Thread regarding United States Layoffs layoffs

Being let go from the YMCA in my city was the best thing that ever happened to me. Yes it su-ks to lose your job, but there are so many better opportunites out there... This organization fails its staff on so many levels...

1. Failure to pay a competitive wage – quit dangling the pension carrot- the majority of staff don’t or can’t take advantage of retirement savings simply because they don’t have the disposable income to do so (because they don’t get paid enough)– how about giving a benefit that can actually be useful like tuition reimbursement, or take that 12% pension money going to a 3rd party company (who makes money off of it- money not going to your employees) and just pay your employees a better wage… and then let them decide how that money should be used/invested. Some of us would like to buy a house, and for most people that’s their best way to grow wealth and it’s a better retirement asset. If they already own a house and want the deferred tax investment, then they can opt to add it to the 403b or an IRA. That just seems way more beneficial to more staff than the pension fund and even benefits part time staff, who make up the majority of Y staff.

2. failure to update the charter – this organization is already too top heavy- you do not need that many people making 6 figure salaries or given bonus incentives- they should be capped and treated like any other employee. This is the real reason this organization is failing – you pay this group of people way too much money and yet you can’t keep your front desks staffed, and overall, your staff retention is atrocious, which puts even more strain on the front-line employees that stick around.

3. failure to provide a useful and timely performance review process – when I was employed at this Y (YMCA of Greater San Antonio), rarely was there a performance review in which I felt it would matter or make any difference. How long have you been using that same incoherent YUSA form that nobody understands or wants to use?

How many times have you actually conducted a performance review process that completed on time? Maybe if you put as much focus on staff performance reviews as you do on getting every staff person to donate to the annual campaign, you’d complete the review process on time and make it less obvious that it’s of minimal importance, and just an HR objective to hurry up and complete.

4. failure to provide relevant staff development opportunities – In all my time as a fulltime staff person, never once had any of my supervisors sat down and worked on a development plan with me. How do you expect your staff to remain relevant and competitive if all you offer for training is the YUSA LCDC trite? How about offering some basic skills training in Office apps- something useful to everyone that has relevance both inside and outside the Y and doesn’t require YUSA. That whole YUSA leader/team leader certification – you get that it’s a form of franchise control, right? You can’t move up in the Y organization without those courses- and those courses are only offered by… YUSA. And how accessible and available are these required classes? Not very. In fact, it

took a pandemic to make them provide a virtual option… So, by limiting the availability or not having any leadership staff certified to train locally, it takes longer for staff to get certified, thereby limiting their ability to earn a higher salary. It certainly hasn’t limited their added responsibility and workload – they just don’t get the title or pay. And leadership seems perfectly okay with that - it’s not like leadership hasn’t had the time to get trainer certified- it’s just not a priority. And that’s the norm around here – why pay anyone what they’re actually worth- string them along and work them as long
and hard as you can before they wise up and leave, or threaten to quit so you have to pay them a little more… One could make the argument that it’s a form of indentured servitude- limiting a person’s ability to earn a higher wage and only providing training that’s relevant within the organization makes them dependent on that organization and less competitive outside that organization. Thus, reinforcing their dependency on and reluctance to leave the organization and willingness to accept a lower wage and put
up with being overworked and understaffed.

I guess that’s just the Y way.