To: All U.S. managers
Since the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020, we have been through some remarkable moments that I suspect most of us never expected to experience in our life. As an organization, we were resourceful and adaptable in support of our customers and daily business. I will always remember this period with a great deal of pride for how the organization came together and kept the fundamentals of the business on track. With the pandemic behind us, every company finds itself looking at what lies ahead.
In our company, over the past 3 years, nearly 70% of management employees have experienced big changes in their work life: they’ve either just joined the company, have a new manager or have moved into a new role. This is an amazing level of change. However, with people working remotely most of the time, new managers don’t know their teams, and the teams have been challenged to work in an agile and flexible way. We are in more than 350 buildings with employees located across more than 500 metros in 50 states. This brings complexity to our work, makes it harder to simplify processes and systems for employees and customers, and introduces unnecessary costs. We are too fragmented, inefficient and struggling to fully adopt and practice our culture pillars.
We do a pretty good job of maintaining the status quo when we operate virtually. However, we aren’t as effective starting new initiatives, building new relationships, coming together around new ideas, innovating, executing agile methodologies, mentoring, and celebrating. We need to work differently, and these in-person aspects are critical.
Simply put, your leadership team believes that having our managers working in an office for the majority of their time is the way we create an effective and supportive culture and win in markets. We are ready to invest in our talent – and in top quality offices and amenities – so that together we work consistent with our values and purpose.
Where we work
We have made the decision to consolidate to Dallas, TX and Atlanta, GA as our core offices. These 2 larger offices will include most of our senior executives and managers, the business unit leaders and our cross-functional support teams. These will be well-equipped offices for collaboration, creativity and innovation. Working in these offices will provide exposure to the executive team, along with other career development opportunities.
As we look at other cities where we already have groups of employees, we’ve decided to focus on 7 additional core locations in Los Angeles, CA; San Ramon, CA; Seattle, WA; Middletown and Bedminster, NJ; Washington, D.C.; and St. Louis, MO. We will assign employees to these offices based on their workgroup and collaboration partners.
We are starting now, but we won’t complete this overnight. There will be a period of transition; details on timing and next steps are outlined below.
Customer-facing roles and operating teams (approximately 60% of AT&T managers)
It is critical that we continue to have roles and teams that work in locations that are close to our customers and essential to our daily operations. These workgroups are typically self-contained, purpose-built teams with fewer cross-functional dependencies and have specific career paths. This group represents the majority of our managerial team. If this describes your work and your work location, then likely you will not have any change in your location. You will hear from your manager if any changes are needed, specific to your role and work location.
Employees located outside of core offices or customer/operating locations (approximately 15% of AT&T managers)
If you are in this group, you will have a conversation with your manager about your work and where it can be done most effectively. This conversation will be driven by the job role and how work is organized in this new environment. There will be a transition period that will vary by location and organization. We want to move quickly, but there may be some transitions that extend into 2024.
Workplace designations
Roles will be designated either Office or Virtual. These designations will be determined based on your work and the outcomes your team is driving. This impacts all managers in the United States. Our goal is to get clarity on designations for everyone as soon as possible.
Office: Roles that are designated as “Office” will be expected to join their colleagues in the office for 3-5 days per week, while maintaining reasonable flexibility on hours and personal commitments outside the office.
Virtual: There are some individual contributor roles that do not require high levels of collaboration that will be designated “Virtual” and should come to the office for 1-5 days per month. We expect less than 10% of our roles to be Virtual.
If you are in Dallas, Atlanta or a customer-facing/operating location, we expect everyone to be operating within their workplace designation by no later than July 10. For others, we have started working on the transition plans, and we expect to have the remaining 7 offices ready no later than September 5 (Labor Day). You will receive updates in the coming weeks on these plans.
What’s next?
Expect to have a discussion with your manager about your workplace designation and your location. We’re ready to start investing in you—building relationships, solving customer problems and making our purpose come to life. You have heard me say that employment is a two-way street. It has to work for both the individual and the employer. It is my sincere hope that you aspire to foster and support the work environment framed in our cultural pillars and desired by your company leadership. I am confident this path will enable us to serve our customers and create a more effective and sustainable AT&T.
(signed)
John
60 replies (most recent on top)
Explain to me the logic in having to take a class in Ergonomics on how to sit correctly in a chair and if i don't, my rating drops. But, because, StinkStankStunk's decision was not in concert with CRE, i now have to sit on the floor working all day because our group wasn't allocated enough drop in spaces. Well done. Well done.
“I am working from home today, it is past 6pm and I forgot about RTO: I should have closed up my laptop and stopped working at 3:59.”
More like you just went back to your idle laptop still connected to VPN after 6 PM to do one last check of your email after goofing off for the majority of the afternoon. That’s why you didn’t see the message when it first came in.
"Constantly laying off employees, taking away their benefits and having never ending hiring freezes so nobody can ever advance their careers is not what I would call investing in employees.".
