I work in corporate. Everyone is leaving or looking to leave. The only investment I have seen is in the energy to fire people which occurs weekly. When people leave they are not replaced. Services and benefits are taken from us daily. Budgets cut across the board. Every day I come to work I expect to be fired. HQ is a filthy mess and is falling apart. Leaders are nowhere to be seen. Enthusiastic collaboration I have never seen. Bullying is rampant. People who would have been fired long ago at another company for incompetence/bullying remain. I have never seen HR. Staff promotions, investment in staff is non-existent. Vendors are running. I could not come to work for a month and no one would notice/care. I have worked in the corporate world at big companies. I know what success looks like and what failure looks like. I have not seen one gesture of any kind real or political to aid us in a so called 'transformation', feel free to highlight one if there has been. This company will fail. I post this not because I want to see my company fail. I want it to succeed and work hard every day to help it. I post this because the disrespect this company shows its employees angers me and people deserve to know. People need an outlet to voice this.
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The only conference rooms that still look good are in the MRC lower level, our VP switched his dept meetings there and it appears to have been recently painted and freshened. But, the conference rooms in Bldg A & B I can say need to have that old wallpaper removed with the stains on them & re-painted. Problem is we don't have the budget most likely. When I started here at corp back in 1994 this place was pristine but it has declined noticeably over the last decade. If Sears pulls out or closes I wonder what will happen. About 3 or 4 years ago the Allstate campus east of here was torn down as I assume they couldn't find a tenant... maybe same thing will happen here.
TRUE:
Vendors are running
This thread is a great example of what's the matter with shc. There's just a ton of us who can write mile-long lists of extremely specific problems. But when the positivity police come in, whether it be here or on Pebble, it's just vague nonsense and quotes about "working together" and "transformation." Not ONCE in all this mess have I seen a leader or anyone else give a concrete example of what this supposed transformation entails. It's insulting. We're just supposed to believe that there's a bunch of super-secret stuff going on somewhere that will make everything all better again? If someone would like to give us some actual examples of things that are being done to change our company, please do so.
@trp. Odd. Dont know why they would say that. There are little rooms off to the side specifically for interviews.
Agree with -usj. The last thing that people who go to a website called the layoff want to read is the drivel of apologists for EL.
My boss told me I could never use CTC rooms so no that's not an option.
To propaganda team, just post new threads onto this forum to push down thread like this, it will fall off onto second page and no ones will see then
@eyv is there a room you would recommend? They are all terrible. You have worked at HQ for 20 yrs so you must know one? Half the time I'm called into interview at the last minute, so no I can't call the day before. Your patronizing is shocking.
Okay you want good interview rooms....use the CTC rooms. That is what I do.
If I were high up I would hire a handful of people to post positive propaganda sentiment in places like this day in and day out. It wouldn't surprise me if corproate have people on their India team posting junk constantly just to gain control of the message. You can spot the propaganda as its light on detail, ask those who you think are corporate liars for details or examples, they quickly go quiet as they can't.
Some of the corporate propaganda here reminds me so much of Enron
Hmm...that would be bad. I normally check out the room the day before the interview and if it is bad, I tell whoever is setting up the interview it is a bad room and to change it. I am once again not saying everything is great. No idea what a propoganda team is....have worked for the company for over 20 years. I just try to make the best of every situation as that is how I was brought up. Not trying to treat anyone like a fool as you say.
@qok sometimes I have to interview people in the conference rooms and have no choice which room I get. I always have to say sorry to them for the state of the room. Coffee stains on walls. Broken chairs. Broken lights. Phones that rarely work. Chairs that are torn to pieces. Whiteboards that have permanent marker making them redundant. Disagree? Then please give me an example of a good one that I would not be embarrassed of and I will check it out tomorrow, if you want to see an example of any of the rooms I highlight go into any. Youre obviously part of the propaganda team as what you say goes against what we all see every day. Like the OP says, your comment is another example of treating the employee with utter contempt, your comment belittles and treats them like fools
Wow thanks for posting this interesting post. I would love to see the Sear lovers the tools when they realize that Sears is just a ticking clock. EL is just trying to milk and take as much money so he doesn't have to invest in the actual company. Yet the people that support Sears always whine that they only post negative news. Well thats the only news their is Sears keeps losing money, Corporate is even feeling it as we read this post. The retail stores look dead empty hours are cut no pay increases I mean what positive stuff is their to post?
Than the people that say I should be grateful that I have a job maybe they should be grateful I still work their. I would love to see pictures of how bad it looks I mean the cuts are just horrendous and its just going to look worse and worse as time passes by. At this point only the very top the close buddies with EL will take as much cash as possible before their is nothing left.
Wow. That is too bad you feel that way. I agree the maintenance is not as great as it used to be. You have to call office of the building when you see things that need to be done. They dont do their daily walks like they used to. They are putting something new in the corner shop. That was part of Aramark before. I just clean the tables myself in the conference rooms if they are dirty, and in general the vendors should only be in the vendor conference rooms. If someone leaves it is up to the manager to clean out their office, take off nameplate, etc. I talk to our hr. There are just fewer of them, so they have a lot to manage as we do. It definitely isnt as nice as it was, but it is okay. They are going to use part of one of the buildings for the call center. I still like the cafeteria. It has gotten pricey, but it isnt subsidized as it was years ago.
Try to beat this, the men's bathroom roof on the lower building in G building has leaked slowly but steadily for the last 2 years. Go check it out, the last stall, there's a big hole in the roof, just don't get wet.
The nicest part to HQ i.e the part vendors and outsiders see is okay (that's the atrium) however the roof has leaked now for months when it rains (big buckets are put out to collect water), the corner shop has closed and the atrium food extortionate in price. Atrium tables are filthy, floors blackened by a mixture of coffee stains and years of dirt. Maintenance signs must occupy 25% of all bathrooms. I'm embarrassed taking outsiders into a conference room, random filthy ripped chairs, disgusting floors, lights flickering or half broke (this is the majority of conference rooms outside of the CTC.) Cubicles are left to rot, I know one person fired in last February's layoffs their cube is as it was when they left, name, possessions - all still there. Phones are from the 1980's for everyone. Anyone can walk into the building off of the street as there is no security on side doors (so be sure to lock up your possessions inside). People are scattered thoughout this vast campus, it feels like a post apocalyptic world sometimes. Outside is okay. Maintenance conducted now and again but only the basics. Like I said it's embarrassing, I'm ashamed hosting meetings with external people at HQ. A great setting to complete that transformation right?!
These are the days the documentaries will refer to.
I would be very curious to take a walk through the Hoffman Estates campus now. I first started at HQ right when the buildings were new. The campus was huge, immaculate, beautiful, and a lot of effort and expense went into keeping it nice. The grounds were like a very nice park. The cafeteria was excellent, with many gourmet options. The place was bustling, and there was a lot of pride. It used to mean something, too, when you said you worked for Sears.
I want to see the difference now. How bad the office spaces are, how worn the cubicles. Do they even bother with the landscaping? How empty is the place? Do they turn on all of the lights, or keep it persistently dim? Is the HQ building a reflection of how bad the stores have become?