A Q for all managers and up: How many direct reports do you need to have to feel safe?
I have only 4
19 replies (most recent on top)
Scharf has stated very clearly 7 reports is the minimum. On the brokerage side the rumor is that it will increase to 10 reports. They gave 50 managers their notice this week on the brokerage side. All had less than 7 reports.
https://www.thelayoff.com/t/15kYaiHY here is a taste of what's coming
Seven is the first wave, be prepared as the span grows to 9 over the next 18 months...
Why are you stuck at 7 reports? That is just a target. Many "managers" and their 7 reports will be rolled and start reporting to other managers that before might have been their peers. The higher managers will make the decisions which managers get "realigned". It will be at their discretion. No one will lose their jobs unless you're obscenely paid and you are definitely not worth it and/or just "managing" aka sitting around and allocating work downstream and funneling it back up w/o adding any real value.
They will realign you, see how things shape out and then trim the dead wood, once they see the effects unless they observe disgruntled managers in which case they will overboard you even faster.
If you're on the revenue center think of ways to earn more. If you're on the cost center side think of how to make things cheaper.
Getting stuck on 7 reports means nothing. You will end up on teams of 30-40 and even more.
@efa I know a lot of folks in other banks who were close, if not directly responsible for a "revenue stream" that got let go. The question is can someone do your job cheaper. Plain and simple.
Well, looking at it another way: if you support managers with revenue you bring in from clients then you are much safer. I good manager once told me that the closer you are to revenue stream the more job security you have. Essentially, if you add financial value to the organization, they will not get rid of you. Just a thought
If i had 11-12, I’d feel ‘comfortable’, not safe
The info is out there internally of you're actually an employer and paying attention. 4 isn't your lucky number.
'becoming high level individual contributors' ?
what would that be? overpriced employees? (as compared to peers).
contributors need to contribute or go packing.
Some recent job postings for managerial roles mentioned managing teams 16-24.
BNYM forum posts also mentioned numbers close to 20.
@hsl That's probably a stop gap measure for now. I mean what's the point of S&L if all you do is shuffle folks around and end up with a flatter org structure but the same overhead?
Seems no one is safe but as pointed out it will be where you are at the end.
In my area my manager has presented a couple iterations already of his plan for restructuring. The plan would move the employees under the managers that have 3-4 directs under one manager with those managers staying as directs to my manager and becoming high level individual contributors. In most areas especially in risk, managers with just a few directs are themselves working managers and will more than likely still be needed, hopefully. We have already lost a number if positions in my team over the last year that we weren't allowed to backfill and are overworked so am hoping they won't take any more away, but one never knows.
Outdated thinking. That's the old way to survive a laid, but all that management is gone from the decisions.
There's a new sheriff in town and doing it the old way probably will not save you. A better question is if your work can be automated or offloaded to a team that does similar work.
No one is "safe ". Nothing you can do but pray.
You’re dead weight. Start packing your sh–.
I've heard that contractors count toward the goal of 7, at this point anyway. But what about admins?
It's the f-en hunger games at Wells Fargo. Sabotage and eliminate your opponent so you can best serve the Capitol!
Spans and Layers has been pretty clear: managers must have 7 directs. But that's 7 under the end state: so you have to knock off all your current DRs that are getting the sack. It will be biblical: them that's got will get, them's that don't will have what they have taken from them.
The longer term goal will be larger, with the next goal to be 9. Scharf has 14, not counting his admin. Assume 15 to be the magic number. Since they reorganized several non-business functions a couple years back to have less than 8 per manager, this will be fun.
Look for 7 org levels to be the minimum. Some reporting lines with high level professionals and even some sales groups may have less. WF India and Philippines will be exempt from this, and will continue to have large numbers of levels.
"feel safe"? is there such a thing nowadays...