You have to be really obtuse to not see it happening. While longtime staff is heading for the exits, leadership layers seem to multiply. Meanwhile, the same tired "restructuring" buzzwords keep getting recycled as morale tanks. Is anyone else noticing this pattern, or are we all just pretending it's normal?
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Exit plans…? for many, it was made for them either “forced” to Accenture or those NOT relocating to Frisco.
Best of luck to the rest of the population who were not sacrificed based on their job role or work location.
The culture is irreparable. The rot is so deeply engrained in all aspects of the culture and at every level, it will never be fixed. TIAA is dying a slow death. The only question is who buys the corpse before it totally decays. The company was built on a mindset of a non-profit, entitlements, arrogance, and the overall belief that no matter what, plan sponsors and participants won't, and largely can't, leave TIAA. It worked for 100 years. But the world has changed...competition is greater, core clients are shrinking in their own businessness, laws have changed and the investing public has become more educated. Like the fall of any great empire, it's a complicated story - one that should be studied in business school case studies for years to come. If you work (or worked) here, consider yourself lucky - you got to pile up unheard of retirement contributions, get paid very well for the work you had to do and got to enjoy some of the riches of the empire before the fall. If you are still there, better get your exit plans in order...
One of the problems with TIAA is and always has been that there are far too many managers and directors without any direct reports. Be it TIAA FTEs or contingent workers.
I know someone who had their hands full as a mid level manager with far too many people under them and it burned them out when they got even more associates added under them after recent reorgs and left TIAA. Which is history repeating itself when a similar thing happened back in 2018, 2015 and even as far back as 2003 when managers left TIAA or retired due to being assigned more direct reports and contingent workers than they should have.
Losing good quality managers due to ineptitude of promoting seniors and leads to people leaders so no one is overwhelmed is the problem. Lack of promotions you shouldn’t have to apply for
With any company I would (and think most associates would) rather be on a team of 4 or 5 than a team 20+ (as a direct report or a manager) because at least their work would be recognized as a teammate and they could see the underperforming workers much easier as a manager.
Until this core issue is resolved there is no moving forward and work will be lost in the shuffle of reorgs and changes.
The engagement surveys in our department were so bad in the fall that now our team doesn’t even talk about them.
There is no plan or accountability. Anyone in middle management know they can’t fix the root causes or issues.
Good employees are leaving. That hurts the participants more than anyone.
That sports team analogy is pretty good.
It’s fine. Everything is fine. Nothing to see here.
No but seriously this happens every so often for anyone who’s been here for 20 or more years. Vicious cycle that eventually will (rather should) catchup to them but they will likely have moved on before then.
TIAA and other companies like it is like a sports team that is constantly rebuilding. New owners, GMs, Coaches, First overall draft picks that go somewhere else after 2 or 3 years, veterans leaving for another team for more money (or the veteran minimum to get out of toxic situation) or retiring…
the only difference is our participants are the ones who will suffer instead of a fan putting a paper bag over their heads or gets angry when the team wins an extra game preventing a number 1 draft pick.