Thread regarding Follett layoffs

Time

I worked for Follett for over 30 years in a variety of rolls from Sales to Management. One of my strengths was operational efficiencies. A core tenant that always served me well was a management concept "If you don't measure it, you can't manage it!" A common theme I see in the comments here comes down to time. So here's my question. Have you ever measured your actual time spent? If not, I highly recommend you do so. You will learn a great deal. You'll discover spending more time doing some tasks than you should. You'll discover some tasks that you should stop doing and others you should start. You'll ask, "Why does this take me this long?", and make changes based on that. Most importantly, you'll have hard data for that discussion with leadership about how overloaded you are, if you find you truly are. It's a much more productive discussion when it contains more than generalized claims. I justified headcount increases during hiring freezes at Follett using hard data driven impact and revenue analysis based on time measurement.

A tool I can suggest is called Toggl Track. (https://toggl.com/track/) You can use an account for up to five users for free. There is a little time involved to set up your tasks and it does take some discipline to get in the habit of logging time. Once it's set up, it does not take much time to log time. It's nice that there is a partner phone app tied to your account so time entries can be easily done as you are on the go moving from task to task.

Remember... "If you don't measure it, you can't manage it!" If you want to make a case to management? Have some hard data. I hope someone finds this helpful.

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| 2373 views | | 27 replies (last April 7, 2023) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1lXUv5lA

27 replies (most recent on top)

One added point to measuring- qualify your value. If you can measure outcomes and measure effort you can qualify your value. Your value is yours. It isn't management's. It isn't the company's. They are the beneficiary of your value. You own it. Because you've measured and qualified you have a better chance of demonstrating your value to your next employer. You can begin a career path and get off the job rut.
A colleague showed me that because of the work she does during the sales cycle, her return rate is a hair above 1%. The company's return rate is over 10%. Returns are very costly. Our company benefits from her value. She owns it and can take it anywhere, however.

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Post ID: @4jfg+1lXUv5lA

All this arguing about what a manager does or doesn't do misses the point. This company is now operated by an investment firm looking for a return on their investment. They don't care if employees quit, if the campus is happy or even if they lose the contract of a low-profit store, as long as they make money long term. They are raiding a long- standing profitable company to get whatever they can out of it.

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Post ID: @4ell+1lXUv5lA

JRC - be thankful for you job. 5 people are unemployed while you have steady income.
Now go shop for your ramen noodles and shut up!

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Post ID: @2qgl+1lXUv5lA

😂

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Post ID: @2ujq+1lXUv5lA

Doing the job of, “6 people”; little dramatic, don’t you think?

Let me guess, one to hold the light bulb and 5 to spin the ladder to sc--w it in?

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Post ID: @2rkr+1lXUv5lA

Maybe it is the small stores fault these money driven people think everyone can do it with less.

We have busted our a-- to get things done regardless of how many hours it took us to get it all done. Now they think everyone can do it but hourly won't work. Remember we were salary so if we worked 60 hrs to get it done it didn't cost them anymore. I could guarantee you if I stayed I would not work 1 hour over 40. Luckily I am off to better things. I wish you all well that are stuck in this disaster and hate what the Follett Family legacy has become.

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Post ID: @2vgc+1lXUv5lA

Nice thread, corporate. Too bad you have no idea how difficult it is to do all our daily stuff while doing the job of 6 people.
Take your time management and shove it.

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Post ID: @2tjc+1lXUv5lA

The actual quote was "what gets measured, get's done" constantly used by one of the higher ups who was let go or jumped ship during the initial regime change in 2013 or so.

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Post ID: @1bbe+1lXUv5lA

Something tells me this site has been infiltrated. Drinking the Kool-aid.
HF, Executive Chair of Follett Higher Education and her team seem to working hard to control the narrative. But when the stores are closed for lack of associates - who you fooling then?

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Post ID: @1quz+1lXUv5lA

Something tells me this site has been infiltrated. Drinking the Kool-aid.

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Post ID: @1fyp+1lXUv5lA

@1glw+1lXUv5lA

So quit then. I’m sorry you’ve been passed over for several promotions but, let’s be honest, have you really earned them? No.

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Post ID: @1rfy+1lXUv5lA

If 3/4 of adoptions are still coming in this way, then someone has done a terrible job selling the tools available to faculty which is also part of the larger problem. This stuff isn’t hard. Each campus I have served adopted the tools I sold them. I just had to work hard to get in front of the right people to sell it.

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Post ID: @1hzv+1lXUv5lA

1xjv+1lXUv5lA: Not every store will get away from text or AR. (Over 3/4 of our adoptions are emailed or on paper.) SMs still need to create majors accounts in CARP which is very time consuming. SMs will need to upload all AR receipts with signatures to bill correctly since most govt accounts require an actual signature. How exactly is a store manager getting away from doing these tasks? Clueless folks at the top. Utterly clueless.

