I don't know

Stardate 57022.1 (02-21-2004)

I was told Friday the bonuses were handed out, and I was not on the list. That does not bother me. What does is that during the interview, my supervisor brought up the employee survey from last year. The results across the company were unanimous, there was not enough communication. So I asked what the criteria was for picking who got bonuses. The answer: I don't know, and the department manager does not know. How can I change the way I work to get one next year? The answer: I don't know, and the department manager does not know. The company goal is to increase revenue by 47%, how do they see doing that? The answer: I don't know, and the department manager does not know. Pretty much the same for every other question I asked. I'm sure he is telling the truth.  So here we have the problem. The company wants everyone to support the goals, but they can't or won't communicate the methods and means for getting there.

The discussion in the carpool home was animated. One person known to have gotten a bonus worked 70 hours a week most of the year. The bonus was just over $1000. From an corporate economic view, that makes sense, at least in the short run. From my point of view, that's a major loss. I don't even want to work out the hourly pay on that. I know $1000 extra a year won't cover it. I suspect that played into the decision. It smacks of Dilbert, they like people who are bad at math. It was also mentioned that while waiting in the lobby for someone, he flipped through a magazine that listed the company as one the best stock performer for the last few years. Yet we are told how badly we are doing, and we need to work harder to turn things around. Mixed messages, indeed.

One the bright side, at least for me, is that a year ago the parent company was looking at how their provider network business was being done. They outsource the work at a cost of 5 million a day. At 5 days a week, that works out to 1.3 BILLION dollars a year. They looked at the internal systems, and all the favored systems will not have the technical ability to process this for at least a year. The bastard stepchild rules engine, however, has everything they need. And I am the only one with the knowledge of how it works to get it up and going for them in the time they want.

Another encouraging sign of improving times is that I have been approached by several different firms that are expanding and hiring. I'd have to take a pay cut in each case, but the fact that the jobs are there is a good omen of a better economy.

Not much in the way of blogs this week. Rory Byth, who posts two or three times a day is sick, Eric Gunnerson is OOF (Out of office, which he posted is the unofficial MS term for on vacation). Gibby has a girlfriend, Carl has a new position. I've been busy myself.

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