#employeeengagement

Are people going in this week? Not using any PTO, but based on the OOO messages, I’m assuming it’s going to be a ghost town.

How invested is JC et al in monitoring their workforce. Do they do it in-house? If so with what? Or do they rely on MS & Teams n stuff?

Has anyone actually heard from leadership (your boss, VPs, Presidents, etc) about the VoE survey at all?

They published a high-level review of the results and promised to talk about it with us, and here we are months later without a single word being said.

Just walked out of a meeting with a group of “leaders” — directors all the way up to VPs. Everyone’s going around the room giving intros, talking about their orgs, their priorities, the usual corporate spiel.

Then it gets to this senior director, and his intro is literally:
“My job is to follow my manager’s vision and implement it.”

I had to stop myself from laughing.
At that level, you’re supposed to set direction, challenge strategy, bring clarity — not proudly announce that you’re basically an order-taker with a fancy title.

It’s wild how many people get promoted into leadership roles and still operate like junior ICs waiting for instructions. No ownership, no autonomy, no original thought… just “tell me what to do boss.”

And the worst part? These are the folks making decisions that impact entire teams.

Makes you wonder what leadership even means anymore.

The Format

What org do/did you report to?
What level are/were you?
Where others impacted, your team, you boss, your bosses boss?
How did you find out?
Did you know? Or were you surprised?
Are you doing ok? What’s your perspective going into the future?

Will share mine below. Stay strong everyone.

Everyone has a lot to say on here, this is your opportunity to try to force GM to address it. Yes they convert every question to a softball version but if enough people are asking the same questions they’ll have to at least speak to it.

Submit questions in the Slido for the global town hall with GM on Dec 2. You can also upvote other people’s questions.

We’re going to win together so much, that you’ll be so sick and tired of winning.

Seriously though, can anyone take these stupid values seriously? Basically asking us to push harder while they take away any incentives to do so.

Interesting they mentioned the possibility of promotions in January, but nothing about merit increases… unless I missed that?

I think my favorite moment from this year was when Ryan had a Town Hall in Bartlesville so they emailed all bartlesville employees reminding them that they need to dress professionally at work and wear things like shoes.

How about yall?

Do you all get any perks? We're a core team in Brokerage, responsible for one of Abby's three goals flashing on the TV these days. Yet, no team lunches whatsoever. After our persistent complaints, our scrum master (great guy!) organized a Pizza team lunch, out of his own pocket later we learned!

Meanwhile, other perks such as AWS ReInvent tickets, this and that training camps... the leaders are kept among themselves.

Wondering is it the norm or where I am su-ks?

Photo shoots, Pulse Surveys, Volunteering, Reorg Adjustments, Infinite Smiles & Cheerleading & Positivity.... Master these and you are all good.

It began, as these things often do, with a badge scan and a fruit tray.

Robin Vince and the Executive Committee descended upon Lake Mary two weeks ago, bringing with them a whirlwind of strategic platitudes, pre-cleared talking points, and a palpable sense of curated warmth. The site was abuzz. Floors were vacuumed. Acronyms were polished. Someone even replaced the “Out of Order” sign on the espresso machine with “Temporarily Visioning a Better Brew.”

The town hall began promptly, or as it’s known in EC time, at “Empathy O’Clock.” Robin opened with a heartfelt nod to “the incredible work happening here,” followed by a 17-minute meditation on resilience, stakeholder trust, and the importance of “showing up”—which, ironically, most of the EC had not done since the last earnings call.

The Q&A was pre-screened, of course. No questions about layoffs, offshoring, or why the new “Agile Transformation Hub” is just a SharePoint folder with a GIF of a hamster on a wheel. Instead, we heard about “listening deeply,” “leading with heart,” and “unlocking the power of our people”—phrases that sound profound until you realize they mean absolutely nothing and cost nothing to say.

Enter James Legrand, our site lead and resident Zen Buddha philosopher-king of LinkedIn. Within hours, his post appeared:

"Leadership is not a destination. It is a sunrise reflected in the eyes of those we serve. Grateful for Robin's visit and the reminder that empathy is a verb."

