I retired November 30th, took my lump sum and decades of knowledge out the door with me. I was the only one left in my department who knew how to setup the programs and do the trouble shooting. All the new people they hired from the outside did not want to learn and did not want to do the hard work. Every year management said I was just an achiever and gave me a 2% raise even though I was the one who solved their problems. Tuesday the Director realized I was leaving and called me to ask if I would come back to work and train the lazy people they hired over the last year. I said yes and told him I wanted a one year contract and a $50,000 raise. He did not even blink an eye and said he would start working on the paperwork. When your management figures out they need you and ask you to come back. Remember how you were treated and make them PAY$$$$$.
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Everyone is replaceable and everything is too. Isn’t it funny there are hardworking people in the dept doing real work generating reports and saving the day…then they leave, people changes occur and just like that it’s as if they were never there and no one “remembers” them or the work they did…..lesson ….show your value…do just enough to earn your paycheck…and gtfo!
You missed the boat...if u stayed, it would have cost them $50k in benefits, so for them not to blink, makes sense. 1/3 of that goes to taxes, hope it's worth the aggravation. They didn't respect your value before...and now you're going to help them out. Re-evaluate! Please!
either tell them to pound sand or feed them bad info and sit back and laugh while they chase their tails.
I don't want to go back to work. I'm retired. I have total freedom. That is worth a lot. No more early morning meetings. No more working late or getting called in the middle of the night. I have time for my family and hobbies. I have plenty of money for my needs. You can't buy time. Sure, if they offer so much money and you NEED the money for something then sure. This your time. Let Ford figure it out.
If they didn't know how to treat you before then they don't deserve your services now. Not worth it.
@1vtb - my perspective is slightly different in that I would see charging an arm & a leg to come back on contract as being about enhancing the compensation that should've been provided previously for the value of the knowledge/tooling. Certainly sitting back and watching the CF as they try to have "highly affordable" people lacking in competence attempt to unravel "mysteries" of the system has high entertainment value, but nothing wrong either with trying to maximize the return on the rarified knowledge and skill required to get to this place.
Also, great advice to ensure that any contracts includes terms around early completion or termination. Remember that if it's not written down, the condition doesn't exist and any gentlemen's agreements are intended from the get-go as a way to weasel out of things.
@OP. If you needed the money, I agree with your position. If you didn't need the money, there are other ways to make them pay, like saying NO and enjoying the sh-t show afterwards.
I tried to do something similar years ago, in a previous company. They finally let me go, after many other coworkers, but I was the only one left that knew the system (I built it myself). So after I left, I asked for a nice chunk, and they said no. I believe the negative
was due to proving upper management was right (our jobs were outsourced to India), and not about money.
The company ended using the system as it was when I left, while hiring cheap Indian contractors to unravel the "mysteries" of that system. Of course, after more than a year of trying unsuccessfully to understand the system, they decided to get a new one. Still, it was entertaining to receive the news of the headaches of management and the incompetence of the Indian contractors.
BTW, a one year contract is not binding. They can let you go after 3 months, when they believe your replacement is half trained. So make sure to include some provision about penalties for early break of contract. Remember you hold all the cards now.
Way to go. Stick it to them.
Doug makes $80k/month and produces absolutely nothing!!
50k a month would have been reasonable.
Douggie makes 80k/mo
Amen Brother
Is it even worth working for this stupid company for one additional year? Don't reduce your golden years which are much more valuable.