What exactly am I trying to do? Why wouldn't I give up writing this blog and why wouldn't I just shut up? Let me start by quoting former US Congressman, J.C. Watts. He said, "Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught." Let's face it, this is what's happening to some BPO companies nowadays. Lawyers that I talked to told me that there are no benchmark cases against call centers yet. Naturally, I asked why. They told me that the reason is simply because no case gets, well... finished - for lack of the proper legal term. Oftentimes, these cases/complaints filed against call centers gets settled out of court. Everyone knows that if a case is bench marked in the Philippines, then it will be much easier for people to sue abusive call centers.
What's happening is because call centers normally get these cases settled everyone wrongly thinks that they're not really doing anything wrong or illegal. As one commenter said in your humble servant's blog, "It's been done before in Etel (forced leaves), and other countless BPO companies... And will continue to happen." What our friend may be trying to imply is - if it's been done before and it's being done by a lot of people then it must be right and legal. Right? Wrong! It's just like smoking. I know a lot of people who smoke but that doesn't necessarily mean that smoking is right or healthy. Ask anyone who smokes and he or she will tell you that smoking is bad for our health and most of them would admit that if they can only find a will to quit, they would. Well every wrong seems possible today, and is accepted. I... we... simply refuse to accept it! That's one of the point we're making here.
I don't have any idea how this story will end. These 55 agents' concern in filing a case against Stream Global Services is for the proper authorities to know that we believe Stream did something illegal. Stream may hire the best lawyers in the land, bribe judges or other officials, but nothing will wipe away the fact that because of this blog - people would know what kind of people run this company. We may be powerless to beat a big company like Stream but I simply cannot sleep soundly at night knowing that I did not at least try to combat this injustice. My blog is my simple way of supporting the 55 agents affected by the forced leaves and warning those who do not know yet that there are way better call centers out there.
Someone said that, "You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." Dear readers, can you say that you would like to work for bosses who treat their employees the way they treated my friends who were affected by the forced leaves? Of course not! SDM Cris Fernando, Nemanja Zec, and Area Manager Jojo Reyes may have started as agents and that's the more reason why I abhor their decision. There are lots of ways to remedy the issue that they were trying (or pretending?) to fix but what is right is often forgotten by what is convenient.
DO NOT PUT THE BLAME ON THE 55 AGENTS who worked their butts off for Stream Global Services! If their performance is poor - lay them off or retrench them! Terminate them if you dare! Just don't deny them their salaries for 30 days because you decided you don't need them. Admit it, you're doing this so that they would be forced to submit their resignations lest their families starve to death while waiting for Stream to recall them. That is inhumane and so inconsiderate.
The affected agents filed a lawsuit and I pray that justice be served because they were treated unfairly. They know that this is not going to be an easy fight. Former US President Thomas Jefferson said, "In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current." This, my dear readers, is definitely a matter of principle! The same goes for my blog. The agents filing a case and me writing my blog is us dealing with all these things.
To the 55 agents, specially those who have filed a lawsuit against Stream Global Services - aim for the bench mark. Make sure that they don't get away with this!
If you think this blog is useless and not worthy of your time, then don't read it. It's that simple. But as long as there are people who care and read these "rantings," I'm here to stay.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Beware of Stream Global Services Part 5
Reports reached my dragon ears that some people already filed a case against Stream Global Services on the grounds of constructive dismissal. For all our sakes, I surely hope that this is true. A company such as Stream should never be allowed to do what it just did to its employees. As much as I'm hearing the phrase business decision a lot of times, my values still put goodwill and righteousness above it. The current situation at work completely changed my perspective about Stream Global Services from an admirable, heaven-on-earth, and ideal call center to a despicable hellhole and typical profit-first call center ran by equally despicable upper management with no regard for its employees.
