Friends exit interview

A friend of mine, who used to work with a local ISP, recently conducted their exit interview with that company. What's an exit interview you may be asking? Well, many companies now, in order to help with employee retention, conduct an exit interview. The purpose of this interview is to find out the reasons that people leave their job. Wether that be personal due to illness, or financial with getting a higher paying job, or even just flat out distrust and an extreme distaste of the company they are working for.

The following is a copy of that exit interview with key names, policies, groups and so on removed so as to not identify my friend, their company, their sex, or even their choice of bread. Yes bread, wonderful healthy and hapless bread. Why is bread hapless? BECAUSE I FREAKING SAY SO MAN!

"Since I am unable to access the Exit Interview, I will send my reasons for needing to leave XXXXXXXX here. On a consistent basis, I have been startled and disappointed by the words, actions, policies and processes I have experienced in my three years here, with each and every event in complete opposition to our Mission Statement posted at www.XXXXXXXX.com, to the point that my *personal* operating values are compromised, and that is why I feel I need to choose an environment and culture consistent with XXXXXXXX’s own six values.

Examples?

- Genuine Focus on the Customer: I did not believe selling self-install kits to customers without USB cable modem drivers was an example of this value, and was taken back to see recent HSD agents being required to transfer these customers who could not connect to the (PC Repair Partners) where they needed to pay for assistance. I’d spoken to a number of people here with regard to this, and it seemed to be the general consensus this was great for profits. I did submit a plea through EthicsPoint to have this changed, and it has been. However, the action itself was not consistent with this value, and I was disappointed that XXXXXXXX even considered doing as such.

- When the customer does have issues with their hardware, agents do connect them with the (PC Repair Partners) for resolution. The (PC Repair Partners) profits, XXXXXXXX profits, and the customer benefits, yet the individual agents responsible for bringing them together received nothing. That action reduced morale, increased employee turnover, and if agents were given a commission, would have increased revenue. The fact that XXXXXXXX refused to do this makes us understand we are not valued.

- Teamwork: A Unified XXXXXXXX Team: When (Call Center Location) (VOIP) team was created, we were not told this would be a “temporary” special project, although it is my belief that when (Vice President of Customer Care) order it’s creation, it was known at that point in time we were put into place only until outsourcers could be trained. Yet XXXXXXXX proceeded to select it’s top and most valued performers for this (VOIP) team, uprooting them from shifts and positions many had taken years to earn, and within a few short months, with no concern or remorse, not only disbanded the team, but attempted to put all those that were misled to believing they were improving their lives back below the bottom of the food chain to choose scraps of shifts and positions the balance of the call center refused. Over 100 people, myself included, found themselves with their lives, schedules and families disrupted because XXXXXXXX did not have the courtesy to inform us up front what we were moving into. The decision to create this temporary team without informing those that chose to help it grow is not consistent with this value and makes it clear we are simply numbers in a system of checks and balances, and not human beings.

- Recently our team was asked to bring in photos of friends and family members to post in our pods, the theory being hopefully we would envision our customers possibly being one of them so we would treat them as friends and (New Slogan) as part of our new campaign. Perhaps Corporate might also want to take a walk around the pods and view these photos the next time they decide to bump off nearly 250 employees in one fell swoop as they did two years ago as a result of an injudicious forecasting error disguised as an attendance scare tactic.

I recruited many of my friends and co-workers to join this (VOIP) team. Can you see now why there is little likelihood I, or anyone associated with the (VOIP) nuke, would ever again recruit a co-worker or friend for any transition, promotion or employment at XXXXXXXX? The above action is also not consistent with responsibility, commitment, honesty, integrity and accountability. And over and above all XXXXXXXX’s values – it is those I needed the most and have seen the least of.

Those of us that survived the (VOIP) transition were then put back into HSD (training). Yes, I was declined the position of (training) coach. Why? I was told I’d needed improvement in “positive word choice”.

Yet the day we’d begun (training), the first thing said when two coaches entered the room was “everyone lock their computers now” and it went downhill from there. After the first week, the coaches proceeded to announce some small awards given to our class, and the group was quite happy about it – discussing and comparing successes, when one of the coaches stood up and said, “You need to be quiet and show us some respect”. Ten minutes later, a second coach stood up and said there would be no more falling asleep during the morning verbatim slide presentations, and for us to again show some respect. A discussion ensued about how difficult it was to in fact stay awake during those presentations since we’d all used the applications they were teaching for nearly a year, and it appeared as though some agreement had been reached on all sides.

The next day Ms. R. visited our class, calling us all off the phones and proceeded to reprimand us on “professionalism and insubordination”, asking how we would feel if someone “didn’t like us” and if we “had to go home to our families after being criticized”. We do every day. Management, Supervisors and Coaches alike are not above having opportunities, and if it takes them out of their comfort levels to be asked questions or hear difficulties their classes or agents or having, they are in the wrong position, and it is they who have the misconception about why they are there.

Mr. D. was giving a class one day during (training), and asked a question to which no one responded. He sneered out at us and said, “Are you people even here”? It was continual insults and demeaning dialogue the majority of the (training) experience – and if I was not chosen to be a part of this, I am now grateful.

There is this culture and conspiracy of silence in this call center for just the above reasons, and employees suffer in silence for fear of retribution and retaliation. The above expectation of silence is inconsistent with the High Communication Culture and Teamwork values XXXXXXXX boasts, and those that do choose to break that barrier pay for it dearly – many by losing further advancement opportunities and many by losing their jobs. Some choose not to lose their self respect and resign.

We also have a “Diversity Mission Statement" which I am sure you’ve read. Yet in our entire call center, to the best of my knowledge, we only have one person over the age of 50 in a Supervisory position. Does that reflect this statement?

When I’d expressed my views on the promotion system here at XXXXXXXX to a particular Supervisor, he’d informed me I needed to “decide whom I chose to align myself with” and that “you really don’t want people seeing you walk down the hall with XXX and XXX” (both of whom are black). Does that reflect this diversity statement? It was probably at that moment I understood I would not be at XXXXXXXX that much longer.

- Responsibility, Integrity, Accountability (I do see we’ve taken Honesty off the wall, although it still does remain on our website).

During my last promotional interview, I’d asked a number of specific questions regarding eligibility for shift bids, needing specific days off, and salary. Never once during any interview I have ever had at XXXXXXXX have I been given what the pay increase would be if I accepted the position, even after it was offered. How can they expect an employee to make an informed decision without this information?

With regard to eligibility for shift bids and specific days off, I was given definitive answers to those questions I’d asked. Yet when I chose to accept the promotion which was contingent on those responses, those answers changed, and I was deceived and misrepresented with what I was told. And now I am being told differently. That was the straw that broke my back – I do not like deception and I do not like being falsely enticed into a position. Information I’d asked should have been presented honestly so I could once again make my own informed choice.

Perhaps XXXXXXXX is making efforts to change their tarnished image from an organization that cannot be trusted with their customers, but they have not taken these strides with employees. And it is employees such as myself whose pulse you need to take from time to time to see why XXXXXXXX as a profit making organization has failed repeatedly in becoming an organization that truly reflects its own operating principles. Just as in ecosystems, food chains begin to fail from the bottom up, not the other way around, and unless the bottom of the food chain flourishes, the top will wilt as well. XXXXXXXX has consistently refused to recognize and value that bottom, and I do not see that changing.

Thanks for reading."

The James now returns you to your regularly scheduled Saturday Morning Porn.