I see a lot of hate being directed towards managers and supervisors on here. I suppose as the ones who deliver the bad news that is to be expected. I find some of the statements a bit illogical though. Time of high emotion I know. My low level supervisors and managers for the most part were all good people who did the best they could to do right to their team. The ranking system is not set up so that everyone can win and they can do nothing about it.
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@2ijq+18e9Pojj If you believe this you probably also believe the best way to get your next assignment was to wait for a call from the S&D coordinator. Network is everything. You can’t judge a person from their careerconnect profile. Hell I haven’t even filled mine out. Get to know people. Make a human connection. If you had to pick a team member and had a stack of papers describing people you’ve never met and a recommendation from someone you trust what choice would you make?
Someone is living in a fairy tale land. People know people and will ask. It is how the world works. It is how many of us will find our next job. It’s called having a network. It works much better than submitting resumes to websites. I recommend everyone develop an industry network including people outside of EM. A strong network can mean fired Friday employed Monday and collecting double pay for a couple of months.
@2ixe the difference is that government doesn't have to make money. Of course their work doesn't add value.
Unless you’re applying for a government job, future employers are not allowed to randomly call your former co-workers or managers unless you designate them as references.
Don't impulsively disparage your supervisor or blame co-workers for your performance problems. This is a hard one if you think they helped cost you your job, but future employers will conduct thorough background checks and seek input from former colleagues at all levels. Any enemies that you’ve made with your departing comments will be more likely to share damaging information. Parting impressions can be lasting and might influence staff to view you as a negative person.
@2eqx+18e9Pojj Only people I know who count on lifelong employment are government employees and boy their stories of toxic work environment and non value add work out mine to shame!
I find people who have worked anywhere other thanExxonMobil are much better equipped to deal with this layoff as they’ve been there done that before. EM lifers are getting a painful lesson now in how the rest of the world lives.
Talk to your friends and siblings who work outside. How many of them thought they could spend their entire career(or would want to) with the company they joined when they were 22 years old? Likely you’ve already been with EM far longer than most people stay with a company.
Don’t hate the players hate the game
So what would a system full of managers with courage of conviction look like? People had to be PIPd and laid off. Again the only argument I hear being made is it shouldn't have been me. If my supervisor had courage of conviction or whatever someone else would have been PIPd or laid off.
Most supervisors do stand up for their team members but it is a zero sum game. Someone has to be PIPd or laid off. My supervisor can stand up for me and your supervisor can stand up for you all day long until they are blue in the face but they aren't leaving the ranking room until someone is put on the list to be fired.
Supervisors, please try not to raise your voice and bully your subordinates just because you can. I’ve seen too many supervisors who have a taste of power and let it go to their heads. You are not blamed for decisions made above you but for your own behavior.
Supervisors - it’s ok for you to not stand up for your team members. But don’t lecture your team members about “courage of conviction” (another XOM buzzword) because you don’t have any:
So what are you suggesting? Supervisors should all hold a sit in at Sizzle and refuse to perform the ranking? Why didn’t you organize a protest if you are so passionate about it? #scapegoatcopout
Just as you weren’t in a position to change anything your supervisor isn’t in a position to change anything. Do you think those who make these decisions give a damn about what a low level supervisor or manager thinks?
Spare me the “just executing orders” BS. This is not the Holocaust you mo–n. If it was and you stayed until you were PIPd you are just as guilty.
Any supervisor who behaves as some suggest on this board will quickly be demoted PIPd fired.
I don't know or care what your skill levels are, I just hope that EM moves you into a low level supervisory role. I want to see you storm into those senior level meetings where ranking and layoff decisions are being made and watch as you leap upon the table and demand that everyone listen to YOU and what YOU have to say about everyone's performance. After all, you are now a CL 24 SUPERVISOR!!
After security escorts you off campus and HR tells you not to report back, the layoffs will go on as planned. But, instead of everyone celebrating your new martyr and unemployed status, they can now blame YOU because YOU failed to save them. Fun being in charge isn't it?
@umq+18e9Pojj - now I get it. Influencing without authority means kissing a–.
I have to admit my manager is really good at that.
They mean that YOU need to influence without authority not them. Your manager knows their career is fine
Don’t we say, “we were only following orders” is not an acceptable excuse in other situations?
@roj+18e9Pojj - you hit the nail on the head. Low level managers and supervisors have their share of accountability in this.
My supervisor always talks about having strength of conviction and influencing without authority. Where did these disappear for him when higher ups made a decision about me? He thought I was valuable and in fact been asked to stick around till March for transition.
So much sycophancy in defense of the cogs who “just follow orders”, who apparently have no input and no say to what happens to people or the organization.
Maybe that’s the problem, those leaders don’t speak up timely when decisions are made, they don’t influence without authority, their collective silence makes them complicit of this debacle.
This company shouldn’t be a clergy where the top can’t do no wrong. It’s a messed up culture of fear, intimidation, command and control, compliance and silence. It isn’t either the army.
If those supervisors and managers would care more for the well-being of the company instead of protecting their own paycheck, the organization would be more accountable and more effective. It’s the mentality of accepting stupid decisions and stupid outcomes over and over what needs to stop.
Hold executives accountable. Nobody gets a free pass.
When I hired on my assigned mentor told me the rankings and supervisors will be fair sometimes, unfair sometimes, and generous sometimes.
I had some great supervisors and managers who really helped me and cut me slack when I had some really big personal trials. They aren’t all bad.
I always felt my immediate supervisor and manager knew me and cared but above that I was just a number that could be easily outsourced PIPd or whatever
At the end of the day my supervisor or maybe not my supervisor - maybe someone else in the assessment thought I was the person they could most easily afford to lose. Maybe I was in the wrong role at the wrong time. Maybe I made the wrong person mad. Maybe maybe maybe. I will never know what it was but at the end if the day i should have done a better job making sure people knew why they needed me around and what I was and could do. My first reaction was yo blame others. Now that I’ve found a job and am moving in I see I could have done more. I’m still on this board though do part of me is still stuck in the past I guess.
Yeah. Someone has to be cut per the rules of the system. Rules were not set by low level managers and supervisors so basically criticism has to be they cut the wrong person. In other words they should have cut Mary or Tom or anyone but me. Hard to be logical and impartial when you are the one cut.
Human reaction to blame the bearer of bad news.