What did folks think of the KA town hall today?
13 replies (most recent on top)
@je not all the people in that room losing their job were those who chose VSP. Some were GPs who may not be retiring or leaving by choice. Also not everyone who took VSP are happy about it but are making the best of a bad situation. Staging a pep rally in front of people in the process of separating from a company and people they’ve known for decades would have been completely tone deaf.
Let me be clear: people who took the VSP were choosing the lesser of two evils. I took the VSP, but not willingly!!! I have cried over it many many times. I would still work here until retirement if they would let me. But I felt I HAD to take the VSP because the writing is on the wall. My area has been replaced with contractors and some in India. The choice was clear: get out now with a “sort of” better VSP package (ie medical) , or be forced out later with the worse ISP package. DONT kid yourself that all us VSP folks are happy about it. I have personally spoken to probably 20 VSP people and every single one of us are upset and disgusted about it. NO ONE wanted to quit/retire. We felt our hand was forced.
For those saying that KA was being serious due to the number of people being let go, I totally disagree. The 550 people that took VSP did so willingly to leave. The other several thousand are who you speak to, and you want to motivate them. The town hall was handled completely wrong in my opinion. It should’ve been a rally that we’re gonna come out of this as a better, more efficient, and effective firm. Again, just the continued lack of leadership at Edward Jones in full view.
Might not have been the typical town hall with fun topics and jokes, but KA was delivering a very serious topic about people losing their jobs. Did you expect him to be smiling and laughing.
Homeboy getting paid millions to read cards! How do I get that gig?
Seemed coached. We want authenticity.
For those wondering like I was, I believe KA are the initials of the GP who heads Digital division.
He'd make an incredible undertaker. Homeboy made me sad. Is he always like that?
I wish they'd stop listening to the feedback and respond in ways that are genuine. He had a good start, but had zero excitement.
I thought it was subdued but I think it was appropriate given the situation. People are losing their jobs and that’s a tough environment. I think the scripting was probably a good idea given that every stray word is being used to fuel conspiracy theories on sites like this 😉
@a6 iykyk
That was easily the most unusual town hall I’ve attended. I’m not sure why it was even held. There was no new information shared, and none of the real questions were addressed. KA's tone, combined with reading from a stack of cards, made it difficult to engage with. It came across as very inauthentic.
What’s KA mean?
Today’s meeting had to be the worst leader meeting/town hall I have ever been in (over 30 years in the industry). Reading everything in a soft, monotone voice was terrible. Then doing a Q&A while reading the answers was so scripted and poor - it almost felt like a skit.
So unimpressed with EJ leadership. I don’t think I could make things up that I keep seeing. Also, I am starting to see good folks quitting and others looking for new opportunities. So very little at EJ to retain staff.