Unfortunately the other day, I sat in on one of the worst meetings I think I've ever had. A very high-up individual was there. Highlights include:
“sick of answering complaints” regarding the reinforcement of an old unpopular policy… but we're still to enforce the policy. Then we were told the complaints meant we weren't working hard enough/going the extra mile anymore and we should be better. We are incredibly understaffed and burnt out right now.
They continue with “I don't understand why we can't retain new employees”. Then IMMEDIATELY complained how they'll just “go down the street where they can get paid more”.
What kind of LOGIC do these people HAVE?! Who the hell ISN'T going to go to the job that starts at the highest wage? We're not as competitive in our day 1 hire package as we used to be, and therefore not as attractive as an employer. When I started, I made almost TWICE the minimum wage in my state at the time. That was very attractive to me as a potential employee, so I applied. Imagine if today if that ratio maintained; we'd be paying our starting employees $25 AN HOUR TO START in my state. But now since its only $2 over minimum in my state, its not as attractive an offer as it used to be. We aren't offering the best, so we aren't going to get the best people attracted to the job.
They also mentioned how a nearby location had XXX employees back in 200X. Our similarly-sized location has about half that amount today. With record profits. Yet we can only afford an annual 2% raise. Fuck inflation, right?
Yet the whole time, they seemed desperate to get people interested in moving up in the company. Retirements are outpacing promotions. But there's no significant difference in the compensation packages for these positions vs. a baseline employee. Some would argue its more work for less pay because the managers are salaried and required to work past 40 hours a week.
I miss when this company cared less about corporate profits and more about the customers and employees. And when I say “profits”, I mean this company MAKES MORE THAN TWICE THE PROFIT THEY DID 5 YEARS AGO yet you're now all shopping in understaffed stores, forced to use a self checkout, or forced to wait in record long lines. Old Company would have opened more stores already to alleviate the crowds, hired more employees with proper compensation, or expanded current locations. Or they at the least would have properly compensated their current employees accordingly to get the “best of the best” service again. They used to say “fuck wall street” and grow the right way, but now its about the almighty dollar.
If/when you realize which company this is, I hope you realize that no company is good anymore.