Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

Serious question for the managers who were trained -

How many % are outstanding with distinction?

@2bff+1cxt7Oho If you didn’t receive a raise last year you are not HiPo. You would know if you were. The fact that you don’t know if you are is your answer that you are not.

@2pev+1cxt7Oho Spot on. Bey well stated and exactly what I have observed as well. LM said in an employee forum recently that NSI are people we don’t need. Obviously he hasn’t met any of them.

I’d suggest they quit giving themselves raises and RSUs, subject themselves to the same PIP and layoff program and demonstrate we are all in this together.

…people here need more experience with other employers in other industries. It feels like you lack real world experience or calibration of what life is like outside a big company like EM. It’s good to know, you should look and investigate and find out for yourself.

A lot of good ideas mentioned in all this posts, but I hope everyone realizes that NONE of them can be possibly implemented without first blowing up the existing system.
The current EM management, at all levels, represents nothing less than a fraternity (mafia ?) of self-serving, self-perpetuating mediocrities who are rewarded exclusively as a measure of their loyalty to “the family” and have complete immunity from the consequences of even the most damaging errors.
As it was mentioned in some posts, the “management material” class considers everybody else to be non-values, nothing more than “the losers who didn’t make it” and would never accept any advice or ideas from them, because it would challenge the very legitimacy of the system. If you admit that you’ve missed quite a few people when you’ve evaluated “value”, then what other errors have you made ? Maybe DW never deserved to be working more than turning valves ? (No disrespect intended to those turning valves).
We have reached an amazing point where the management of this company is simply at war with regular workers. This isn’t just about salary or jobs security, things that regular employees always crave, it’s about the view that “the commoners” are faceless, useless nothings, who can be replaced or simply eliminated any time.
In the past there was a deal: the hi-po class doesn’t do any real work but tacitly allowed the best technical workers to have a relatively secure job and retirement.
What we see now is that disdain for non-“leadership” pushed to absurd and deeply damaging levels: experience and expertise are considered meaningless and even harmful, money-wise. This is unsustainable and will result in collapse.

I have a good one and I swear I’m not a troll. My dream action would be the company to stop supporting management to be dishonest to its workforce. Is that too hard to accomplish? Actions they can take to stop lying:

• Stop using PADP for increasing attrition (really?!)
• Do something about lazy mid management (supervisors): either fire or convert into some useless advisor that at least won’t harm a team
• Be honest about employee potential: if I won’t be an executive it sucks but I want to know now
• Be honest about future plans: it’s clear there is a strive to reduce workforce and test how far we can stretch the workload of who stays
• most importantly: admit the company has no clue of what’s going on and leave people decide where to work from. I know Exxon does not care if I die from COVID I might get at Houston Campus but my family and friends do!

I hope I was able to bring some sanity back to this thread since some of the suggestions I’ve seen are pretty pathetic (using sli.do and answering questions in forums - really?!).

Enjoy your Sunday

Get rid of the archaic ranking system. That is the number one problem.

Make suggestions with your feet.
Light your farts from the last texas burrito you'll ever have.

In EM, that is succeeding to communicate.

1. Publish anonymous ranking of each group and send to each employee. So everyone can see that the sups, dh, and managers protect themselves. Also show whether each person in ranking is a minority/female (just yes/no - need to keep it anonymous). This will show the hypocrisy of saying the company values technical careers.
2. Since we’re doing 8% a year until 2025 - we shouldn’t need as many managers, sls, or dhs. That adds up to a ~35% reduction. To achieve our new “lean” state, announce the 35% cut and have all sls, dh, and mgr jobs posted and interviewed for. Cut the fat.
3. Do the same with all advisor roles. If they can’t hack the technical side of the job, the job disappears.

A couple of suggestions. Not in any order

Manager knows their teams strengths and weaknesses. Cross train

Set expectations of team and individuals

Push back on other teams to have a structured project. Not just let’s see what sticks

To me this is the most important and really urgent need. Get off the meetings. This feeling of exposure on zoom calls is value has to stop. People are suffering because others in these teams are really not doing their part. Lazy. Manager will never know what’s going on buried in every zoom call because they are scared they will be left behind. Be a leader or get out of the way please.

There is no such thing as anonymous slido or surveys. I’ve done both. Your user ID is part of your response. Don’t be gullible.

8% NSI for Supervisor and Manager bucket only. If NSI, they can chose to return to a non-Management role or take the PIP.

