It is interesting to see RDO is slowly dissolving.
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It is a fact of corporate life that those who are at the helm/driving downsizing like at Enbridge become damaged goods and never again trusted by anyone. Seen it before, she had to leave to 'exorcise the devil' - even if she was following orders to begin with. It is tough being an agent of change. Even tougher to be someone trying to change culture...
Stinks to high heaven. Something is up.
Yes. But still odd at this point in time. Tells me there is definitely something rotten in the state of Denmark.
Could have seen this coming.
Kind of like watching the scene of an accident. You really don’t want to look, but you do.
This situation with the RDO and Karen really is intriguing. I am curious to know what really happened.
Best for her to move on and for ELT to put an end to the RDO, which confused, irritated and scared employees.
KR was following the agreed upon rules of engagement with regard to layoffs and the other ELT members wanted to improvise based on their own personal preferences. She clashed with them and AM sided with them. They were never going to take her seriously anyway because she didn’t represent the business. Best for her to move on.
If AM got rid of KR, will he now dispose of the entire RDO? Or will he move the RDO under HR? I don’t know whether AM has a problem with KR, specifically, or whether his issue is with the RDO in general. Based on what I have heard, he would be inclined to leave it to HR to determine all additional layoffs. He is not exactly the touchy-feely type.
A lot of intrigue for a pipeline company.
One thing I know for sure: if Al Monaco is in charge of ENB’s organizational culture, the culture is going to be harsh and cutthroat, because that’s how he operates.
I fully comprehend how he and Karen Redford clashed. No love lost in that relationship. He wanted her out.
Well played on her part.
She was laid off! She got a package!
Could be that the RDO applied the formula to its own members and Karen didn’t make the cut. To save face, she decided to leave rather than be laid off.
Interesting perspective. Maybe they didn’t effectively utilize the RAPID decision making model.
My completely uninformed take on the situation is that AM wants more cuts so he can shore up the balance sheet, but that KR doesn’t think ENB’s corporate culture can sustain those cuts at this time and still remain somewhat functional. That is pure speculation so take it with a grain of salt.
The RDO works with Bain and the VPs to determine which employees can be laid off such that ENB’s synergy savings can be maximized. They use a formula that takes into account an employee’s age, number of years from retirement, salary level, cost to the company, skills and ENB need for those skills, education and attitude (i.e. employees who have a history of questioning authority are considered less desirable than those deemed to be more passive). Because some VPs don’t like laying off good employees who, for whatever reason, don’t make the cut when the formula is applied to them, the RDO gets pushback.
It is a truism that people don’t leave companies, they leave bosses. Karen is leaving Enbridge because she and Al don’t hit it off. If the RDO is still needed (it’s a mystery to me what the RDO does other than come up with E= slogans and count the synergy savings due to layoffs, which one would think HR could do), Al will appoint someone who sees things his way.
Doesn't look good for the rest of the RDO when the captain jumps ship.
Since there is nothing else to develop outside of ENB's crown jewels, the next group to go or scaled down significantly is business development. Not that they have done a bad job but this function will not be in fashion for the next little while. This may save other's jobs.
I see her departure as a real loss to ENB. Although I wouldn’t have wished her RDO job on anyone, she brought much-needed diversity of thought to the ELT. She was much better as leader of Shared Services, where she was doing a real job, and doing it well.
I can’t see anyone else taking on the RDO job, unless they are planning on retiring immediately after. Even then, from what I can tell, it would be such a gut wrenching experience.
It was widely rumoured that KR had wanted to lead ENB’s renewables business once the RDO had finished laying people off and doing whatever other godawful work they were doing. However, with the imminent sale of ENB’s onshore green assets, she likely couldn’t see a place for herself at ENB anymore and chose to move on. It was either that or she had a huge falling out with the rest of the ELT. Wishing her well!
Did AM throw out the trash bag in the Ruined Delivery Office??
I suspect there will be a new name in 2018 - Layoff Delivery Office. I'm sure Enbridge can support a full time staff complement and legal team to handle laying off 14,000 more.
you can't be an alpha female in this business and not know what a pipeline is. Next.
