How much time to give for notice?

[Rustward]

One guy left the office at lunch to visit his mother in the hospital. He left the number to her room with his manager who called him there a few minutes later to tell him to go straight to HR to be processed out.

Just to be clear this was a multi-department RIF, not an individual incident. The employee was not fired just for going to lunch. But I think they could have waited until he got back from visiting his mother in the hospital.

 

[JoeWras]

Just to be clear this was a multi-department RIF, not an individual incident. The employee was not fired just for going to lunch. But I think they could have waited until he got back from visiting his mother in the hospital.

Yep. Seen it. The machinery of Megacorp can't wait.

 

[CRLLS]

I once was told that one of my reports was down in HR being RIF'd. My other report was to be retained. I was being told because I had to keep an eye on him after he left HR in case there was an emotional reaction. An hour later, the first was back at his desk working and the 2nd was RIF'd.

A similar thing happened to DW in a small family-owned company. On one day, the other was giving notice , at the same DW was tole that the other was going to be let go. Only DW was the one let go in that case.

I have more...… Mega Corp vs Family owned, there is not much difference IMO. It all has to do with the decisionmakers.

 

[gindie]

I was in a situation once where a colleague was RIF'ed and told to see "Mary" down in HR for out-processing. However, the left and right hands of the corp hadn't talked to each other, because "Mary" had also been RIF'ed earlier in the day!

 

[JoeWras]

I was in a situation once where a colleague was RIF'ed and told to see "Mary" down in HR for out-processing. However, the left and right hands of the corp hadn't talked to each other, because "Mary" had also been RIF'ed earlier in the day!

I'd laugh, but unfortunately, this is way too typical!

 

[CoolRich59]

Congrats on your impending departure.

Others have given the good advice, so I'll just add my .02

If I learned anything about my last client it was that, if it was possible to do nothing and avoid making a decision, that's what he would do.

I gave him 2 months notice that I was leaving. Sure enough, 2 months go by and he'd done nothing. So, I agreed to stay another month.

A couple of weeks go by and I was telling the DW that the client still hadn't done anything to find a replacement and I was sure he was going to ask me to stay longer. She had a great suggestion: Let's plan a vacation so you can gracefully decline if he asks you to stay again.

Sure enough, the client asked me to stay for 2 more months. But, following my beautiful wife's advice, I had bought plane tickets, booked rooms, and reserved a car. Sorry. I can't stay any longer. I'm retired!!

 

[CoolRich59]

It's a good book, worth reading: especially by any employee who still believes in loyalty to megacorp.

Sorry I'm late to this thread, but I give this post a big thumbs up.

One of the things I initially liked about the second megacorp I worked for was that, despite their size, they had managed to retain an employee friendly culture. Unfortunately, the CEO botched an acquisition and the board ousted him. For the first time in the company's 100+ year history an outsider was brought in as CEO, and he brought a whole new (toxic) culture to the organization.

After 2 years, I'd had enough and left. A year later, 35% of my former department was let go. I know that staff reductions are a reality. But the way it was handled there was cowardly and shameful.

On the pretext that the office was being reconfigured, the entire department was told to pack their files, clear out their offices, and work from home. Once the reconfiguration was done, they would get an email telling them where their new space would be.

Except that more than a third of my former colleagues were emailed termination notices instead. They were told not to come back to the office.
They would only be allowed on campus to go to the Security office to turn in their cellphones, laptops, and IDs. That way HR and the department "leadership" did not have to endure the unpleasant task of facing those folks and telling them they no longer had jobs.

 

[Mark24609]

I say two weeks. There is no loyalty anymore. Just go unless they offer you something to stay. Try negotiating for health care paid after you leave or something for a period otherwise just two weeks

 

[CoolRich59]

I'd laugh, but unfortunately, this is way too typical!

Oh, yeah. When I left my first megacorp job, I will still young and idealistic enough (read naive) to think that I could provide some valuable feedback to the management.

My manager was "too busy" for an exit interview and foisted me off on HR. Still determined, I tried talking to the HR staffer, but she interrupted me saying "Today is my last day too. So, I couldn't care less what happens here".

I have to say, JoeWras, I am repeatedly nodding my head in agreement as I read your comments in this thread. It would have been great to have worked for a company that treated people ethically and decently, but unfortunately, none of the four firms I worked for in my career (3 megacorps and one mid-size software company) were like that.

 

[pb4uski]

At my MegaCorp generally consultants come in to “right size” the organization. Basically they do the dirty work that management won’t. Management then blames it on the consultants. The truth of the matter is the consultants ask for something like a 2% cut. Management then supplies the names of the people to meet the objective. Pretty gutless...

We went through two rounds of this before I moved on to greener pastures on my own accord.

In the first round they wanted to reduce headcount so these genuises offered everyone a severance bonus if they left voluntarily. What happened was that many of those with good marketable skills took the offer and moved on to other employers and pocketed the bonuses and the deadwood decided to stand pat. Ironically, some of those who took the bonus were later rehired and the joke was on upper management.

In the second round they actually came up with some decent ideas to stop doing things that were not worth doing and finding better ways of doing those things that had to be done... and then quantified the ultimate headcut savings. OK. But then, rather than implement these ideas and then cut heads, they just cut heads.... so the survivors had to work even harder to do what they had to do using the same old processes but with fewer people.

 

[JoeWras]

I have to say, JoeWras, I am repeatedly nodding my head in agreement as I read your comments in this thread. It would have been great to have worked for a company that treated people ethically and decently, but unfortunately, none of the four firms I worked for in my career (3 megacorps and one mid-size software company) were like that.

Well me too, CoolRich. A lot on these threads hit home with me too. And one thing I've noticed is some of our more senior people who left 10 to 15 years ago have had a distinctly different experience than what is going on now. (This is a generalization, I realize, just a Megacorp-Megatrend.)


A few posts up someone mentioned the CEO, and culture change. I have to admit, despite the size of Megacorp, life changed pretty drastically for the employees after the new sheriff came into town. But the stockholders love him.