22 Jul 05 @ 12:25 pm

Dubious Achievements in Employee Communication

July’s “award” goes to Irish airline Aer Lingus, which produced a “discussion document,” leaked to employees, that enumerated a variety of “environmental push factors” the organization could use to encourage employees to volunteer to take a package to leave the organization. According to the BBC, these “push factors”…

…included suggestions that cabin crew swap their current uniforms for jump suits and t-shirts, while pilots should be forced to attend long, tedious training courses.”

I suspect that this leaked memo in its own right has served (intentionally or unintentionally) as an effective “environmental push factor.”

posted in category(s): Points of Interest

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24 Sep 04 @ 12:58 pm

Dubious Achievements in Employee Communication

This one comes from Central Ohio:

Papa John’s General Manager Jeanette Zimmerman lives next door to the 701 E. State St. business she runs. So, she sees much of what goes on there.

When she left to take her husband to work at 6:30 Monday morning, everything seemed normal. She returned 15 minutes later to find the unexpected: Two men heading for Papa John’s front door.

“They walked up to the store and they had a key, and I’m like, ‘Excuse me. Can I help you?’” Zimmerman said. “They said, ‘You’re out of a job. We’re closed.’” Although she managed the local store, she was among the last to know.

posted in category(s): Points of Interest

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4 May 04 @ 1:24 am

Dubious Achievements in Employee Communication

We all know that how an organization handles layoffs sends an implicit message to those who remain. But sometimes that message is tough to interpret, as this recent Dave Barry column indicates.

[A] Danville, Va.-based textile company called Dan River…was closing its Sevierville plant and laying off workers.

…

According to The Mountain Press, the severance package included a $100 Wal-Mart gift card, a Dan River cap, a calculator, a plaque and “three red-headed Barbie dolls.” That’s right: THREE Barbie dolls. And all red-headed!

…

Incredibly, according to The Mountain Press, some workers were not thrilled with their Barbies. The Mountain Press contacted a human resources official at Dan River headquarters who wouldn’t comment on the Barbies but did say “we are doing our best to help the employees” and “we have the best management staff around.” No doubt! Probably some of them are M.B.A.s!

posted in category(s): Points of Interest

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5 Apr 04 @ 9:14 pm

Dubious Achievements in Employee Communication

From the Billings Gazette:

In her 13 years as a human-resources executive and consultant in San Francisco and Seattle, Cynthia Shapiro has pushed out unwanted employees using a string of methods: setting impossible goals, giving problem workers the clients no one else wants, taking them off a project they love, or surprising them with a bad performance review.

Most of the time they quit, never knowing that their exit was orchestrated.

“It’s an art form, really,” Shapiro said matter-of-factly.

What motivates this duplicity? In reality, says the Gazette, fear of lawsuits has relegated the phrase “you’re fired” to so-called reality television.

Instead, many companies have adopted more surreptitious ways to get rid of unwanted employees. Human-resources experts call it “managing out,” a way to nudge an employee out the door while also minimizing legal exposure.

Read the rest.

posted in category(s): Points of Interest

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