The fact that this forced leaves happened in the last days of May dealt a double-blow for those who have kids. I talk to the affected agents a lot and my heart breaks whenever I hear them think out loud: "Where will I get the money to enroll my kids?" "Where will I get the money to tide me over the next 30 days" "What will I tell my in-laws?" These are some of the questions that you would hear from them. I know a single-mom who was affected by this. I know a bread-winner of a big family. Why didn't Stream Global Services gave them a better fighting chance by informing them at least a month early that this might happen? Sad to say, but we're really just numbers for them. A bunch of data printed in a sheet of paper. If we can talk about making business decisions, why can't we talk about people's lives?
Stream Global Services they say, helps out a lot of people. It extends help to charitable institutions, to calamity victims, to the homeless by supporting their projects and making donations. Is it really Stream Global Services who's doing the helping or is it its employees? I wonder how much Nemanja Zec or Jojo Reyes contributed to those donations out of their own pockets. But whether or not it is solely the employees or the company itself who's doing the helping, my point is, why the hell can't you extend help to your own employees? Is it because you would only help if it's going to be advertised?
Mr. Nemanja Zec, if what you say is true - that you're concerned with Stream's employees and you would help them in any way you can - you shouldn't have gone along with the idea or more so approved the forced leaves on your employees! I don't hear anyone from the upper management talking about financial help in any form. You wouldn't even allow them to work for another call center even as part-time employees! What, you would want them to wait on you? For 30 days?
Will Meralco wait for 30 days before they cut off someone's electricity because of none or late payment? Will their families be able to live for 30 days without food and water? The world won't stop for no one and you in Stream's upper management should know that very well. By not thinking ahead and having contingency plans to favor your employees, you failed in doing your jobs miserably. You may have straight A's from your corporate bosses but you have freaking F's from us! But I know that you guys can live with that. I know that you can sleep soundly at night in the comfort of your soft beds and air-conditioned condominium flats. After all, you made GREAT BUSINESS DECISIONS for Stream Global Services! Cheers to that, Nem, Jojo, and all your corporate bosses! Cheers!
To everyone,
Are we going to sit idly and let them have their way like this? I won't. That's why I'm supporting the people who are fighting this. If you're not affected by what's happening in Stream Global Services - think again. Maybe in the near future, you will be sitting in front of your computer furiously writing a blog with the same sentiments that I have right now. What happened to us can also happen to you as long as there are companies like Stream Global Services and as long as there are corporate assholes like Nemanja Zec and Jojo Reyes and their kind. Spread the word to everyone. Tell them what's happening here because you may not do something about this but others who may hear will.
To those who are affected, here's what I will tell you all: FIGHT! Fight and sue these people's corporate asses and don't settle for anything less than a benchmark for this case! They should be made an example of what a company and upper management people should not be! You know that you have mine and our friends' prayers and support.
Down with Nemanja Zec! Down with Jojo Reyes! Down with Stream Global Services!
The fact that this forced leaves happened in the last days of May dealt a double-blow for those who have kids. I talk to the affected agents a lot and my heart breaks whenever I hear them think out loud: "Where will I get the money to enroll my kids?" "Where will I get the money to tide me over the next 30 days" "What will I tell my in-laws?" These are some of the questions that you would hear from them. I know a single-mom who was affected by this. I know a bread-winner of a big family. Why didn't Stream Global Services gave them a better fighting chance by informing them at least a month early that this might happen? Sad to say, but we're really just numbers for them. A bunch of data printed in a sheet of paper. If we can talk about making business decisions, why can't we talk about people's lives?
Stream Global Services they say, helps out a lot of people. It extends help to charitable institutions, to calamity victims, to the homeless by supporting their projects and making donations. Is it really Stream Global Services who's doing the helping or is it its employees? I wonder how much Nemanja Zec or Jojo Reyes contributed to those donations out of their own pockets. But whether or not it is solely the employees or the company itself who's doing the helping, my point is, why the hell can't you extend help to your own employees? Is it because you would only help if it's going to be advertised?
