Senior Mgmt sent out note manadting 3 days/ week onsite presence. LL5 and above are onsite all the time to motivate the troops. Also, employees dedicated to programs, collocated in program team rooms, are complying with the mandate. However, onsite mandate does not seem to apply to core groups. Spaces dedicated to core teams are largely unoccupied while program team rooms seem to over flow their capacity. Not sure how the mandate is going to be enforced equally across the board...
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@3zli+1srkjh5T what amazing anecdotal evidence that totally applies to everyone else.
My commute to Dearborn is 20-25 minutes at most, RTO has really not impacted me at all. Been going in 4-5 days a week under wave one, business as usual here.
@2alr+1srkjh5T There are WFH positions out there, just the competition is really strong. Too many applicants. I have been able to reach the interview rounds in a few ocassions. In my last application I was one of the finalists. The company decided to go with other candidate. I'll keep sifting through the job market, looking for the perfect place for me.
Right now money is more important for me than WFH, but people who are looking for WFH are taking salary cuts. One of my friends went the contracting route over employment. He makes less, but he spends less (no conmuting).
@2zza+1srkjh5T. They can demand all they want. Ford isn't going to pay you more to come into the office. If you think there are plenty of WFH jobs out there, you are free to get one. Haven't you noticed? It isn't just Ford that wants people back in the office.
@2see+1srkjh5T. Yes, it has been terrible decision making at the senior executive level. It has filtered down through the ranks. One bad decision was not going back into the office 2 years ago when it was apparent that WFH was no longer effective. Poor direction from the top, and a bunch of people in their WFH bubble. Sometimes people need to be in the same room to tell the emperor he has no clothes.
who work from home will work for less, ~can~ work for less.
Yes. To put it another way, people will demand to be paid to compensate for the extra time and money required to commute to an office. People won’t do this for free.
You are parroting the same tired line that the executives keep pushing. WFH and COVID are not why our programs are in terrible shape and why the product pipeline is barren. It’s terrible decision making at the senior executive level that got us here.
"""someone should have said it, and someone else should have heard it, and someone should have acted on it. But no, instead they chose to implement it anyway, and now they're trying to fix the problems along the way ... just like we do the thousands of vehicles we build and park"""
This is LITERALLY how the entire company is being run. It's pathetic and yet another example of how inept the leadership of this place is.
@1xqx+1srkjh5T True, Ford won't need offices at all if WFH continues, since they will be out of business. WFH has been a failure. Initially, it worked because there was a degree of competence and inertia in the organization. That has run out to a large extent. Look around - product development and launch is a mess. All employees know this is the case.
@1nor+1srkjh5T. The issue isn't RTO. Delaying RTO will not solve any problems. The issue is that management is awful in every respect. Product planning, program execution, Ford Land, personnel management/HR - nothing is being done with competence. There needs to be serious pushback on these people. Why JF is still in place, as well as DF in Model E, is a mystery.
People who work from home will work for less, can work for less.
When people work remotely, the company saves money on the offices they don't need.
I don't see how companies can ignore these economic realities.
@1tad+1srkjh5T Yes, Ford planned and implemented RTO wrong, like so many other things.
On site collaboration could be great. People establish personal connections with coworkers, that not only help getting the job done, but can make people feel part of a bigger "thing". Having a desk assigned to each one, allows people to customize their work environment, and track other people down when needed.
However, RTO at Ford sux big time. IDK where other people, besides my team, are seated, making collaboration on site non existing. Ford Land should step up their game, since some of the facilities are clearly lacking. Instead of feeling motivated to work, I see the office full of doubt and fear. Coworkers are more concerned for layoffs or the sad state of the company, than for working in the nonsense plans that come from the top. Moral is in the toilet, right now, and RTO is not helping.
Return to 5 days a week will happen as soon as the new PDC building is ready.
I would prefer not coming in to “collaborate” with boomers and remote contractors
@juj+1srkjh5T. Good for you. Nonetheless, those that insist on WFH will find fewer and fewer jobs available.
Like so many other things Ford is doing lately, RTO was planned and implemented wrong. It's simply a fact. It represents one more problem the company has that they can't seem to fix - the wrong people doing the wrong jobs. Say what you want, if the company wasn't prepared for RTO, someone should have said it, and someone else should have heard it, and someone should have acted on it. But no, instead they chose to implement it anyway, and now they're trying to fix the problems along the way ... just like we do the thousands of vehicles we build and park all around Detroit to be fixed later.
Believe what you want. I know for a fact they are checking badge ins.
I'm surprised no one is talking about the 80% (4 days/week) attendance discussed at last Kumar meeting...they talked a lot about attendance percentages, badge swipes generating lots of data. I figure we'll see the next note next month or two.
@cvj+1srkjh5t...Jim b clarified the expectation of going in to collaborate after the 3 day rto action was implemented so there is no trumping...he clearly stated...expectation is to collaborate in person not to go in and sit on webex at a hotelling spot...he also literally said it was not a badge check. Or do you have more stripes than jim b to trump his clarification?
@fqe I don't want to reveal my local prominent company but my team had a hybrid situation due to awesome management well before covid as I was told. I was part of the 2019 Ford SRD and joined my current company (and team) in 2021 while covid was still in full effect and everyone was still WFH. The company made plans to have us return to a hybrid situation but ultimately decided to keep us at WFH. Some people have to be onsite 1 day a week though. Others like to be in the office all 5 days but that is voluntary. We have no problems meeting our goals and getting all our work done.
@trj+1srkjh5T. Good luck on your next job. WFH positions are declining in private industry and government jobs.
Ok, I get it about RTO. It helps in terms of teamwork, spirit, camaraderie. It’s good to have social contact with coworkers, friends and families. 3 days a week isn’t unreasonable.
However the ‘migrant worker/hoteling’ desk scenario is totally unreasonable. Since there are less employees overall due to cuts and retirements since SRD in 2019, and subsequently work being sent to Mexico , India, Brazil, why can’t the company provide fixed desks? Who wants to clean off their desk every day like it’s a dirty table in McDonald’s.
And, the company needs to answer this, how can RTO be required, when they bragged a couple years ago “work from home let’s us meet our needs for talent and hire the absolute best talent all around the country”.
@trj+1srkjh5T - OP sounds more like Raj than Karen!!
So, if we go with the "Dell" system, very few will obtain "Blue" status, unless we give up our vacation and personal days.
Ford will probably jump on the RTO bandwagon, following Dell's example:
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/08/dell_return_office/
Just put on your bunny slippers and head to the office!
One leader in Ottawa is strictly enforcing this, no exceptions. While the other guy seems to have the attitude that we can do what we want, DF has no idea who comes in and doesn’t. That said, my org (the one with freedom) is a mess, we deliver nothing on time and quality is cr-p. I think that is reflective of the leader, regardless of RTO.
To last poster, RTO is a company-wide effort that trumps all previous statements related to the topic. Stop being obtuse.
Equally does not apply. It is if you have a need to collaborate and not just go in to be seen that you are there. Jim b stated that in multiple forums.
Most companies are asking employees to do hybrid work. And those who are breaking the hybrid rules are being warned indirectly in all employee meeting by saying, "we encourage you to come into the office to collaborate" and they say this several time during the meeting. This way, if you don't show up to work, they can lay you off. This is what my international company is doing. I do not work in the auto industry.
Su-k it Karen. If you want to go in to the office, go in. Stop worrying about everyone else.