When will we learn? Oh wait, we know better, we read and sign off on the annual COBC certification. Leadership is too busy tilting windmills to read the fine print.
Two years ago, the well defined structure of the Authorized Retail sales channel had clearly defined “rules of engagement” that had been in practice many a year. Every one of the authorized retail doors had an assigned AT management and bargained-for. The managers are under duress to violate co-employment standards and contractual obligations to authorized retailers and the bargained-for agreements with the CWA. Managers have no choice but to comply with Brian’s directives or be “coached out of the business” or to leave voluntarily to take years of retail and customer service experience to our competitors. Examples of co-employment violations by managers include: a) The IGNITE program places ATTR Store Manager into AR stores to do side-by-side selling and coaching of non-employees, a direct violation of co-employment rules, b) Brian has pressured human resource hiring managers to release the employment application information such as contact number and previous experience directly to Prime Communications (it’s largest Authorized Retailer which intends to convert a large number of ATTR location to their management in Q1 of 2020), and c) giving Authorized Retailer governance and direction over the job responsibilities of Area Retail Sales Managers (and in some cases certain Directors of Sales). The CWA is now learning that every hours an ATTR store manager or assistant manager is working at a nearby authorized retail location, that is time taken away from coaching, development and local outreach in the company owned location. This means less traffic in company owned stores, fewer weekend manager coverage hours, less assistance at closing large deals or providing exclusive manager incentives in the company owned locations. This lack of dedicated management results is impacting the bargained-for employee’s attainment of their “at-risk” commission compensation. Multiply that compensation loss times 10,000 bargained-for employees and it all adds up to trouble for AT&T.
Reduce the risk to AT&T, restore business models that work and provide inspection points to protect customers and employees, and give Brian Shay the retirement he desperately deserves.