Think about that if you are "asked" to relocate. Would you want to really make that kind of sacrifice for a company that does the above? Definitely not worth it for me. I'm not in one of the core/hubs, so my AT&T future is uncertain. But one thing I will certainly NOT do is relocate on behalf of this company. I like where I live now; I am invested in it; I have roots here. I am not going to give that up for a shaky future with AT&T based upon lies, broken promises, and extremely poor leadership. There ARE other options. Besides, AT&T is "banking" on us not taking up relocation offers and has designed this strategy as a massive reduction in force, achieved through granting limited severances, if any. They will reap what they sow. Once I am out of here, I'll never buy another AT&T service, either. There are better options there, too.
“ We will assign employees to these offices based on their workgroup and collaboration partners.” From the section about the ancillary hubs. I take this to mean that, even if you’re located in one of these cities now, with team members primarily spread across Dallas & Atlanta, you will be told to move. Example: you’re on a 10 person team, boss is in ATL with 3 teammates, 4 others in Dallas, and you plus another gal are in San Ramon… you’ll be asked to move to Dallas (no one will be asked to move to Atlanta and you won’t get to choose).
“ This is absolutely a way to clear out the older, tenured workers that built this company. The ones that worked 60-80 hours a week through the pandemic.”
You weren’t working that many hours and you know it. So does leadership.
No more 14 hour work days for me. Thank you John! I will enjoy the sounds of Kashmir(Celebration Day: Live at 02 Arena, London 12/10/2007) on a loop while I commute back and forth on the 680.
Nice, I need to watch that again. A couple of months ago I saw Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin experience and a couple of weeks ago I saw Zepparella. I am looking forward to seeing Zoso (a tribute band) in late June.
to the guy who says att network blows away TMO… how come TMO consistently gains more customers that att and VZ combined every quarter for the past several years?? and their stock always goes up as well…
Once the 10% of virtual employees are identified how long until they cut their pay because they are virtual? Don't have to pay for a commute, etc. I wouldn't put it past them.
"season of life"... Do we have the seeds of an EEOC claim here?
"Being an attractive 30ish woman, when I go into the office spend most of my time politely trying to deflect the numerous male co-workers who 'just want to chat' with me. The 'collaboration' space makes it so much harder because there is no privacy."
I would imagine the company is going to return to pre-pandemic levels of harassment claims and incidents thanks to RTO.
Shoot!! I am working from home today, it is past 6pm and I forgot about RTO: I should have closed up my laptop and stopped working at 3:59. Going to have to get used to working => 8 hours now. YES, Mr. Stankey!!! I get to quit early, have regular coffee breaks, take a lunch break, and spend lots of my day chit-chatting with my 'collaborators'.
Being an attractive 30ish woman, when I go into the office spend most of my time politely trying to deflect the numerous male co-workers who 'just want to chat' with me. The 'collaboration' space makes it so much harder because there is no privacy.
Again, thank you Mr. Stankey for allowing me to focus most of my time not on work but on deflecting 'collaboration' attempts throughout the day.
To the guy who asked how our mobility compares to VZW and TMO? It blows TMO away, their network is sh-t and we are on par with VZW. Maybe actually know what you are talking about before shooting your mouth off
How low can you go… Stankey and the Board have crushed shareholder value yet they still have their positions and make millions…RTO has some merit but this seems like a desperate cost-cutting measure where employees are forced to quit because they can’t relocate…John and leadership have doubled-down on 2 commodity and capital intensive businesses - Fiber and Mobility… John - how is our Fiber and 5G better than Verizon and T-Mobile???? It’s not which means you are a me too player and will have to compete on cost…this great company is a shell of its former self and current leadership is t getting the job done by any objective measure…Shame on John and Leadership team and shame on BOD…
From the FAQ, it sounds like it depends. If the manager has 10 people all in Chicago, then the status of the entire group could be at risk. If the manager has 10 people all in one of the hub locations, it sounds like the manager will be expected to move to where the people are. If the 10 people are scattered everywhere, it's unclear as to what the manager will have to do. And if the manager is a real high up manager, then Dallas or Atlanta might be in the future.
"If a manager with 10 people reporting to him lives in Chicago, does that mean he will have to relocate to Dallas or Atlanta? Asking for a friend. A very very close friend. "
Quite a bit to unpack in this email. First thing that strikes me is the attempt to micromanage innovation and collaboration into a one size fits all policy. Second, in order to innovate, you need cash flow. Maybe if that Capex hadn't be wasted on failed mergers and acquisitions and failed pet projects. "Top quality offices and amenities" don't fund R&D. Third, what kind of CEO lets his company operate on a status quo basis for 3 years? The last 3 years has been one of the best and most cost effective times to innovate. Finally, this will be extremely disruptive to the workforce. If these moves are being made to make the company better it will do the opposite. "Too fragmented, inefficient and struggling to fully adopt and practice our culture pillars." The world has changed and AT&T is again playing catch up by running in the opposite direction; you haven't seen anything yet.
If a manager with 10 people reporting to him lives in Chicago, does that mean he will have to relocate to Dallas or Atlanta? Asking for a friend. A very very close friend.
I’m not familiar with El Segundo, but I did get surplused to a new location once only to get notified of another surplus 2 months later that sent me somewhere else.