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Post ID: @1djj+1lXUv5lA

Expect 1 person to do the work of 3? Explain that. If there are less physical books now with digital options. If there will be support positions for CM and AR. Isn’t there less to do, especially in smaller stores with mostly text?

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Post ID: @1xjv+1lXUv5lA

this is the first real attempt I’ve seen to do something different to fix the general problem.

Really? Cut pay, lay off people off. Expect one person to do the work of three (because they are really lazy).

If this is your fix then I quit. I'll go work flipping burgers. You bust you bottom so JRC can make their wealthy investors richer. Not server their clients better. Not offer students really innovative products. Just make JRC investors richer.
Go Team!

As in another post...I worked a total of 6 days between November 1st and January 4th. I did everything in our store! Some days were a blur, just because of all the tasks I was trying to get done. Another lazy employee!

Check LinkedIn: We recently asked HF, Executive Chair of Follett Higher Education, to share a bit of her personal journey as a leader. She can tell you about her personal journey!

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Post ID: @1glw+1lXUv5lA

I actually spent over 13 years working in stores. The tools you’re complaining about weren’t around when I started and yet, whether it was a single-person store or a large store with 200 people working there, I got the job done. Always. And I’ve adapted to changes, found solutions, not excuses which is all I’m seeing from you.

The business has changed so much since I started with Follett and this is the first real attempt I’ve seen to do something different to fix the general problem.

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Post ID: @1vqe+1lXUv5lA

@1erj+1lXUv5lA: IDK what stores you have actually been in but idk any store manager that sits at their desk and when they do it's a conference call (that wasn't necessary) or getting through the many Follett processes that take FOREVER to complete because they refuse to pay for decent internet. RNP, Invoice wizard, appyling payments in CARR, billing Tungsten... then you have to remember we have no employees so I am running the register, shipping/receiving, fulfilling online orders, hanging clothing and stocking the sales floor. Tell me wise one, which process would make me go faster if I am the only one doing all the jobs?

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Post ID: @1rxj+1lXUv5lA

They want to sit at their desk and play solitaire, walk the campus and say hi to people on their way to lunch, slowly walk back to the store and be seen by more people, and the clock out around 3 and go home.

Spoken as one who has never worked in a store.

Bunch of lazy jerks - they deserve the pay cuts! Lucky to have a job.

Makes you really want to go to work knowing this is what the Ivory Tower thinks of you.

Goodbye!

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Post ID: @1jjo+1lXUv5lA

The complainer here, the only complainer, doesn’t want to look at this logically. They want to be paid for doing what they’ve always done, or had other people do for them. They want to sit at their desk and play solitaire, walk the campus and say hi to people on their way to lunch, slowly walk back to the store and be seen by more people, and the clock out around 3 and go home.

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Post ID: @1erj+1lXUv5lA

Of course when you’re already the smartest person in every room, why bother Right?

Thanks JRC and the Ivory Tower! How much time did you document for your response?

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Post ID: @1mmq+1lXUv5lA

“ Micro manage every minute of the day, document it, and turn in the results to prove you are useless to the bottom line of JRC.”

It’s not about micro managing. It’s learning from the data and building a case to support a claim. Saying “I spend a lot of time doing x” means very little. How much time? Is that an appropriate amount of time? Why or why not? What contributes to it taking more time than it should? This is all about learning and quantifying the problem into impact and cost. Of course when you’re already the smartest person in every room, why bother Right?

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Post ID: @1xuw+1lXUv5lA

I know, in my store, we do a LOT of gm and ship a LOT of gm, all year long. We have no space to have a proper set up to make the process efficient.
Everything takes longer of you don't have an efficient set up.
We are not turn key operations and each has different space, especially storage and shipping/receiving. Give me an efficient work space and time needed will improve.
I wish the company looked at each store as individual. Heavy GM stores need more man power, it is a lot more work than textbooks twice a year.

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Post ID: @xej+1lXUv5lA

Again, this is another post from follett/jrc corporate- people who have never worked in a store in their life. They think they have all the answers, but I sure don't see anyone from corporate showing up to help with the lack of labor in our stores.

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Post ID: @wyx+1lXUv5lA

JRC clearly isn't a d-mb as we think. They and all these "VP's" (aka their college buddy who needed a job) should probably stop commenting and maybe just read and LISTEN to the reputation you have with people who have or do work for you. You might just learn something.

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Post ID: @peu+1lXUv5lA

Micro manage every minute of the day, document it, and turn in the results to prove you are useless to the bottom line of JRC. Yeah, I'm motivated!
I deserved the pay cut! Bless you for the pennies you throw at me! Please hire another Executive VP to lead us unwashed masses!

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Post ID: @rma+1lXUv5lA

How about this one JRC - You are only in control to the degree you plan.

Please share The Plan so we can all be motivated by your scholarship.

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Post ID: @rph+1lXUv5lA

Let me sum up the comments that are incoming, “no, sounds like work”.

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Post ID: @kqr+1lXUv5lA

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