Mr. Nemanja Zec, if what you say is true - that you're concerned with Stream's employees and you would help them in any way you can - you shouldn't have gone along with the idea or more so approved the forced leaves on your employees! I don't hear anyone from the upper management talking about financial help in any form. You wouldn't even allow them to work for another call center even as part-time employees! What, you would want them to wait on you? For 30 days?
Will Meralco wait for 30 days before they cut off someone's electricity because of none or late payment? Will their families be able to live for 30 days without food and water? The world won't stop for no one and you in Stream's upper management should know that very well. By not thinking ahead and having contingency plans to favor your employees, you failed in doing your jobs miserably. You may have straight A's from your corporate bosses but you have freaking F's from us! But I know that you guys can live with that. I know that you can sleep soundly at night in the comfort of your soft beds and air-conditioned condominium flats. After all, you made GREAT BUSINESS DECISIONS for Stream Global Services! Cheers to that, Nem, Jojo, and all your corporate bosses! Cheers!
To everyone,
Are we going to sit idly and let them have their way like this? I won't. That's why I'm supporting the people who are fighting this. If you're not affected by what's happening in Stream Global Services - think again. Maybe in the near future, you will be sitting in front of your computer furiously writing a blog with the same sentiments that I have right now. What happened to us can also happen to you as long as there are companies like Stream Global Services and as long as there are corporate assholes like Nemanja Zec and Jojo Reyes and their kind. Spread the word to everyone. Tell them what's happening here because you may not do something about this but others who may hear will.
To those who are affected, here's what I will tell you all: FIGHT! Fight and sue these people's corporate asses and don't settle for anything less than a benchmark for this case! They should be made an example of what a company and upper management people should not be! You know that you have mine and our friends' prayers and support.
Down with Nemanja Zec! Down with Jojo Reyes! Down with Stream Global Services!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Beware of Stream Global Services Part 4
The Highly Questionable Stack Ranking
and Nemanja Zec's Betrayal
To be honest with you all, I don't know how to start Part 4 of the continuing saga of Stream Global Services' poorly-treated employees. One thing is for sure, though... this will be Nemanja Zec's day under the sun. He is the current Site Director of Stream Global Services and number 2 on my hate list for what the company did to our brothers and sisters in HP Stream Quezon. Not only did this man approve the directive to give forced leaves to about 55 of our HP brethren but according to my sources, he was also directly responsible for the stack ranking list which determined the fate of the hapless agents.
Let's continue answering Mr/Ms Anonymous tirades:
"...So the question is, were the SPs made aware that not doing their jobs well could cost them their jobs? And if they were, did they take it seriously?"
I am sure that all employees to a certain extent knows that if they did not do their job well, they will be in danger of losing it. This is not only true in the BPO industry but in other disciplines as well. But admit it, even those who commit crimes cannot be terminated or suspended without due process. And this is what's lacking in this directive - due process. These employees committed no crime and yet Stream Global Services are treating them worse than criminals! In fairness to former HP SDM Kurt Andrada and all the fine TM's and agents in HP PSG ranks (I believe that this is true in IPG as well), I'm sure they gave it their best shot! The upper management needed these people to understand and bear with the inconvenience of MTO's and VTO's before when there was low call volume and everyone did their part. Why can't Stream Global Services do it for them this time? I always hear that the relationship between the employers and employees is a two-way street. I'm only seeing a one-way alley here and the flow of benefits are only going the employers' way.
Now let's discuss the stack ranking. To those who are not familiar with the story, the upper management chose the 55 agents who will be on forced leaves from a list of data. The data contains 6 KPI's (key performance indicators) which will in turn determine a particular employee's ranking if his numbers are compared to that of his colleagues. Clear so far? Good! Now here's the problem: the data contained in the list is nothing short of dubious and crappy. Believe me, you will not be able to justify that stupid formula much less defend it to a crowd of angry elementary students! That's how shitty the freaking list is! That is why Nemanja Zec, refused to show it to the agents in the FGD he spearheaded! That is why Nemanja Zec is uneasy discussing it! That is why Nemanja Zec and the upper management said through the new HP SDM that they will need to revise it! That is why this whole forced leave directive sucks big time! And that is why this whole forced leave directive is a big cacophony of LIES AND BULLSHIT!
