Thread regarding Cengage layoffs

@kg exactly. They don’t understand how used and abused they are and UNDERPAID until they get out.

@hc you want some cheese with that whine?

@h3 lol that you are still shilling for any textbook company thinking it’s actual sales. There is a reason textbook sales reps resumes don’t translate to other sales jobs.

@h3 yep they are inept and i choose not to do anything else. I bet you have a target, i bet you have a bonus plan that you can understand, i bet you have a actual sales numbers you can view. Well.... we aren't living in the same reality.

I even bet you are cengage mgt .... but it doesnt matter. I'm a sales professional , but I'm not just going to pretend like i can i fully trust my management team to do the right thing and pay me fairly. I'm done till next year... take all of the business,,, we will only be get paid on New Takeaways , so old existing business means nothing to us......

"Higher Ed schools are finalizing ISBN selections this week, with some institutions potentially extending decisions until November 1"

This is what I love about Cengage reps, they actually think the sales season has wrapped up and they're sitting at home with their laptops while the rest of us are still out there, stealing their business. Turns out that company is as inept on the bottom as they are up top!

"Nah! I'm not doing anything till they figure it out and they stop hiding the data."

Upon further reflection, Cengage is the perfect fit for you. You guys deserve each other.

@f8 "Yet somehow, we're the ones expected to absorb all the risk and deliver the results."

I think most employees are compliant with this to get a paycheck and keep their benefits. At this point, morale is low. It's not about trusting Management. It's more about keeping the job. At least, this is the vibe I am getting from people around me.

The job market is terrible and oversaturated due to mass layoffs.

@f8 Nah! I'm not doing anything till they figure it out and they stop hiding the data. We all know they are not giving us what we need, not because it takes time but because they are thieves and liars. I will stick to the plan and suggest all others do the same. No more work until 2027 for the next sales season because this year they cannot blame on any of the reps, its Management who has to explain the 100million dollar loss.

If you cut 100 million but lose 200 million, does that equal Success? Let's see you Spin this disastrous year with apollo. MH and NK must GO>

@ex So let me make sure I understand the plan.

Management blows up territories, removes visibility into the business, eliminates tools we've relied on for years, creates confusion across the sales organization, and then expects the field to somehow make all of it work.

Meanwhile, they collect the big salaries, protect their bonuses, and if things eventually improve, they'll be the first ones standing on stage congratulating themselves for their brilliant leadership.

At some point, you have to ask yourself: why are employees expected to continuously overcome management's mistakes?

Reps didn't create this mess. Reps didn't design these territories. Reps didn't remove the reporting. Reps didn't create the confusion.

Yet somehow, we're the ones expected to absorb all the risk and deliver the results.

The reality is that many employees are simply waiting for leadership to prove that this strategy actually works. Until then, we're being asked to trust the same people who created the problems in the first place.

If management wants credit for success, they should also own responsibility for failure.

Right now, employees are doing what they've always done: showing up, working accounts, and trying to navigate the chaos. The difference is that fewer and fewer people believe the chaos was necessary.

But after all the disruption, that's a burden of proof that belongs to them, not us.

"But successful sales organizations give their teams territory intelligence, historical performance data, and visibility into the business"

So okay, they don't have that now. They just did a massive collapse of the business structure and now they're trying to sort things out. It happens. We had zero data - nothing - during the first year of Thomson. We didn't even have firm account lists, just a general direction: go forth and sell. And we did. Were we working schools that were actually ours? Who knew? About a third of the time, they weren't. But we still parked the car and walked the halls and did the thing. And it all worked out eventually, the company finally got their stuff together.

I'm not trying to defend the mo rons steering your ship these days, they are terrible and clueless people. I get it. Unlimited was a stoopid idea, MindTap suxxx, the lists have gone limp and the decision-making makes no sense. I do feel your pain, hope you can squirm out of this thing before too much longer. But that doesn't mean that one can't do the job, it just means that the situation isn't optimal. The company is in the midst of cutting $100M from their spend and the ownership's priorities right now are not long-term in nature. It's gonna be messy, how could it not be?

They're definitely doing silent layoffs. For example, I looked at the organization chart, and there were 2 VPs of Corporate Communications. I knew they would let go of one. Guess what? I just saw the LinkedIn post. This is happening throughout the organization in various departments.

@b6 For those saying this is just "someone told me something," here's the issue:

For years, we used Tableau and Data Warehouse reporting to understand sales performance, market trends, adoptions, gains, and losses. Whether you agreed with leadership or not, at least you had data.

Today, we don't.

It's mid-October, and many of us still don't have access to the same level of reporting we've relied on for years. That's not speculation. That's a fact.
As a result, reps are being asked to trust targets and forecasts without having the visibility needed to validate them independently. Again, that's not a rumor. That's reality.

So when people ask why employees are talking to colleagues across teams, the answer is simple: when the data disappears, people seek information wherever they can find it.

The real question isn't why employees are comparing notes. The real question is why the reporting and transparency that previously existed are no longer available.

And for those saying, "Go close something," trust me, that's exactly what reps are trying to do. But successful sales organizations give their teams territory intelligence, historical performance data, and visibility into the business. Those aren't luxuries. They're basic management tools.

If the business is healthy, show the numbers.
If the business is struggling, show the numbers.
Either way, employees shouldn't have to piece together the company's performance through hallway conversations and Teams messages.

That's not a request for gossip. It's a request for transparency.

Except there's no insight here, just vague "someone may have told me something". What is one to do with this "info"? It's the same nothingburger post this OP slaps up here every few days.

@aw nah, we actually appreciate this kind of insight. Some of us don't have these details. Thanks for sharing, OP!

More vague, generalized "info" that doesn't really tell us anything. I've spoken to multiple people outdoors today who feel that it might rain in the next couple of days. These posts are worse than worthless, there is as much hot air on this board these days as one gets from leadership. Blah blah blah, go out and close something.

Oof, good to know. I’m a former and because most of the people I knew were laid off with me, information from Cengage is scarce.