It is nice to see somebody at Follett finally acknowledge that all the cuts to employee benefits might affect employee motivations (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-day-you-wake-up-wondering-what-happened-george-gatsis?trk=prof-post) , but just saying it isn't enough. So far, I have seen nothing that indicates that the Follett family really understands this concept. Here's what I have to say. Yes, I look at all the cuts together as a group. I remember when Follett reduced my PTO accrual rate in exchange for not requiring PTO for xmas break. And I still remember the anger a few years later when the company decided to quit closing at xmas, but didn't give us back that PTO. Those of us who were around back then are still angry. I remember all the changes to PTO rollover. I remember losing the xmas bonus and now losing profit sharing. Don't think that I really believe the nonsense about you doing it so that the associates that aren't eligible for a bonus will get more. We all know that you gave them a token raise in profit sharing and pocketed the rest. I remember when promotions weren't nearly impossible to get and you got a decent raise. I remember when there was a 6 month review after a promotion and another raise. I remember a lot of stuff you think I forgot. I look at the total picture and I am angry. Does that motivate me to work really hard and put in extra for the company? You can bet it doesn't. I care about this company as much as it cares about me --- not at all. I can't begin to tell you how sick I am of hearing about shareholder value. Maybe you should try reading this article. http://www.forbes.com/sites/keldjensen/2013/03/18/to-hell-with-shareholder-value/
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Now we're down to 1069 stores. We went from 980 to 1069. How the hell is that 250 new stores unless we've lost 200 contracts?!
There is going to be an ongoing battle between Leadership and the workers. The C-suite is going to push you till you fail or leave. If you feel any obligation to give more than minimum to get a paycheck, you are a fool. They are not willing to pay or reward rock star status, no monument will be built in your honor. Work a little, take advantage of every opportunity to not work, go home, cash your check, enjoy life! Middle management do the same, they have gutted your previous status.
Great posts and articles. Gatsis has balls. MLS, TH and DG are DOPES - all they talked about for two straight years was share price and shareholder value. Look at the results through rush and I think we see where Follett is heading. Throw SS in there as well as you can outsource your talent to offshore - look at the results for eFollett.
Great post. What is utterly frustrating is how Follett keeps trimming sales staff, HO support, customer service, all while hiring VPs and Directors from Sears, Office Max, KMart, etc. those are all companies that started with cuts to anything that remotely resembled customer service' and look where they are now. No one to help you, no one to answer questions or listen. Just a line at the register (if they are lucky, there are actual customers.....)
Follett does not care anymore. They are greedy corporate trolls. Eventually, all of the great support will follow the management out the door, and then the failure will be complete.