HP SDM Criselda Fernando said it well in the initial FGD with the agents before they requested for an FGD with the Site Director. As quoted by our sources who were present in the said meeting, "...we will revise (or review) the stack ranking but for the meantime, things will be as it is." Meaning, those who are on the list will be served the forced leaves anyway while the upper management is verifying the reliability of the stack ranking. WOW!
Mr/Ms Anonymous said:
"...i honestly believe that there is more to people than being given numbers based on performance to determine their worth. but this is business, and in business, its all about the numbers. Im all for using stack rank to determine who should go on forced leave and who gets to stay, but for the computations to be hidden, that's just dubious. im not sure about the allegations whether the data was messed up or not, but transparency would be greatly appreciated. keep in mind that these event happened very quickly because it was a business need. management had to act fast and had to act with what data they had, the STMs that were available at the time..."
I'm glad we agree for once - that if there is no transparency in the computations, then the stack ranking becomes dubious. Hence, unreliable. Hence, not a good source of basis to determine who gets affected by an unpopular business decision and who won't. Again, time pressure and your so-called business need does not justify Stream Global Services' decision to hand forced leaves without any prior notice!
"...i dunno if there's some growing enmity between IPG and PSG, with the recent developments and all, but what i can say is this- don't blame IPG..."
I assure you, there is NO enmity between IPG and PSG people and we are not blaming IPG. If some PSG agents commented or even hinted that it was IPG's fault - they were simply being too emotional about all this and I am sure that they didn't mean to blame IPG per se. It was brought about by the unpopular remarks made by an IPG STM who clearly doesn't represent the core values of the people in IPG when he decided to do some grandstanding in the FGD with Nem. If IPG agents and TM's were hurt by my colleagues' remarks about your LOB, I am apologizing in their behalf. We are doing everything we can to stop everyone from hurling unprofessional and personal invectives towards our co-HP employees. We care for our brothers and sisters in IPG. This blog is not meant to flame IPG people. This blog is meant to open everyone's eyes to the injustice being done to the employees of Stream Global Services.
Back to the stack ranking. I was able to obtain a copy of the data used to determine HP PSG's stack ranking. How I got it is not important. Suffice it to say that I am not alone in my crusade and there are many people providing me with data and information so that I can share it with you all. Let me take this chance to say that I believe that Archie Oberio has nothing to do with all this. He was one of those who prepared the data but I have reason to believe that the formula wasn't his. I know Archie personally and if you know him too, you'd know that he doesn't have the heart to be a part of this unpopular directive. You see, everytime I ask around about who came up with the formula, a name always springs up - and it's your name Nemanja Zec, you scheming bastard! You have no business sitting as Stream Quezon's Site Director! You sold us out to eTelecare!
How you came up with a formula that weighs CSAT (customer satisfaction), DSAT, FCR, TPR, RevGen and HWCSAT equally is beyond me. Maybe it's only fathomable for someone with a deranged mind such as yours. In almost a year of HP's existence in Stream Quezon, those numbers were NEVER computed like that! And where the fuck is attendance in the formula Nem?! How can you ignore such an important stat?! Maybe your mind is clouded in your hurry to remove 55 agents in the soonest time possible that you weren't able to think straight! Admit it, man, you weren't really trying to manage the queue... your intention was to remove 55 HP PSG agents and it really doesn't matter who the fuck was on the bottom of that messed up stack ranking, you bastard!