Dump the forced ranking and mandatory 8% PIP system.

Current system makes every employee feel like they are on a 1 year contract.

With new ability to drop an employee from excellent to NSI, every employee is just one bad appraisal away from NSI. One disagreement with supervisor can now end a career. A transfer into a new group where Supervisor protects his long term team and new guy gets NSI. One budget over-run or safety event and NSI.

Internal job board so when I apply to a different roll my request also goes to a higher HR entity. Thay way my request doesn't just stop at my immediate management who will just hide my request bc it is embarrassing them that I want to transfer out of their team and also inconvenient for their short term business needs.

Nothing personal. I suspect OP's motive - are you tasked by the management as a scout? You're in the wrong place for that purpose if true. For one, I won't offer anything useful - waste of my time even if I have nothing better to do.

Siao

OP, what you’re asking for is the management mafia to recognize they’re incompetent and step aside. They would rather cut their right hand than relinquish control, hence the advice of @1pbn+1cxt7Oho
to let the “big dogs” worry about important decisions. To bad the “big dogs” only know how to fill their pockets and self-perpetuate themselves.

1. Find Oil and Gas. 2. Fire the entire UIS and UBD. 3. Buy Chevron

Why would you want to improve this company via inputs such as this?
Virtual slidos on a layoff board.

Best feedback to the company - leave it behind!

What else do you guys want? A free Mercedes Benz?

You guys just want the easy route. The PIP program is an excellent motivator. Otherwise you'll go back to slacking and browsing facebook. 10% NSI in perpetuity.

Really guys and gals? Anonymous slido? Did you ever get any decent answer or follow up when you were asking anonymously?
Are you serious that flexibility is the problem here? What id--tic business decision would have been avoided with flex time?
Ah, surveys of course. Yeah, right. Actually we had really anonymous surveys before - I know it as a fact. Do you know what management did with those surveys? Yes, exactly.
Oh yes culture change: changing the culture with the same managers. How did this work when the crisis came?

This is a sick organization with managers accustomed on doing nothing but going to meetings to get alignment to move the decision up! We have people that they have only reached top position based on how they mastered meeting politics and powerpoints. Do you expect the company to change?

Here how this company will change:

• Fink forces Woods to resign
• new external management is coming in at the top
• new top management does an evaluation of all managers down to L3s and removes at least 50% based on external evaluation and well known criteria- including feedback from employees.
• clear accountability of the remaining management/ cut all the alignment meetings!

I agree the current performance system has to go. The PIP process is bad for morale and is very damaging due to all the talent leaving on their own. We need a collaborative work environment not one where everyone is worried who will be the next person at the bottom. Not sure why management doesn’t see this process is ruining the company, Also think the company should adopt a hybrid work model allowing work from home part of the day or a few days a week.

Measure management and supervisor performance highly dependent on direct report feedback

There's no point in trying. Let's face it, the future of O&G is bleak. The ones remaining are the people who are going to switch off the lights.

For me the real motivator, game changer and path to happiness is to -- QUIT!

Great points OP and everyone who's commented so far. This probably falls into the "dream" category, but I think a move away from "workplace flexibility" to full on hybrid work would be a plus. Make it perfectly acceptable and the norm for people to only have to come into the office a few times per week, or as needed. As it is now, most people probably aren't taking full advantage of the workplace flexibility policies anyway... out of fear of being looked down upon by their peers or management, and having it negatively impact their career/ranking.

Great points, but even if the rank system is replaced it’s going to take years to undo the damage this crop of management has caused.

Mostly good points OP. Just a few changes below.

Realistic: eliminate most all second lines outside of operations and maintenance. Team groups that are recognized by their efforts. Weak team members will be exposed by teams and work only those. Group bonuses based off of delivery to the business.
Dream: Conduct a full-scale, third party run employee engagement survey and publish results and action plan. Don’t forget anonymous. No one replies to these surveys because we all know results of xom surveys are not anonymous.
Game changer: Dispose of current ranking system and replace with a management by objective system that will measure absolute performance of the individual and relative performance of a team so employees are actually focused on business needs not unnecessary step-outs. The current environment stresses individual which ki--s team work. Everyone is out for themselves which is causing the toxic environment outside of the fake performance reviews.

OP...all good points...I'd add flattening the organization top to bottom...way to may mid management who's sole purpose is to pass information. We need leaders and individual contributors. The rest is stale mold parasitically feeding off the rest.