A few years ago, the directors announced they were starting a Programme to improve the company culture, and act upon feedback we had recently given them via an “Employee Forum“.

I do think due to working at home, there isn’t the same togetherness there used to be. Years ago, we seemed a close-knit bunch, but these days, I get the impression people just want to do their work and go home…although they are already home.

We were asked to give initial feedback from the scheme, and one colleague made a somewhat epically-written post, which ended up being his last.

“This “programme” is an exercise in indulging in the same old political rhetoric and transparent placation many of us have grown all too familiar with. Perhaps I have simply grown jaded and cynical, but we have corporate correspondence envisioning a future where all feel valued, and yet casual communication engenders entirely the opposite. To, on the one hand, read statements such as the above and then be told such things as “if you want better pay, get another job”, is insulting to the intelligence and dedication of employees. This, “programme”, is in fact a desperate response to the abysmal employer image the company has cultivated for years; to this day exhibiting a callous disregard for even its most dedicated employees – you reap what you sow.

In short, this isn’t a question of “focus”; rather, it’s a question of chasing each of these lofty goals with equal levels of tenacity, integrity, and humility. This “programme” is years too late and, despite a ledger demonstrating the contrary, the company has only ever proven itself to be more than “a dollar short”.

The goals outlined as part of this programme infer/suppose a complete lack of humanism in company culture and are a tacit admission of gross negligence when it comes to employees; the shoulders upon which the company stands.”

Rodger

The directors responded with predictable responses:

“this does not reflect everyone’s view of our business”

“this isn’t the right platform to raise these issues”

“we value colleagues feedback and encourage great constructive conversations”

“I can assure you that the people on the programme are thoroughly committed to making a positive difference in our dedicated areas.”

“judge at the end and not at the start”

Various Managers

I understand both sides here, they did ask for feedback and they got it. However, they don’t want something so scathing to be publicly aired. It’s a tough one though because such statements could cause people to be more confident in airing their views (which is what they claim to want), but firing him like they did will suppress people from giving true feedback.

The usual process is probably to go to your line manager, but they don’t always raise it with their line manager. Then since it has to go up a few levels of the hierarchy; the message is probably going to get lost. If you suspect that happening, do you bypass them and go higher up the chain?

It was also written a bit too poetically which meant it was hard to understand some of the points. I think there is a specific and recent issue which he was referring to, and in the following days, I did learn that an employee that had been around for 20 years or so and been forced out. I didn’t learn the reason, but that was being referenced with “exhibiting a callous disregard for even its most dedicated employees“. So I think it was coming from a place of witnessing instances of toxic behaviour and calling it out, and it wasn’t even a personal grievance; he is sticking up for fellow employees.

The obvious (or maybe I should say “predictable”) response was to sack him, which they did. But you could have actually gone the opposite way and actually let him participate in making the changes to improve the culture. I only interacted with him a few times, but he always came across as knowledgeable and dedicated.

He goes on to say others keep quiet because they need their job, although it is low paid compared to industry standards. Many roles are overworked due to restructuring and merging roles together. Managers were ignoring the problems when raised. Proposed changes in Support were predicted by many to end in failure, but managers dismissed their concerns. I have seen similar comments on Glassdoor, which is where you don’t want the feedback, since that is on a public forum, and posted after an employee has left the business.

On a quest to get some juicy content for my blog, I managed to contact him before he got deactivated:

[Yesterday 15:07] Me
have you resigned. That post is epic
 
[Yesterday 15:07] Rodger
No. But don't plan on sticking around long haha
 
[Yesterday 15:08] Me
haven't you just started in development though? or did they do the classic "we will give you half pay until you prove yourself"
 
[Yesterday 15:14] Rodger
Sad but true
 
[Yesterday 15:20] Me
They are putting my notice period up from 1 month to 3. I made the point that this is contrary to the Employee of Choice which is supposed to be improving our conditions!
 
[Yesterday 15:20] Rodger
Good lord, that's rough...
And yeah, certainly feels that way
 
[Yesterday 15:21] Me
can't remember who was in charge at the time, but he put it down from 3 to 1, stating they wanted to improve things, and now we are undoing it. Apparently Experts and Managers are on like 6 months which just seems insane.
 
[Yesterday 15:22] Rodger
6 months. That's ridiculous, what company would be willing to wait that long for a new employee...
 
