Is there any rhyme or reason as to who gets rif'd within a team or department, or is this predetermined by HR?
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@6tvj - How can it be proven it is the same position a person was riffed from? I have heard they change the job title and tweak the job description slightly to prevent being sued under the scenario you describe. Have you received legal advice as to what to look for in future job postings? In my situation, they had me doing work that was not even in my job description. I would love to bank a couple hundred thou off of this place from a settlement.
The trend I have seen and tracked is that the Associates that were RIFed last year, suddenly their position get reposted in about 12 months at a lower price point. This leads me to believe it’s about cost saving measures. So I would encourage every who was RIFed to check the Hellavance careers page in the next 6 months to a year see if your position is reposted and contact a lawyer. Could turn into a wrongful termination suit if you can prove retaliation, discrimination etc.. I know I’m keeping an eye out, lawyer in speed dial lol F this horrible place!
If your manager does not like you. He/she will use the RIF to get rid of you.
People responsible for cost centers are told to cut personnel costs. They have discretion as to how to do it. So some managers might go for the highest salary person, some might use it to axe a person they don't like or is somewhat lagging in their performance. Note however If there is an actual quantifiable performance issue the manager will give the team member will have a performance plan and termination not a RIF.
Just my opinion only, although I’m not a people leader. Salary may not always be the #1 factor, but I believe there are situations where salary is a big factor.
@5rq and @5rn....Thank you both for sharing the information you have posted. There appears to be much uncertainty on this process and your postings are quite helpful.
"The more money you make, the bigger target you have on your back."
- Entirely false. I have been through the process multiple times identifying which employees will be let go and salary was never mentioned 1 time.
the rhyme or reason is your boss chose you. “senior” leader here. i know folks think tenure, age, pay is taken into consideration but it is not. bottom line, you get chosen because your boss chooses you. may be because they think you’re expendable, may be because they’re not happy with your performance, may be because you pi---d them off one too many times. doesnt make it right but my point is your boss uses whatever criteria they want (unless a whole dept is let go). HR does not tell us who to release.
My experience is that HR who knows the least about how someone does their job has an outsized impact on decisions. I am not sure anyone thinks most of HR adds anything more than an opinion. Their projects are delayed, when the data in their systems gets messed up they dump on the managers to fix it. There is no urgency to fill opens. It comes down to no one wants to cross HR because they know who wins, but HR is some of the least qualified "business" people but they refer to themselves as HRBP. Few if any ever ran a department or managed people.
To the person who asked about performance / tenure… it didn’t seem related in my case.
I had an exceeds rating and a $10k extra bonus for 2023, and was laid off in August. About twelve years of service.
The more money you make, the bigger target you have on your back. Dead weight survives because they are cheap and the workplace overall suffers. Then you start losing contracts like CalPers and now more recently, Mercy. That turns into more layoffs and more offshoring. That will be followed up with more business lost when people get angry because they only call and get Indian accents. Meanwhile the CEO is cashing a big check and selling stocks while the stock price is inflated. Eventually it will all go bo-m and everyone will realize this entire company is about as stable as a house of cards. Welcome to capitalism.
There is no rhythm or reason. Salary, rankings, tenure, smarter, goals met - not really determining factors unless the people being forced to make the determination make it one. Many times they are just being asked to pick one of a certain title for the list.
I don't think we know for certain....until we know!
What about long timers who score Meets Expectations on reviews? Are targets on our backs because we are long timers?
Although I am struggling financially and my merit raises have su-ked the past four years compared to inflation because I don't 'play the game', I am thankful for being one of the lowest paid people on my team because that takes some of the rif target off of my back. My performance scores have average around 3 to 3.3 so that doesn't raise any flags either. I need my health insurance coverage.
High performers are usually paid very well. A RIF is all about reducing administrative costs. They look at headcount and cost.
It may sound counterintuitive but in my experience the better/smarter people seem to get laid off while the dead wood seems to just go on and on for decades. A lot of it is politics, or MGMT getting rid of the competition, or just playing favorites I guess. At least it's that way in the cases where only certain team members are riffed. Save your money, maximize 401k, HSA, investments, lay low, and play the game untill your number is called.