What does that mean? No one knows. But it got 247 likes, mostly from new recent new hire analysts and people who also post about “intentional gratitude” and “the ROI of kindness.”

One associate commented, “So true, James. I felt the empathy in the hallway.” Another chapped lips sympathizer fabio-sly replied, “I didn’t see Robin but I felt him.” We’re still unsure if that was metaphorical or HR-worthy.

Meanwhile, back at our desks, nothing changed. The org chart still resembles a game of Jenga played during an earthquake. The “transformation” roadmap is now in version 6.2b. And the only thing cascading is the mandatory empathy training module, which now includes a quiz on “active listening postures.”

But hey—Robin gestured (while admiring his new Rolex). The EC smiled. James posted. And somewhere, a hamster keeps running and more jobs are lost in this heartless and unemotional chaos.

Tom Brady told us we were the best in the business a year ago. Was that fake news? Since then we’ve done meaningful pulse surveys, volunteering, moments that matter such as endless reorgs, had a successful RTO rollout, and photo shoots. We bring our whole selves to work and take guilt free vacations. Our customers love us. And we’re going to win the holidays with our great products and services. Don’t tell me we’ve been lied to!

I want to say that I like and trust EH and think he's what we need. All of that. But comms handing him a card that says the chat was being mean was strange in a way that I think illustrates something. I remember seeing a lot of shock and surprise in the chat, but no one was expressing anything inappropriate I don't think. So them giving him a card and getting him to cry is just odd. What did that card tell him we were even saying?

I think it speaks to a sense across Nike that we can't process things or have human responses to big news. If Comms didn't want shocked emojis in the chat, they should have just sent an email. I'm not saying we're in the "we don't tolerate dissent" zone (yet), but that is the vibe Comms seems to be sending, intentionally or not. If I could tell EH/Comms one thing it would be: you can be shocked at somewhat shocking news and still believe in our mission. We've still got so much of our comeback journey left. It's going to be important for leadership not to confuse being a person with not caring about this place.

I’ve tried to stay on the positive side of this for a long time. It is quickly fading.

Too many initiatives, not enough people to drive them and not enough time to manage people effectively.

When you wake up and dread coming to work each morning, it’s time to do something different.

VZ Fam.. you should watch Season 1 Episode 1 of the Office to cheer yourself up. Its relatable lol

I was hired about two years ago so I only know the cultural under this CEO and CEO leadership. Honest question for those who have been here for a decade or so - how does this culture compare to prior CEOs and leadership team? Better? worse? If different, then how?

Are we ready to give our best 20% effort?

As f5 continues to sink we can turn this around. Go back to hiring people not on how they look but on what skills and vision they bring to the table. How John McAdam did it.

Lack of motivation: Peter states that there is no motivation to work harder because he "don't see another dime" if the company produces more units.

Meaningless work: The film criticizes a workplace where employees are unfulfilled and their work seems meaningless.

Corporate frustration: Peter's frustration is a direct result of a top-down structure with incompetent bosses and a system that punishes mistakes without offering rewards for success.

"I just don't care": This famous line is the core of his argument, explaining that his inaction isn't due to laziness but a complete disconnect from his job's purpose and his company's goals.

When are the leadership going to realize they are just a part of the overall machine…if they don’t take the employees with them this whole thing is going to fail…badly

Thiight the town hall was filled with energy and engagement. Wonderful to see. It’s obvious how much the executive team prioritizes us employees. The town halls are always so engaging. I commend them. Love our benefits too.

Synopsis: “Mark, how can I drink water like you do on CNBC?”

Interesting how they skipped a mass Pulse announcement and just slipped it into the morning communication. Where is the video? We want to know you heard us!

