...this company will look and feel a little more like a Fortune 500 company and a little less like a student union or sorority.
7 replies (most recent on top)
One of the big problems we face everyday in our building is what I will call a brain drain . we have such a high turn over of g.l's and management in general that the collective knowledge resets every one to two years or so. A lot of the quote unquote "new" processes that they try to roll out are not new at all. no one in management remembers what does and doesn't work . So you end up having to try the same old mistakes again and again because no one remembers what we have tried to implement and what we have found out in the past from these processes . When you have a few leaders trying to impart their knowledge and do the right thing and to many others just there to skate by and do the minimum its a recipe for a big mess. The "new" technology they installed for freight handling in some of the buildings is an outdated mess. it was "new" technology 15 yrs ago . Businesses do need to change and update in order to continue to grow and be competitive. but blindly throwing money away on systems that haven't shown the results they were promised is just foolish. At the same time that money is being dumped into the new tech you can't ignore the maintenance on your existing equipment . a lot of the problems that get blamed on your "senior" workforce are not of our creation . We are just the ones left to deal with the hand that is given to us . But things being what they are it will be the little people who get the blame for failures caused by mismanagement not the people who created the mess we are in.
I agree with the CI Guy, if you'd share those that have been around the block have a better way.... Then share it! Maybe some of the lay offs could have been avoided. Simply blaming a system and the people around us has never, and will never improve anything. Knowledge sharing and mentoring has!! As they say... What gets in your mind, gets you! So if you are negative about those around you.... Those around you will see you as negative and avoid you. Only furthering a toxic and disastrous culture. If you don't follow the best practices put into place, then how will you ever find a better way?!
As someone who works in Continous Improvement I can easily see that the "senior" employees commenting on here. It is so easy to point the finger at a newer generation, than it is to look at the same old ways you perform everyday. I am in my 40's myself so don't think I'm on anyone's side. The facts though are simple.... Old habits are hard to break, and many of those old habits led someone somewhere to think additional personnel was needed to get the job done. Now the reality of it all has been seen and those that didn't or can't carry the weight have been laid off. I'm not saying some didn't deserve it and I'm sure some that weren't, should have been. The point is, corporate America is wising up. If your not willing to push the status quo, and look for newer and better ways and BUILD a better team and system, then prepare yourself for the next cut because it is only a matter of time. Hard work and creativity IS what built America!!!
i doubt that it will make much of a difference in culture . At least from what i see on the distribution end of it the newer g.l's are still fresh out of college with no hands on experiance at all.. All target wants is drones to look on a computer and go "oh this says we do it this way and the best practice is always right and the best way to do it" .. Very few of them have any respect for the knowledge of the people doing the job everyday who know the operation inside and out.. They are not a full fledged boss untill they manage to get someone fired over something trivial to prove their power .. Seen it again and again..as soon as they feel they know the lay of the land the horns come out and someone gets gored
As the old joke goes ...hear we are getting a new HR person as soon as she graduates from High School....
More high school than college. High school mentality in older bodies.
20% people gone isn't enough to change the core culture. Still mostly the little millennial kids running around and the social priorities will still prevail.