Is the new adoption sales “leader” a bot or human?
I can't tell from that last email.
12 replies (most recent on top)
The micromanaging has begun and it’s awful. People who haven’t been fired in favor of low-wage earners in developing countries for Cengage to exploit of are leaving on their own.
Sincere question:
Why does anyone willingly stay at Cengage?
I would love a report on what happens during this next team meeting. You can bet that this "collective decision" involves leadership laying down metrics-based expectations and all peons voicing their intention to give 110% effort. And then the meeting ends and everyone goes back to the pool, lol.
Reading between the lines, it appears that there will be a ton of monitoring happening. Sales call notes and CRM activity, phone usage being monitored, mileage calculated if campus travel is an expectation. If you state that you'll be working at a school in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday but your phone is still pinging from your home base in Des Moines, you will be labeled a complacent.
On a more macro level, it also seems clear that this sales leader has received a do-or-die directive: the future of the sales force as it exists now depends entirely on delivering on the year-end $$ expectations. It sounds like sales-side layoffs can be expected once this fiscal year is over, though from the sound of this email there could be a culling during the fall or over the holiday season.
Someone please deliver a report on this team meeting, this is the most entertaining sh*t show I've experienced in a very long time. And take it from one who's been there: your life WILL be better, post-Cengage!
In the mid 1990's, Thomson had reps create a "summer top 100." This consisted of adoptions we were supposed to work and close during summer.
A complete waste of time. I went to campus a couple of times and may have been the only living soul walking through buildings.
When you have no ideas, the only thing left is to beat people down and tell them to work harder. Honestly, this fool could have had more of an impact by telling people to enjoy their summers and recharge.
It is completely amateur hour.
The mental image all of this provides is the last of the bathwater circling the drain . . .
"We can either choose to put in the necessary effort to drive sales and maintain our momentum, or we can risk complacency and potentially face consequences, including the possibility of leaving the company."
There is nothing AI about this email. This one is ripped straight from the mafia playbook! If this isn't a signal to kick that job search into high gear, I don't know what is!
I saw a former Cengage colleague who is still there post on LinkedIn the other day about the company's Mental Health employee resource group, and that they were bringing in a psychologist to speak to the employees about the importance of mental health. Her post blathered on and on about what an amazing and caring company Cengage is that cares about employee's well being. How can you be so brainwashed to think the company cares about employee wellbeing when leadership is making open threats over things out of most employee's control? Absolutely delusional.
Amazing.
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
"we can risk complacency and potentially face consequences, including the possibility of leaving the company."
That's a serious message!
Critical Decision
Dear Sales Team,
As we enter the summer season, it's imperative that we make a crucial decision regarding our sales strategy. The reality is that the technology doesn’t sell itself, and our performance during this period will have a direct impact on our year-end results.
I want to be clear: this summer will be a defining moment for our team. We can either choose to put in the necessary effort to drive sales and maintain our momentum, or we can risk complacency and potentially face consequences, including the possibility of leaving the company.
I expect each of you to carefully consider your commitment to our sales goals and come prepared to discuss this further in our next team meeting. We will collectively decide how we will approach the summer, and I expect a united front in our efforts to succeed.
Let's take this seriously and make a decision that aligns with our goals and aspirations.
Sincerely,
I second that about that cut-and-paste. Didn't receive the email.
Ooh, care to do a cut-and-paste here? I could use a good laugh . . . :D