Is it happening?
11 replies (most recent on top)
@c5 correct.
@bx not how it works at Dell.
18 - 20% in some groups (CSG)
@c3, c4:
Volunteering 100% happens. I’ve known several people over the years who have volunteered for WFR, and were then selected. Depends on the manager, of course, but it’s pretty common.
Can be something that is sensitive to discuss however, depending on the manager or region, so that’s worth considering.
@c3 My point is the fact that my manager has little to no say in who actually gets let go as the most of the roughly 50% of the team that he recommended for being layed off are the ones who were kept and tbe ones he wanted to keep were almost all let go. We're good friends and I could tell that being asked for names of people he thought should be layed off was stressing him out. To try to make it easier on him I told him I wanted to be layed off since I am already working a second job and am only a few years away from retirement anyway. Comparing this to committing fraud in any form is a logical fallacy of epic proportions.
@c1 Volunteering to be let go isn't ever going to happen. If dell doesn't have to pay out, they won't. Layoffs aren't always about money, either. Many times it's about redunedent jobs that aren't needed, jobs that literally aren't needed at all, and things like that.
You were on this list. That's great but, I promise you your manager had a much more detailed matrix that rated ALL of his directs and you didn't make the cut for one reason or another.
Maybe he ranked you at a 7 overall while ranking the ones laid off as 0-6's. Top performers get let go all the time and it's not because they weren't doing a good job; but because they were unliked, hard to work with, controversial, opinionated, rude, etc... Being a top performer doesn't = job security.
@c1 I'm not sure what your point is but, your manager DID have a list of people he/she decided were worthy of being let go. That list was submitted to HR/his bosse's, and he told them of this list, these are the 3 that I'd choose. The rest were based on what made him determine the others to be on that list.
You were not let go because Dell, like most companies, do not have voluntary "quitting" or whatever you call it. If you volunteer yourself, for all Dell knows, you have another job lined up and plan on collecting a severance they never HAD to pay to begin with. This is no different than telling your manager, "hey I want to quit but I still want a severance."
A volunteer list that includes those who WANT to be laid off but aren't "worthy" or "deemed" as one to naturally be laid off, are people Dell definitely won't let go because most would (i would) take advantage of the severance and land a new job asap. Therefore collecting free money.
In a roundabout way, it's almost similar to disability fraud. You fake an injury, get disability then go get a remote job or something, all while collecting free money.
Dell isn't gonna do that lol. But, now that your manager knows you want to quit/be laid off, you may get your wish by March. So if I were you, I'd start looking for jobs now...
@bx I've worked with my boss for a years and have a good relationship with him. He showed me the list of who he recommended to be layed off in March because I had asked to be layed off, and my name, along with the bottom 20 performers of the team were the list. March layoff day came and of the 21 people he recommended 3 were let go. The other 18 let go were a mix of top performers, folks with 10+ years at the company, and middle performers. I literally volunteered to be let go and was not.
It's always happening. It doesn't stop. I've only been here for 6 years and you just get used to it. It su-ks but, August is usually the "big layoffs" and then again in February. Historically anyways. Then in between it's a trickle of layoffs every day, week, month.
You just don't hear about the smaller layoffs because it's usually under 100 people or so. But it's 24/7/365.
If you don't want to be laid off then just be a middle ground employee. Try to border the "top performing" employees area but don't go much further than that. Be easy going, easy to get along with everyone and don't start arguments/conflicts; and don't voice any strong opinions or cause controversy. Basically, just stay as neutral as possible because the more you are "known" - for good or bad - the bigger the target is on your back during layoffs.
Be noticeable but not TOO noticeable. Get in with some managers/directors and do them favors sometimes. Be friendly to everybody and do "under the table" tasks for them if they are in dire need. But most of all, just form and maintain a great personable relationship with your manager.
Managers always say "they had no choice in who to let go" - That is 100% BS unless HR/execs are simply wanting to get rid of high earners to save money. HR and execs have NO idea who you are, what you do and how well you do your job. Your direct manager does, though.
Managers/directors have a checklist for layoffs that determine who they have to let go/who stays. It's more of a 1-10 type of check box but to keep it simple...
Does he perform well in his job? yes/no
Is he easy to work with? yes/no
Is he liked by his coworkers/others? yes/no
Does he go above and beyond? yes/no
Does he call in sick often? yes/no
Does or has he had complaints against him? yes/no
Do they volunteer to take on tasks/projects? yes/no
Are they habitually late? yes/no
Are they reliable? yes/no
Have they had any write ups/coaching plans/PIPS?: yes/no - this will do it right here if you have and many/most of the answers are "no/indifferent" in the above questions.
Any HR tickets filed against them? yes/no
Have they willfully broken any company policy? yes/no
Have they attempted to steal confidential information? yes/no
I made all of this up but my dad was a sr. manager at Motorolla, Freescale and AMD for 20 years and he told me that when he did have to do layoffs, he had a "matrix" type sheet in which he'd rate employees on based on a bunch of questions; similar to the above. I'm sure Dell does it similarly.
Would love to know if any REAL managers have insight as to how/why employees are let go versus others, though!
it is bigly
Yes