Instead of playing monday morning quarterback and complaining about all the problems step up and be a part of the solutions to bring us back to the strong company we once were.
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But I know at the end of the day I did my job and I did it well. I like what I do, the school I work for, the faculty/staff I work with, and my team is amazing. I remain in high spirits that something will change.
Now thats funny. Something did just change, your max bonus was reduced to 10%. Keep working extra hard, picking up the slack for employees that are gone etc....it is really paying off. Someone at the home office mentioned that the jobs are still getting done so it is obvious there was way too much payroll.
I felt the exact same way and worked 60+ hours per week for years and always put my job first, made personal sacrifice to my family and myself. Then I was laid off and now I wish I could go back in time. I am not saying you should rip the company off or work less than a 40 hour reasonable week, but to sacrifice and ultimately be shown the door just doesn't feel right. I have a son who is 22 years old and they have the right attitude and actually follow the work life balance approach. In addition, they understand the rules that really there is no loyalty to a company or to an employee. They both do what is best for them.
Now that resources are very lean/understaffed because of all the layoffs, for those of you that are putting in way more than a reasonable week effort/hours wise think about who is benefiting. The Follett family received their FULL dividends, while the employees were laid off, received no increases and received no bonus. Shouldn't there be shared sacrifice? Heck, regardless of how you do next year at best you will get 50% of the bonus amount. Recognize that the family/leadership is not looking out for you , do what is right for YOU.
"BUT there are many devoted hard working employees left ,they have to do the jobs of those gone with no additional compensation. We still are striving to serve our customers, promote Follett while wondering what's next and if we will have a job tomorrow. As for my crew I appreciate their dedication and hard work during these difficult times."
I agree with this, I am one of these. Those of you that call us weak, naive, stupid - that's fine. But I know at the end of the day I did my job and I did it well. I like what I do, the school I work for, the faculty/staff I work with, and my team is amazing. I remain in high spirits that something will change. If it doesn't, so be it. At least I can say I didn't give up. I'll go down fighting. I refuse to stay silent anymore. If something is wrong, I fix it, if I can't I complain to who can. I won't sit back and let myself or my store have a bad image because of someone else. I'm not in this for Follett, I'm in it for my team, my school, and my customer. I'm here to serve them, and I will continue to do so until I'm told I no longer can. You call it stupid - I call it dedication.
I am currently on sick leave and fear ever going back to work again especially knowing when I go back, they will fire me! I don't give a damn about the job but getting fired is one thing, not working is one thing, not being able to work due to my health is another thing but the worst is simply not wanting to work. It is not about being lazy either, I just hate having have to wake up to be among humans, doing boring stuff in and day out.
Yea original poster.. shut the hell up.. bet you never had to go home and tell your loved ones that you just lost your job and there wont be any christmas or bday gift this year.. So let us vent if we want..
I agree there are many good people left. But clearly a plethora of top notch folks have been pushed out, selected for removal or just plain quit. To hope that the cultural and ethical decline will suddenly do a 180 is naive at best. There are too many companies out there that actually value, train and foster fertile ground for growth to hope that things will change or you will be the one to receive severance. (Not sure where the misnomer originates that says severance is fantastic, but good luck with that.) Past performance is a perfect predictor of future behavior.
Most of the people still here are hoping to get the severance package or outlast the current leadership.
Every company has problems, and sometimes the problems you know are easier to deal with than the hidden problems somewhere else.
A lot of good, hard working employees are left at Follett. Unless they're planning their exit, they're also idiots.
The "good" hard working people have seen their benefits cut, their pay cut, their jobs become less and less doable, they've seen their friends and colleagues hurt and they' seen careers ruined. Yet they stay. At some point they have to acknowledge some severe disability that makes them unmarketable, or they have to come to grips that they're fairly weak people. What's happened these past 3 years isn't OK. That you're still going to work and you're worried about loosing this sh-- job illustrates your values and priorities.
To repeat, if you're a good worker who is still at Follett, get out. You're become stained and tainted.
Sorry you were among those let go.It's true many hard working employees were let go BUT there are many devoted hard working employees left ,they have to do the jobs of those gone with no additional compensation. We still are striving to serve our customers, promote Follett while wondering what's next and if we will have a job tomorrow. As for my crew I appreciate their dedication and hard work during these difficult times.
a RIF will make a company stronger by eliminating the least productive people. Instead Follett has chosen to take an ax and eliminate huge swatches of high performing employees often leaving the worst performers in place. Does anyone even understand the logic of the layoffs? I consistent scored very high on my reviews4+, a new manager comes in and I am gone.
I venture to say the weakest employees are still at follett and probably doing even less than before.
This is an American Tragedy. Don't be the ones sitting alone in the dark when the last of the lights go out in Westchester. Make a proactive change and regain control of your life. There IS life after Follett. If you stay you are simply allowing the executive team to get to their golden life rafts with a little less effort. Make them swim for shore too. Hard and against the waves.
Well said Brown Nosed Nancy !
These Kmart deadheads dont listen to anyones opinion but hi is own . Its over just waiting for the announcement .
I also have some advice. I think that the original poster should kick themselves in the head.
Rather than complain or Monday morning quarterback...
We have no other information than the crumbs they throw us and their actions. If there was direction to success, your criticism would be valid. However, there is no direction to success. Management's actions have been clear. If you've worked here for a long time, you're not welcome any longer. If you're paid benefits and you're in a store, we're taking the benefits back. If were paid a bonus based on performance, you won't receive a bonus in the future. Your salary is too high. Your benefits are too costly. There are too many of you. We don't know how to change our operating paradigm, so you're out of luck. That's what's been clearly communicated these past 3 years. So, the sniping and angry posts should be expected.
Textbook sales are like the ice suppliers of the early 1900's. Once refrigeration was mass produced, 90,000 people lost their jobs. Welcome to the advancing age of technology.
Done correctly, a RIF will make a company stronger by eliminating the least productive people. Instead Follett has chosen to take an ax and eliminate huge swatches of high performing employees often leaving the worst performers in place. Right the ship? Not when corp is busy knocking holes in the hull.
I want to believe the last poster, and I've very much been a cynic over the firm's future in the years I spent in the field. My hands are just as bloodied as every other axe man forced to take part in the RIFs over the years. But I would say this; nice as it would be, do NOT get complacent, keep as many irons in the fire as you can, the moment something else comes along, ask yourself if you truly believe deep down, that we've righted the ship. You have to live with that decision, not some toadie or troll (like me) in the end.
We WILL be great again. The acquisitions were done to make us stronger as a whole corporation. Not just Higher Ed, SS, or wholesale. Things are going to change. Stores will be heard from, and ran again as they were meant to be - individuals. Not some cookie cutter retail model. The bad is being noticed and is being fixed. And no I'm not a corporate monkey.. At store level here
What are some of your ideas? Leadership has been in place for quite some time, and what have been the solutions? Neebo, Advance Online and Classbook.com
The solutions to our problems was in the employees that were let go over the past three years.
That is a great idea, until Follett lays you off in the next 4 months. This company can never be great again. They have lost too much talent over the past three years at a time when the competition in our industry is at its strongest. They have eaten our breakfast, lunch and are half way through dinner. Make me mental.