulted in a large cash settlement to the plaintiffs). So cleaning out the deadwood is never done. As a matter of fact, the people splitting now are easily the most competent and effective in the organization and what is staying is the oxygen wasting detritus that has accumulated over the years. There is never any real consequence for these members of the "furniture" class and they protect their sinecures by developing advanced asset kissing skills, which seems to be the main criteria for success in some cases. I do not see any of this changing any time soon, and in fact the ""layoff" of the top 25% of the staff via people quitting will continue the cycle nicely.

The new spot is at a sister organization which has some of these issues, but far less severe and the layers of management are about a quarter of what I am dealing with now. The new org is smaller and the ratio of management to staff is a lot lower than where I am now. In addition, the function I am going to is newly created without a whole lot of precedent, so I should be able to shape how things are set up. I this does not work out, I only have to stay for a year to avoid paying back the relocation and some up front comp, and if I can last 2.5 years I will finish vesting in a pension since my service time carries over from the place I am currently working to the new spot.

After a tw decade career spent at half a dozen organizations, I keep thinking that they can't all be so massively screwed up. So far I have only found one that was not, and it fell apart in the financial crisis. Maybe my standards are too high.

[brewer12345]

I think I will be re-enacting this Southpark episode by moving, just for Dex' benefit:

It's a Jersey Thing (Season 14, Episode 9) - Full Episode Player - South Park Studios

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 After a tw decade career spent at half a dozen organizations, I keep thinking that they can't all be so massively screwed up. So far I have only found one that was not, and it fell apart in the financial crisis. Maybe my standards are too high.

Not your standards. These places exist - they usually don't have vacancies 'cause people don't leave, and on those rare occasions they do, they don't advertise.

[Sarah in SC]

Congrats on the offer. And think of the travel trailer opportunities that await your family out West! Good for you!

[kcowan]

Good luck Brewer with whatever your choice is. It all sounds pretty complicated for a retiree! Last time I had to deal with downsizing was in 1997 and I initiated it. But we had to pay out all 150 employees who got terminated.

Your current employer seems to have stumbled upon a cheaper way to accomplish this!