Layoff, RTO, relocations, and rumors are what bring us here. I have a few minutes to share some of my insight moving from individual contributor to tech director and lastly AD. I hear chatter about who gets laid off and who doesn't. A lot of you think that layoffs purge the poor performers, and you're absolutely right. But, what makes a poor performer? Lets say I have 10 people on my team and all of them are great. I am told I have to reduce 2. If I happen to have an approved req for a backfill, I may be able to use that. If not, I have to go into the pool looking for poor performers. Here's a real example. Unfortunately, its one of many. You see, we go through this at least once a year, sometimes more.
10 people, 2 positions. Here were my poor performers.
First was an L2 single mom who was frequently swiping in closer to 9 most days. Great PO but, late. She was a solid performer and had an excellent rapport with her team and stakeholders. Next was an L1 QA analyst. He was a little hard of hearing so sometimes he played his music a little loud through his beats. People complained that they didn't like John's music tastes and that even when he wasn't listening to music, he still ignored them. Poor John's hearing loss and loud music didn't change the fact that he was outstanding at his job, worked 9+ every day and cared about his performance. Last person was an employee whose family lived offshore. He would take long vacations once or twice a year to go back to his homeland. One year, his vacation coincided with an outage that happened a couple weeks after a release. "John #2" was in India and was sleeping when we identified the problem. He did not respond to emails and didn't have cell service. We fixed the problem. No one blamed John 2, much. i was called to the mat and asked why I let him go so soon after the release. I said, A. we release every 2 weeks, and B. I can't control the timing of his religious holidays. He was a good developer though a little full of himself... and he smoked like a fiend. I hated it. Always smelled like cigs. Good performer though. Respected and worked constantly. Except when he was on vacay, that is.
Quiz time! Which one got the pink slip? It was only 1. I had one get out of jail free card to play. I had me a scapegoat that i pulled from another team to fill a backfill. We 'met' at a HH. He was an L2 who had been elevated. Lower salary. UOP bizzness degree. Nice enough but a bit too conversational after a couple beers. Very active social life. Work was a clear second, maybe third priority. He met all the criteria for a good worker who'd be easy to boot in a 10% rif. There's a poor performer. That was 1. Who do you suppose number 2 was? Answer. None of them. I didn't want to have HR probing my selections. Instead, I said that "Tom" was a great developer but he was abrasive at times and didn't like the Agile game. Tom was smart, experienced, and expensive. He exceeded expectations at every turn despite hating to have to attend the agile ceremonies.
Now, we are in 2026. RTO has happened. You can't use that any more. Countless layoffs have whittled down the poor performers. So, look around at your teams tomorrow. You are the pool. One or 2 of you are poor performers and you don't even know it. Its not the person you want it to be. It rarely is. Its the person who believes in AT&T or at least believes in the product. Its the person who wants to hang out or who enjoys HHs with coworkers. Its the guy who busted his hump to get a degree while supporting a family and its the new grad with a CS degree but no actual development experience. Its the PM who sits in the conference room capturing notes for a few minutes too long after the meeting ends. Yes, every one of you could get your walking papers due to the very things that you think make you indispensable. Sorry to be the one to inform you.
As for me, I out in my notice 1 month and a few days after the August "Memo". I refused to have to label an exceptional employee a poor performer. If you are concerned, just remember that your value is not reflected by the salary you earn but how you treat the people you work with.