With Karen leaving, given her close association with OEF, will ELT have to come up with a new slogan? I recommend that they eliminate confusion and just call it “Restructuring & Layoffs.”
Based on what everyone has seen, the Spectra acquisition was a bad deal for both companies. it has caused irreparable harm to the company. A lower-ranking employee has been fired before for making a mistake yet the head honcho is still very much around after costing the company billions. He should be treated the same way and made to pay up.
I applaud KR for bowing out. They gave her a ridiculous, soul destroying job. I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did in it. Onwards and upwards!
There are, of course, a multitude of factors to consider when running a large company. But when you decide upon a course of action (such as buying Spectra and taking on crippling debt) that harms an inordinately high percentage of your employees, you should think long and hard about proceeding. And then you probably shouldn’t. I, for one, think the Spectra purchase was a horrible decision.
The idiot from TCPL has no clue about his own company anyway. He must work in some facility in the middle of Buttf@#k No-where which his company couldn't care less about. The many that I know at TCPL speak to a culture similar to here. Maybe worse, as I have not heard of Directors bawling in meetings at Enbridge yet.
I really don’t know whether the acquisition was worth the pain or not.
What I do know is that it led to the ELT breaking what I once considered to be an unwritten and unspoken “sacred agreement” between employees and senior leaders. The agreement was that employees would bend over backwards to make the company a success, and that the leaders would, in turn, do their best to make sure that employees had a secure place to work and that they shared in the company’s success.
Once the ELT began laying people off for no good reason (i.e. they started firing, in the most humiliating manner imaginable, people who, for the most part, had done nothing but put ENB’s success above all else, just because they could be replaced more cheaply by someone or something else), the agreement was broken.
ELT made it clear that they didn’t care about employees. So employees have responded by leaving ENB, tuning out, not caring as much, and (at least anonymously or behind closed doors) expressing their disgust.
How can a company succeed when employees are in that state?
I doubt that senior leaders read these posts but, if they do, I urge them to carefully consider how employees will be impacted when making decisions about the company. Employees aren’t as expendable as you think.
I seriously don’t understand why Enbridge had to buy Spectra.
I know we acquired a lot of valuable natural gas assets in the deal. But was the acquisition of those assets worth all of the destruction that has ensued, including the loss of so many excellent (both Enbridge and Spectra) employees, the crumbling of our once-strong corporate culture and, as of this week’s announcement, the loss of our industry-leading renewable energy business?
Does anyone know?
The job of leading the RDO was never a job anyone could take seriously anyway as it amounted to doing the ELT’s dirty work. And it will surly be eliminated, along with the rest of the positions in the RDO, just as soon as the layoffs have been completed (my condolences to those of you who work in the RDO).
I am certain that none of the men on the ELT would be caught dead doing that job. Which means that another woman will have to do it again (probably at a lower level than Karen) if the men decide that it is still necessary.
I wish Karen every success in finding something more deserving of her talents.
Sounds like a sh--ty place to work.
The company is not in disarray and try visiting sites of other companies that undergo layoffs and reorg and you will see the same sentiment. The rule is if you dont work for ENB you don’t comment here. Out!!! Out!!! Guard get this person out!
Lol you Enbridge folks sure are salty. So glad to be a tcpl'er...no wonder your company is in disarray. Bad attitudes all over the place
RDO - Rudolph Died Overnight
ELT - Extended Love & Thanksgiving
BOEF - Bright & Overly Efficient Festivities
You think I can apply on KR’s position, at least part time? With the holidays coming I need extra funds.
Sometime I wonder if everyone who writes a comment here actually works in ENB.
Acronym Definition:
RDO = Results Delivery Office
ELT = ?
BOEF = Building Our Energy Future, now shortened to just OEF
You just gave a bunch of information about acronyms that can be used by external trolls in attempt to further erode the company's reputation. Think about it, as an ENB employee if you don't know what any of those acronyms are, you're a hillbilly living under a rock or a troll.
Wait until bonus payout in Feb. Hopefully it will be decent. You’ll start seeing people leave.
results delivery office; executive leadership team; build our energy future which is a joke and a code word for massive layoffs.