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End Of Days Compensation Packages?
Waiting for the Axe to Fall asks: "I work for a larger webhosting company that has plans to consolidate one of its west coast data centers with an east coast location which they already have in place. Forget that this is a bad idea in terms of geographical redundancy--it is going to happen. The company did inform all west coast employees about the move, roughly a year in advance. This was done Im sure to ease the shock and fear of loosing ones job. This affects a small group (8-9) of employees, all of whom are tied up in operations and the data center specifically. If you were in this situation (as one of the employees), what would you require/want/wish for in this retention plan? The benefits of staying with the company, until the end, must out weight the risk of being jobless; or is this not the path you would choose? Would you leave as soon as the announcement was made?"
"As employees, the group decided to go to management and request a 'retention plan' of sorts. This is a contract that outlines specific benefits to stay with the company through the move, and help getting the systems across the country without service interruption. The support of these few is a requirement, due to the vast array of legacy and non standard systems. The job could otherwise be done with consultants, however going this route would take substantially longer, and would be at a much greater cost to the company. So, it is truly in their best interests to have the staff that has managed these systems for the past 5-8 years stick it out."
risk of being jobless when you come out of it. If you start looking right away then you will have a year to find a position, but of course you can't tell your future employer that you will be available in a year, they will just move on to the next person. So I would ask for at least 2-3 months pay as severance, and health insurance for at least 6 months after you finish the job. That would give you really 6 months to find a job(since you can start looking about 3 months before your start date) and who knows, maybe you could land a job right away and basically get an extra 3 months salary.
Monstar L
Would that be "Operate a video camera in the worst possible imaginable way" or "try (badly) to film a self-absorbed glory hunting SOB acting like a total jackass"?
Standard Severance - 4 weeks + 1 week/year of service, sometimes capped at 5 years of service. (This varies. Well placed executives may get years of severance, and store clerks may get none)
A "Stay to the Bitter End" Bonus - Approximately an additional 4 weeks of salary or $10,000 for those who stay until the very last day they are needed.
Immediate release from all restrictions in your employee agreement with regards to working for competitors.
Verification that the conditions of your termination will allow you to collect unemployement.
Find a new job now. Tell the hiring managers that your bonuses will keep you at your current position until the closing date. Don't fret about taking an hour here or there to interview; it's expected. Besides, they're already going to let you go soon. They need you and they're not going to fire you. It's time for you to start thinking about greener pastures.
Later, if they hire you back (and it may happen), offer to do so for a 25% raise, but settle for no less than 10%. If you don't have a new job, don't let them know about it. Your new "consulting" position prevents you from speaking about it.
The world will not get better through technology. We must seek to be better people.
If the employees had to go to management to draft this retention plan - then management doesn't care about them in the first place.
This is a calculated slash and consolidate move - it's obvious they're trying to fatten the bottom line. No blame there. But you got to take care of yourself - look for another job now... and see if you can time it with the end of your current.
I was able to adjust my start date on a new job so I could finish up a major project in my old job and leave it in good hands. I didn't want to fark my old employeer, nor the good people I worked with, just because I decided the owner was a tool.
The company I work with now thought that it was commendable and appreciated the effort. Probably in hopes I do the same for them given I would be moving on down the road.
Short of it - find work for you, not work for now.
Regardless of the comp package, start networking the hell out of your soon-to-ex coworkers. Get names, phone-numbers, be the keeper of the list, organize pub-nights and get-togethers. When they find work elsewhere (or even start their own business) who are they going to remember and call? You, the organizing gatekeeper that you'll be positioned to be. In these situations, social schmooze power wins.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Estimate how long it will take you to find another job. If you're the optimistic type, double it to get to a real number. Have them cover the difference between your salary and unemployment for that length of time. Have them continue to cover your medical insurance for that length of time. Hopefully you've got other severance coming your way too... just remember that certain severance packages require them to let you go.
Otherwise, look for another job today. They're laying you off, man. There is no fanfare, they're not crying a river. You're not keeping the red stapler. The company's life will go on. Mainstream corporations, even moderate sized ones, can be quite soul less.
On the other hand, if you stick around, you can pick up a whole lot of supplies. Need about a dozen monitors?
The ______ Agenda
Irony: 1a. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. b. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning. c. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See synonyms at wit1. 2a. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: "Hyde noted the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated" (Richard Kain). b. An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity. See Usage Note at ironic. 3. Dramatic irony. 4. Socratic irony.
"1984" was ment to be a warning, not a guidebook. You hear that Kim Jong-il!? BushCo?!
... I've been in this boat, I'd suggest these things if you're serious about keeping the employees until the job is done:
1.) Give them a pay raise for their remaining time - This will help ensure they won't randomly bail for a higher paying job.
2.) Pay out all remaining sickdays, vacation days they have left at end of period at 1.5x normal rate. - This gives them a reason to *NOT* use their vacation/sickdays.
3.) Severance bonus equal to 3 months of pay. - This gives them a "good" ammount of time to look for another job without having to take something that will cut them off from working for you.
4.) Buy them on the job lunch, dinner on a set day reguarly. - It's a good moral booster for people so they know the company cares and is trying.
5.) Give them written recommendations for their next job that is *GLOWING*. - Once the job is done, write a custom, glowing review of them so it's easier for them to get their next job... if anyone calls, tell them how it was, that these guys were the best of the best and stuck it out till the dead last for the benefit of the company and customer and how much you appreciated their dedication.
6.) If possible offer them the ability to move to the new datacenter in a similar or upgraded compacity, with paid move and assistance finding a home/appartment.
Is this a cheap route? No. If you're serious though this is the *right* route. I've had pretty much exactly this shy the offer to move (it was a department closure, we were redundant after a buyout and they were already over staffed.) Everyone of us worked till last day, all of us moved on to better paying jobs, and the all of the things that were done made this possible. Everyone was sad about leaving, it was alot of fun the last few months, even though there was a melloncoly overtone.
Shadus
In the end everyone is dead. So far living to 100 is rare, and there are no verified cases of anyone living to 150. (Your religion may list some who have in the past, and other rumors exists). It is unlikely that medical science will make your immortal in your lifetime. You can freeze your body, but why would the next generation unfreeze your body and restore you to life - if they even can?
So you need to keep perspective. Find the right religion, and serve it correctly (assuming one exists), and can end up with a better hearafter. Otherwise you are stuck (depending on the answer to the religious question how you are stuck varies). So use the time you have wisely. Work enough to live, but don't let work rule your life. Find what is more important, and live that.