TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I wouldn't bet against you. I think you may be right. There is another company I know about that is large and reasonably profitable. I heard they were cutting heads. The reason: The owners want to clean house and sell out. Makes sense. Rough on everyone though.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of William Sherman
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 2:45 PM
To: 'TECHWR-L'
Subject: Re: Yahoo!'s telecommute policy
It all depends. Many years ago, I worked for a big San Jose company as a full time telecommuter. It was part of the contract I signed to work there.
My pay was based on me not living in California. It was about 2/3rds the salaries of several I knew who did live there and worked on-site.
I can't say for sure, but seeing most of those San Jose companies trade people with some regularity, I bet the same type of pay structure exist at Yahoo. Live and work in San Jose and work in the office - paid $120,000.
Live and work from home in some other state - paid $80,000. I'm sure she isn't planning on giving them all a raise to come into the office.
I see several things happening. If they change your location, and you are a regular employee, then the company is responsible for moving you. The financial hit isn't a good thing on thousands of employees.
Second, the pay structure will have to change. A person working in Arkansas can't afford to work for that in San Jose, not unless the housing market has collapsed much more than anyone admits.
Third, doing this en mass is a really dumb idea. One or two go out the door quietly, and no one cares. 5000 go out the door and the proverbial brown stuff hits the rotating air mover. Someone in that group is smart enough to organize and gets a class action suit going. This has occurred before with a few SJ companies, although they try hard to keep it quiet. And that does impact stock.
Fourth, I really don't know, but SJ is an area where making employees stockholders is common, so they could be booting a lot of stockholders. One lesson companies are slow to learn, but feel the impact from, is don't make your stockholders mad, and firing them really makes them mad.
What all these Yahoos should do, if they had any sense, is team up.5000 out the door today just means that it is easier to kick another 5000 out in a few months. But if they all team up and quit, or threaten to, policies can change. It is a unique strategy called striking. However, the very liberal and sophisticated minds of Silicon Valley would never want to stoop to the blue collar mentality. As such, they will all lose their jobs when they have the power to not only keep their jobs, but to keep status quo on working locations.
If I were to place a bet, I bet there is a strong chance they are getting ready to sell Yahoo. She is the hatchet person, in to clean house, make the stock look good, polish the product to make it shine, and raise the value, so the buyers think they are getting a great deal. Dump a lot of people, then profits look very good, both total and profit per employee, and the company becomes an easy sell.
She looks too young (37) to be this closed minded to the work mindset of the 21st Century with a company whose goal is to make work feasible online and from anywhere. She is a tool, sent to do a job, and that job won't be good for those who work there.
-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of Keith Hood
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 8:35 AM
To: Cardimon, Craig; 'Anne Robotti'; 'TECHWR-L'
Subject: Yahoo!'s telecommute policy (was Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ))
Irony squared and cubed. The CEO of a 21st century electronic company which makes money by enabling people to find things and take actions over the internet, insisting on enforcing a process control model straight out of the 1940s.
I think it's likely that she is doing this because she is <i>hoping</i> it will cause a lot of people to jump ship. She got the job by promising she'd make the company's margins better. One way to make the numbers look better is to cut the head count. This way she gets the same effect as a mass layoff without the bad publicity that a mass layoff would cause. There will be some badmouthing from workers, of course, but it won't be the same scope and this way of downsizing is less likely to get the stock analysts worked up.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EPUB Webinar: Join STC Vice President Nicky Bleiel as she discusses tips for creating EPUB, the file format used for e-readers, tablets, smartphones, and more.
Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EPUB Webinar: Join STC Vice President Nicky Bleiel as she discusses tips for creating EPUB, the file format used for e-readers, tablets, smartphones, and more.