[Yesterday 15:23] Me
I don't see the point of changing the notice periods. Don't people just hand over their work in 1-2 weeks, take annual leave, then mess about for the rest of it
paying an unproductive employee who doesn't want to work there is just crazy. Even if they are moving for other reasons like leaving the country, it seems like you have to then leave on bad terms. Just let them go. 1 month is enough to deal with
 
[Yesterday 15:25] Rodger
Indeed. Don't get the mentality at all
 
[Yesterday 15:26] Me
anyway, I asked Jeannette to raise it in the Employee Forum. I reckon they will just say something like "its inline with industry standards" or some corporate statement
 
[Yesterday 15:27] Rodger
Oh aye, wasn't expecting a response.
Just wanted the catharsis of saying it all
Thanks regardless, though
 
[Yesterday 15:28] Me
they will probably delete your post and not try and address it. Reminds me of the negative glassdoor reviews then Jacqui says "this doesn't reflect my experience at all"
and I think, "how do you know what those jobs are like? you are on the big bucks, probably in your own office by yourself"
 
<NEXT DAY>
 
[12:05] Me
I couldn't resist responding [my post was about lines of communication, and trying to start a discussion with others around Rodger’s points to try and diffuse the argument] 
 
[12:05] Rodger
Thanks haha
 
[12:07] Me
have they actually said anything to you directly? It's good that they didn't delete your post but then I was worried they would just sack you for these outbursts. I do think you might be a bit too (passive?) aggressive, but then I reckon you do have some good underlying points that they should listen to
 
[12:08] Rodger
Any aggressiveness, passive or otherwise, is only because the responses to my post have demonstrated a lack of understanding and contempt.
My initial post is nowhere near anything combative...
And, no. No one has spoken to me directly. People have spoken to my Manager and others around me though...
 
You've raised the right questions here.
Where can one speak about these things
 
[12:11] Me
I think someone did say (via a question) on our Departmental Meetings that the whole "we will take it offline" response just causes these problems. If there is an official response to it, everyone doesn't hear it because it was addressed one-on-one. Then I think that's what you are also calling out, because these Senior Managers are basically implying to contact them directly, rather than post in an open forum.
 
[12:12] Rodger
Aye
 
[12:13] Me
in my standup, one guy said he had to get a dictionary out to try and understand your points. It is super poetic. It makes it funnier but I do think it probably detracts from your points
 
[12:15] Rodger
Fair, but it's genuinely the way I speak and I thought it best to be as erudite as possible when articulating it all; in an effort to not just be dismissed as a dribbling idiot or fool, etc.
 
[12:27] Me
This does sound a bit extreme to me. Then that would be perceived to be an attack on the SLT
"The goals outlined as part of this programme infer/suppose a complete lack of humanism in company culture and are a tacit admission of gross negligence when it comes to employees; the shoulders upon which the company stands."
 
[12:31] Rodger
It certainly is a criticism.
The company admits that its staff don't feel; rewarded, included, valued, etc. (as inferred by the programme itself).
Is that not gross negligence?
I am perhaps opining there, but it doesn't seem to me to be an unreasonable statement and I would be happy to discuss the matter if literally anyone else was...
 
[12:35] Me
It can be a tough one because I think most people will complain about pay regardless of how much they actually get. Then if they don't get an inflation rise, they will moan about that but they might have been overpaid. So when people do complain, it might not be a valid point. but then I have been a victim of being underpaid
 
I think a common problem we have is that managers see us all as interchangeable. I have only been on this project a few months but we are gonna get our 3rd PO, and we have switched architects, and there was talk about moving one of our testers to another team. How can you be productive when that happens? can't build up knowledge or team chemistry. They still see us as "resources" they can move about. Probably doesn't help if a department is called Human Resources. 
 
[12:38] Rodger
Indeed
 
[12:38] Me
I find it interesting how people like me moan, but yet stay here years so we must secretly like it
 
[12:39] Rodger
haha
 
[12:40] Me
I think it is actually a low stress job, and when I've known so many people leave and then come back, it does make you think it's not always greener on the other side. I also think other jobs will give you more responsibility. So I think it is comfortable here
 
do you find development stressful, or were your comments about your previous role?
 
[12:46] Rodger
I guess I'm in something of a unique position.
My comments were about my previous role, how things are now for me (which ain't "bad", just insanely busy), and everything I've heard and seen from elsewhere in the business

Conclusion

I think the lesson here is that if you really want to make changes to culture, then you need to be open to listening to “hard truths”. So if there was a problematic manager – if an employee openly reports the problem, it shouldn’t be the case that managers stick together. The claims should be investigated and if the manager is problematic, then they should be fired and not the employee. 

I think we lost a couple of good and very dedicated employees here, and yet managers were pretending everything was perfectly fine.