Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

This is not the first time this has been done here. It will be unfair and make no sense.

As team members we need to figure out a way to band together and hold the new JP Morgan West management accountable.

ER = Employee Relations within HR

Some groups are great with great leaders. I have seen some terrible ones. Mine is great and as a matter of fact my leaders are the best I have ever worked for. Of course I work hard and have quality output and leadership in my own role as well. Make yourself valuable and needed. If you have a toxic environment, leave or try and make change. Believe it or not there are many people who want to help this company. The fact is there is a lack of genuine leadership all over the board.

I know "HR" does everything that is in the best interest of the company.

Is "ER" different from HR or just another way of saying HR?

unless there are specific groups called out on here, then I am inclined to think people on here a full of sh–.

This whole rating thing must be group specific. The group I work in has not received any such message. My reviews and the ones I do for my staff do NOT have any requirements for ratings.

Corporate Risk here, and my team was told repeatedly there were going to be no ratings, but that appears to have changed with an e-mail that went out Friday. Which took my manager completely by surprise.

Things are about to get ugly. Trust no one.

Just received an email from my manager that our mid year reviews will now be more formal and ratings applied. After we were assured multiple times this wasn’t going to be the case. And so it begin.

What your team is? WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW...

I truly feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with this WF culture. The best thing anyone can do is get out asap. Move on to a supportive and heathier environment. Take action, start looking and networking. Evaluate if their approach to people and the toxicity aligns with the Golden Rule and your values. They don't mine.

This business of rank and yank, or the so called vitality curve is just a giant, stupid corporate game.

As a practice, it’s defunct at most companies that used it because it’s easy to game, counterproductive and really ticks people off. Unless you’re ranking people doing the absolute identical job, it’s a meaningless exercise.

I’d say that in this situation it’s just illuminating how dire things are with needing to reduce staff that they are using this approach.

Look out for yourselves, no one is going to do it for you.

@1l, that joke is sick for sure.

The good news for employees is managers will be first to go, no need fo 10 layers of management when cost cutting is the priority.

This is how it went in past companies I worked at.

@1loa which senior leaders and which call?

Some excellent points here. So I’m guessing with ratings being done by a completion date of July 31 and possible layoffs announced this week they will have all the ammunition they need. Pushing the actual drop dead and get out date to October.

At the start of a weekly call last week, senior managers were joking about the "rank and yank" about to hit employees. I was disgusted by their callousness and actually hope it happens to senior management instead.

This company is a cesspool of twisted individuals. Period.

google "forced ranking"

I've been with WF for nearly 10 years (another 10 years with a prior bank acquired by WF). I've never received a mid year review. I have not heard anything about a mid year review to date. I expect next week possibly? Or, my dept is safe......or, my entire dept is chopped? Either way, went though this in 2008 and learned my lesson. Debt is self imposed slavery, never again.

I have been with Wells/Norwest for over 30 years and have always received a mid year review. There were never any ratings associated with those mid year reviews. They were designed to assess progress against objectives and avoid any year end “surprises”. As far as PIP’s are concerned, emphasis should be on what the letters stand for - especially the last (plan). A PIP is designed to put together a comprehensive plan to improve performance. In my years as a manager and individual contributor, I have created a couple and assisted in others. In EVERY case the net result was a better FTE! It should also be noted that the “plan” is not something that is overnight. It takes many weeks/months of continual coaching and meetings to discuss progress (or lack of progress) before any action can be taking.

@xoz: “the firm” knows exactly who you are and we’re watching you....

I have worked for the firm for many years and never had a mid-year review. The culture in our LOB is to provide consistent feedback and coaching throughout the year. Our managers know what we do, tackle problems right away and give both positive and constructive feedback on a real-time basis. Doesn’t sound like how Wells likes to manage, right? Most managers don’t have any idea what their employees are doing, some even being located in different states. Thus we have to fill out our own reviews.

We’ve always considered employee performance reviews to be more arcane bureaucratic bs designed to serve and protect firms, not employees. Managers and employees all detest them Similar to the ever-growing list of online compliance classes we waste our time on every year.

I know some here are going to reply with all the many reasons they think they are a good process- I’m just pointing out how our LOB rolls. I often think that if we could all just focus on the work at hand- get it done and get it done right the first time, have knowledge managers who are experts over the areas they are responsible for, and not be distracted with all the corporate poppycock: we might not be in such a dire mess.

@nta

Uh huh, yeah... I know, just like every other year right down to the template itself.

There is nothing new about this except maybe the intention to rate people more harshly and cut the bottom. Other banks have been doing this for years. WF hasn’t and it’s part of the reason why the cuts will be really deep and broad.

Always have gotten a mid year, but have never had a performance scale tied to it.

Sorry they better not try that one! They will lose.

Failure due to the executives! They are happy when stock at $50 per share, while other companies are 100 times that, even during this pandemic, so they cant use that as their excuse. Then we only hire old, obsolete knowledge and expect results. That is obvious there will be none.

@nab That is interesting. I work in EIS and have always had a mid-year "review", but they have never included a rating before.

@nab updated mid year guidance was sent yesterday. Your manager will have to assign you a rating by 7/31 and it will probably get logged in CP&D

Bizarre... I have been at the bank for several years. I always had a mid year review and I have in a couple different areas, it always had whatever the standard rating was at the time. 1-5, performing etc.

The mid year document I received this week looked very similar to every other mid year document. You and your manager add comments now, then update it again early January. I have copies of all of them. If midyears are new to you at WF, I’d say your department has really bad management and they should be shown the door alongside underperformers.

Of course, I am pretty sure that the lack of an enterprise system for performance management and documentation is part of the most recent consent order.

we were told to put as many stats as possible. how much you complete

Wow. That’s typical behavior of a criminal enterprise!

how would a mandatory curve work if the team is small? say 2-3 drs to a manager?

How do contractors fit into this? We have contractors who work through agencies who have been with us over two years. Shouldn’t they be the first to go? Or are they safe because they are not actually employees and receive no benefits?

I thought I smelled a rat. I have never seen such focus on mid years as this year! This culture is just terrible. It is sick.

Unbelievable. No conscience whatsoever. Are we inefficient and need to reduce staff? Yes. But to do something like this to avoid severance is the lowest of low. You can’t give someone making say 50k a year who has been there 10 years 10 weeks of pay to help them get by and pay bills, put food on the table for their kids until they find a job?? If those people default on bills(which I hope they don’t) , I sure wish they have their mortgage and 20k in credit card debt with wells. Go buy another guitar chainsaw, throw it in the garbage and go shoot another video conference in your office with leather bound books that smells of rich mahogany.

Dear ER employee, thank you for the warning.

When the email came out that senior management “reconsidered” and now wants us to to rate mid year performance that is exactly where my mind went......... who can we rate low now avoid severance pay. Wouldn’t about 4 of Charlie’s 20 new hires have to be rated a “2” or lower?