Pay for Performance, does it really pay?
My current employer (which shall remain nameless until they piss me off), has decided to change its pay practice to what they dubbed Activity Based Compensation. In short, no longer will we be paid by the hour but paid by how much we produce.
I am currently employed by an outsourcing company that provides IT and HR solutions for its clients. My division supports the IT and desktop support for what may be the most well known company in the world (they too shall remain nameless).
The term that sticks in my head all during the introduction of this is Pay for Performance. Numerous online searches have returned a lot interesting reading, none of which seem to be promising.
A Tip Before the Service is Rendered?
It was raining like a bitch today and I did not feel like driving for lunch in this weather. I have never had lunch delivered since I have been at this new job, so I called a local Pizzeria. I user the term local Pizzeria very light since there is no such thing as a true Pizzeria in Florida. When I placed the order, the person on the phone asked if I wanted to leave a tip for the driver on my credit card. I find it odd that they would want money upfront for a tip. Is this the new normal procedure?
What more can you ask from an employer
Back to work today and that means a nice amount of email to start my day, this was one of them…
Team,
Due to high call volumes and low accessibility numbers across all Centers some changes will have to be implemented.
1) The date for the current shift bid has now been extended to April 22nd, 2006 and the new shift bid will begin on April 23rd, 2006.
2) The March vacation calendar is now on a “freeze” status, meaning that there will be no more vacation approvals for time-off in March.
3) The April calendar will be opened up with an e-mail going to the floor on Monday the 6th, 2006 @ 3pm……………..however; only one (1) representative per day will be allowed off………..the reason for this is because of the over-whelming volume of calls coming into the queue
As more information becomes available I will communicate. Thank you!
Now understand the office I work in; we are loosing employees on a bi-weekly basis, the attrition rate is unheard of. It is a call center, there will always be volumes of some sort. Corporate wants to keep a steady balance of 115 employees in our department, but are having a tough time at that.
A shift bid is what is used to select your schedule work hours, management always states that this bid will be for 3 months etc. but is always extended for some unknown reason.
My favorite is the fact that they offer vacation or “paid time off†as it is now known on a very limited basis. What is the difference you ask in vacation hours and paid time off; you get paid for vacation hours if you leave the company (by law) not paid time off, but is one to use these paid time off hours if 1 person is allowed off at one time.
My favorite is the incentive plans for our department, this is the real attractive part, ready, hold on tight!
- Possibility of loosing seniority
- Less available vacation hours
- No pay increase since it is a lateral move from any other department
- Having to work Sundays since other departments are not open on Sundays
- Abiding by more strict guidelines
- Adhering to more strict statistics
- Doing a job which hold more responsibility and requires more knowledge
Management had done a recent posting for 15 positions; they have not yet completed the hiring process, but have already lost 15 people since the position posted. Stay tuned, the stories will get better, I promise.
Starting trouble at the office
So I came across a questionable document on the network printer in my office the other day. It was a list of persons that are participating in what they call a “pot luckâ€; everyone bringing in a plate of food of their choice and all sharing each others, how sweet.
What I found odd about this document was that the only participants had been African-American office mates of mine. Now I am not prejudice nor would I discriminate in anyway, but this is strange. I would expect this of regular staff, but the list also contained members of management and members of other departments; the only common factor in this mix was that they are all African-American individuals.
I let it go for a few days but it is eating at me inside, I had to tell someone and I did, this is where the fun begins. Stay tuned as the plot thickens.