We probably have a few that will go, but none will confirm it nor talk about it openly.
The problem this presents for the company is those who are seriously considering it are critical to the success of many projects the company wants done under an impossible timeline. Imagine you were the last one who knows anything about some obscure system in the network. Or perhaps you’re the ONLY database developer who still works on a production database. Maybe you’re one of two folks who knows the ins and outs of how the network functions for an entire internal network.
Once you lose these folks, you cannot replace them easily nor in a timely manner expect said replacements to be up to speed to be of any beneficial use to the company. The company is certainly going to try with their contractors and term employees. The company is also operating under the ludicrous assumption that folks they force out will simply beg to come back to work for AT&T as a contractor. (Completely oblivious to the fact that the employee will get to dictate the price vs the company. Expertise comes at a premium after all.....)
But I believe they’ll learn a rather harsh lesson when things transition neither as quickly nor as smoothly as they like to believe it will.
Not only will it be a rather rough eye opener for upper level management, it will also be a very costly one as those aforementioned “impossible timelines” cease being next year and become next week.
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ID @2uni+19UCrPz2. I agree with every word.
13 replies (most recent on top)
This company has many hurdles and obstacles to overcome! The big question is, “can they get back on track, reduce debt and bring value to the company and its shareholders?” These are big concerns on Wall St. because without the dividend, T would be trading at around $15/share. I hope the senior team knows what they’re doing and can execute their plan!
The graveyards and cemeteries of this great nation are filled with irreplaceable men of all stripes.
the sooner people grasp that the company does not care, the better off people will be! It's really that simple
Nope, have seen it so many times....They outsource and throw millions to the new team and nothing works.....On top of it they outsourced knowledgeable, competent employees who get laid off after a year from being re-badged and then we are stuck with inferior, clueless contractors and noting works...wash, rinse, repeat.
senior management could care less. they hate employees and are nothing but an expense with the benefits. they will just continue to marginalize employees because stank is the best at marginalizing people. they don't care if they give bad service they just go on to make a new sale like trying to being the only provider at sams and target. they just keep the churn going and senior management and the board keeps getting their millions and dividend.
If your "ace" leaves and no one knows how to operate anything they will just contract the whole operation out to another company for the same price and they'll be on the hook to figure it out. They could care less. Nothing will stop their bonuses or revenue coming in. If the customers take a quality control hit, that's just the way it goes.
You may think they cannot replace these workers easily but the company has been around for a long time and will continue to be around for a long time.
OP...all true, but why do you care?
This entity has 200K employees.
About 50 matter to the top.
You and 199,949 others don't.
They thrive on naïve folks who think they "matter"
You don't.
Stop worrying.
Stop caring about anything but your paychecks.
Nothing you say, do, or write here will accomplish anything except giving a few of those 50 a good laugh over martinis after golf.
you'll change nothing, rather get a degree in "Studies of Futility."
Much more valuable than a stupid badge, nano degree, and whatever other BS they are espousing as a career (hahahahah) boost.
Why is this such a difficult concept?
You work, they pay.
I actually feel bad for you folks who seem to care.
I am publicly telling people I’m retiring. I have been asked by two different leaders if I’ll come back as a contractor. I’ve said I will consider it. I will not. I’m gone.
No one cares! That’s the sad truth. They really don’t. Young people will be brought in and the work will somehow get done. Seen it over and over. People left behind don’t know much but they manage to hang on long enough to find a better job elsewhere. Low cost, executives getting rich and dividends are all that matter.
No lessons will be learned by management... They have a very short horizon timeline they may be around for 3-5 years at their position before retiring or moving onto a new role... So they don't care about institutional knowledge.
The sh– always falls on the poor contractors ,who' companies promised T the world but now dumps all the complexity and troubles on the poor overseas contractors.
I learned this lesson 2 months after being here. The cut loose a team of experienced devs , sent the work overseas , all kinds of issues in the end they canned the project and went to a cloud vendor for the whole thing.... That's why Institutional knowledge is useful at this place...
"The company does not care about institutional knowledge or expertise."
In other words there is no career here if you are at the lower levels.
I vent with a coworker regularly who brings up the same thing. This concept OP described is called institutional knowledge. I support the position the post has but I disagree that the company/execs will learn a harsh lesson. What production database system actually exists that only two people use or know about? If the output that database provides is actually useful to an exec, they have a team of people or an admin or chief of staff or an overachiever who would recreate the same output manually. Execs will often have a mindset that there is always a cheaper way to get things done. Think of how often we see executive announcements and VP rotations of people who have been here for decades. The company does not care about institutional knowledge or expertise.