Having gone through this nonsense far too many times for this company, I would recommend that anyone moving to a new place to absolutely not buy a home and try to get the shortest term of a lease at your that you can. An extended stay AirBnb might be a good option, too.
Before you relocate for this company remember what happened to those that agreed to relo to El Segundo. They really need you to uproot your life….,until they don’t. That was also our current fearless leaders decision.
The Q&A on insider is just as interesting. There's a question that more or less says "if a manager is away from the rest of their team, will that person have to relocate?" And the answer was basically that they expect the leader to be with their people.
So think about the Stinky logic. Move all the higher managers to Dallas and Atlanta so they won't be with their people.
Wow! I was taking a 2 hour nap and woke up to this? What's going on?
The only good leaders at this company are the ones NOT in Dallas. Dallas officers iare delusional out of touch and has no idea how things really work in the field with customers. You love everyone to Dallas and everyone out of the field, that becomes even a bigger issue.
Stankey said you need to see how this fits with your “Season of Life”, which was code for everyone over a certain age! This is a plan to adversely impact those over 50. He said if it doesn’t fit with your age in life to move…. Well tough luck. This is absolutely a way to clear out the older, tenured workers that built this company. The ones that worked 60-80 hours a week through the pandemic. Take advantage of our skills and experience and abuse us, then dump us. This is a pure financial headcount reduction and real estate reduction disguised as a need for “collaboration”. We sell communication devices and connectivity for gods sake! Read your own company strategy and mission statement! He is the worst leader and that town hall was robotic and rehearsed and unsympathetic. Can’t wait for the age lawsuits! Blaming the lack of financial results on employees vs the blunders of the leadership team in trying to become an entertainment company. And his officers have clearly all been told to get in line and salute him. They are all being his loyal followers because they don’t want to risk their cash cow paychecks. Half the officers don’t even live in Dallas, they can afford an apartment and they commute.
No more 14 hour work days for me. Thank you John! I will enjoy the sounds of Kashmir(Celebration Day: Live at 02 Arena, London 12/10/2007) on a loop while I commute back and forth on the 680.
It appears a few of you might be a little upset. At least you still have a job. Could have been a tap on the shoulder letting you know your 14 day count down clock has begun. No guarantees it will not happen thou after you relocate and get settled in far away from home.
It's all our fault, not John's.
Managers are seen as being out of touch with the reality of working remotely.
Managers are seen as being resistant to change.
Managers are seen as being more concerned with appearances than with productivity.
Managers are seen as being more interested in control than in collaboration.
Managers are seen as being more interested in their own career advancement than in the success of their team.
I secretly do 100% want to break the business :)
Sorry to your elderly parents. Sorry to your kids and family but you’re moving to Atlanta.
“ What about previously approved religious exemptions? Will they be renewed and honored?”
Are you special needs? What religious exemption says you can’t go to work?
Are you still talking about covid? Move on it’s over.
This is the 2018/2019 Collaboration zone push all over again. Back to overly full offices with people being thrown into closets and overstressed building infrastructure.
Good to have all the bosses in one spot with their subordinates.
Forced attrition at it's finest. Everyone get ready to bask in the cultural pillars of the Dallas Discovery district since they spent 100M on it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were commitments made (for Tax breaks, ect) in terms of how many people would be working in the office there spend money downtown.
Stankey is just hoping 10% quit and don't take a package. Also, you can hear the blame in his voice. He is blaming the employees for not making AT&T a good workplace. They take no blame.
Constantly laying off employees, taking away their benefits and having never ending hiring freezes so nobody can ever advance their careers is not what I would call investing in employees.
As a matter of fact, it’s the exact opposite.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/t-reduce-office-locations-call-160000299.html
What about previously approved religious exemptions? Will they be renewed and honored?
Post from TheLayoff.com
I think what he means by “career opportunities” is if you’re looking to go up the ladder (upper mgt) you’ve got a better shot if you’re in Dallas or ATL. Check open job ads, not a lot posted in other locations.
This is a win for employees separated from their designated teams/workgroups. Remote workers will gain a local/physical team to collaborate with.
here comes the tears
"So they claim there are career development opportunities?"
Interesting since TCPs were put on hold this year.
This takes me back to a town hall I attended years ago with Ralph DLV where he said, "I was sitting in traffic on the way in, and it occurred to me, the revenue represented by each one of these commuters...."
...and I perked up, thinking he was about to say AT&T was announcing an aggressive move in the virtual office space. AT&T was showing how it could work, we had the product suite, fiber was on the horizon (before Randall ki-led it), we even had a Telecommuters employee group--here we go!
Nope.
Ralph continued: ".....and we can put a SIM in every one of these cars. We can monetize it at $15/month!"
Not a $100 business-class pipe and VPN, but rather a $15 car SIM with no guarantee anyone would pay for it (unlike a remote worker, whose job depends on the connection).
Thinking small then, thinking small now.
That this was at all possible during the pandemic is due in no small part to the legacy of this company as a technology leader. Sad to see that our leadership, a number of whom are movie people and relatively green to telecomm ("I hate online chat" said one in a town hall), can't see the value in that.