1. Are you excited about your work? Yes/No
2. Do you feel that you are well compensated for your work?
   Yes/No
3. Do you approve of our leadership?
   Yes/No

Not mine, source below:
there are 30K+ schwabbies, of course some of them are terrible at their jobs—it's a massive sample size. many software folks are completely unaware of the infrastructure their app rides or how their app should even function to deploy boilerplate functionality. backbiting and driving a wedge between software and systems where there should be a bridge is emblematic of the shortsightedness that's rife at schwab. do you feel clever when you post your half-arsed attempts at angering folks you don't like? feeling's mutual, mate.

the real issue is the strict adherence to process and procedure for the sake of perception. no one—literally no one—with their hands on the wheel has any intention of changing or updating the outmoded systems to effect any real change out of fear for their jobs, all the while ignorant of the fact that their jobs are in jeopardy anyway.

this is a top-down problem. phrases like, "we've always done it this way," or, "well you're the __ expert, you tell me," are just symptoms of schwab's inability to move forward. everyone acts like they're on different teams, competing for rick's attention, instead of realizing they're just playing different positions on the same team. if the WR and the QB have a sour relationship, whose fault is it that the play ended in an incomplete pass?

y'all need to seriously learn some compassion, do some introspection, and read the phoenix project. when your new VM takes four months to deploy instead of two weeks, will you blame the same people you always do or will you realize that the archaic business process has been compounded by fewer folks to fill the requests?

of course not, you'll still be whacking away at your keyboard, complaining that folks who aren't badging in at the office every day are "ruining it for others." do everyone else a favor and get over yourself.

22 hours ago by Anonymous | 14 reactions (+11/-3) | Reply
Post ID: @gb+1k9qb6vcc

Does everyone submit your feedback on your Boss in The Real Deal bot survey ? My boss never reminded me to take this survey anytime ;) Are they scared? Is this for real or another junk

Only he could bring back the glory…

This year we have push to have employees have other employees put in feedback in my gps and also the ask was to give 2-3 people a request to give feedback about myself. What does this mean? Team was hit with layoffs and already lost 3 people last month.

Anyone else feel the level of disconnect and apathy is just beyond the pale these days?

Case in point, it’s Veteran’s Day is it not?

Used to be we would expect at least an email from the VP or Director acknowledging and thanking the veterans on their teams.

Zero, zip, nada.

WTAF? It would take 5 minutes.

Can anyone circle back, follow up or close the loop on q4 kpis for Hans the special advisor? Vz is positioned to win the holiday with a top talent team, org structure and culture OS. Let’s keep the momentum going! Also if someone could make sure he completes the pulse and survey hours that would be great thanks. And make sure he takes the guilt free vacation too and brings his best self to power and empower the way we work live and play. Honored and humbled for world class art of the possible leadership that treats us with dignity and respect, honesty about the state of the business, and our bright future!

And I’m seeing some solid information sharing... but also simultaneous social unraveling within the same space.

Oh man, what a time to be alive.

And remember… survey is NOT anonymous or feedback taken seriously by leadership.

Here’s a suggestion for X, why don’t you send a survey out to all staff when they can reply anonymously (or not if they wish) and tell the SLT what’s REALLY happening out there. No hiding just pure honesty.

Do ADs and SDs really know the names of people on their teams?

What if a work study is conducted and the results don’t align with the current hr/mgmt narrative or expectations? What if someone on the inside says she wasnt to use the results equitably?

How might the team ensure that all findings are accurately documented, reviewed, and communicated, regardless of whether they confirm or challenge assumptions?

Could workers establish a process for transparency and verification so that the outcomes are trusted and actionable and calibrated to perf ratings and bonuses.

“Momentum. That’s the best way to describe our 1Q 2025 results. We had a strong start to the year, and the V Team didn’t miss a beat.

✨ We took big and bold swings with new experiences, products and plans to give our customers more of what they want and need.

✨ We also showed our appreciation for our employees with our first-ever V Team Day, and we will continue to celebrate how our people are the power behind our purpose.

And here’s the best part….there’s so much more to come in 2025 and beyond. We have built Verizon to be number one, and that means we are focused each and every day on making our best even better.

In fact, I would say we are just getting warmed up. So watch this space 👀 .

V Teamers – please take a moment to celebrate your role in our 1Q results because we wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for everything <3

P.S. Huge shout-out and welcome to our new retail team members. It was great to meet you today! 🙌 🙌

#bestteam #lovewhatyoudo #lovewhereyouwork #VTeamLife”