What, are you also ass-kissing to please Mr. Jojo Reyes and his equally devilish co-executives? I'm not yet done with you, Mr. Site Director and you as well, Mr. Jojo Reyes (Stream Global Services Area Manager)! You, sir, occupy the number one spot on my hate list! Shame on you, people! Shame on you and may you both suffer the same or hopefully worse fate than my wronged colleagues!
Until my next blog!
Goodnight HP peeps. Never give up! The Lord sides with the oppressed. He will smite our enemies for us! :-)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Beware of Stream Global Services Part 3
As much as I would like to write about Christopher Roxas, common sense and my heart dictates otherwise. I will write about him when I feel like the time is right. I don't want other people to think that I am using him and the issues about him to gain sympathy for the cause that I am fighting for. We have been treated unfairly by Stream Global Services. That is true and that is what I want people who are reading this to understand.
So let's move on to the topic at hand, shall we?
Let's start with the rest of the story about the FGD with Stream Global Services' Site Director. My sources informed me that one of the agents present in the meeting proposed an alternative solution. Instead of having 55 people go on forced leave, a group of PSG agents will go on leave on a particular week and so on and so forth. This way, no one has to be on leave for a lengthy period of time because let's face it, 30-days without pay would really be a big blow to anyone. Site Director Nem, replied by saying, "If I am a top performer and you will come up to me with that kind of resolution, I will turn my back on you and walk away..." Now that sounds logical. But wait, we're talking about PSG people here. So that those who are not familiar with the PSG family would understand, the PSG folks already weathered a season like this when call volume is very low. Ask any PSG agent, TM, or STM and they would attest to the fact that this already happened before and no one was made to go home for 30 days without pay. An agent present on the FGD even challenged SD Nem to make a survey on-the-spot and see what PSG's top performers has to say about the issues at hand but Nem turned him down flat. Why is that? Is that because he knew that PSG people are united in fighting this directive? If that is the case, then he is right to think that.
To the anonymous follower who commented on my blog, you got my attention. And here's what I have to say about your comments:
"FGD stands for Focus Group Discussion. this is where a select group of people are gathered to discuss something. the reason it's called a focus group is because you only get a sample of the general populace. Anything more would be a town hall meeting..."
Thank you so much for the definition. My point is not about what an FGD is. I am questioning the timing. If a big decision, in scope and magnitude, is about to be handed down to employees, the upper management should talk to the employees first, at the very least, notify them about it. It should be town hall or FGD before the decision and not the other way around. Now, a town hall should be more appropriate, in my opinion, for events such as this.
"...i know its a little off when the issue is about PSG and you have STMs from IPG in the discussion, so i wonder where were the 2 STMs? it would have been much better if they were there, but management had their reasons..."
Having IPG STM's on a meeting for PSG concerns is not just a little off, it's not even close to that because it's just not right - plain and simple. The PSG STM's, for the record, are on leave. So can't the upper management wait for them to come back before handing down this very important directive? Can't they order them back to the office for important matters such as these? No, they did not, because they couldn't care less about who serves the forced leave as long as it gets served! What's the hurry? Inviting PSG TM's would have been more appropriate if there are no PSG STM's present. But no... even the lone PSG TM present on the said FGD was sent out by the upper management. Yes, I agree with you that management had their reasons... and these reasons are what scares me.
"...like it or not, this is a business. the objective is to make money- not to provide jobs. it just so happens that people are needed to make that money. so if we do our jobs, then the business runs. if we do our jobs well, the business earns. but if we do our jobs poorly, then the business loses. The business is not obligated to employ for the sake of employment if they dont earn..."
I don't even want to comment about this. The way you said it actually did more damage to you than it did to me. Can you even hear yourself when you said this? I hope to God you are just an employee and not a call center owner because if you are and you think this way and there are half a dozen of you in the Philippines, then we Filipinos are in a very deep shit! Wow, I really admire your guts! Even Bill Gates (who probably might be thinking along the same line) wouldn't dare say that publicly. Or maybe you're that confident because you're just like one of us, an employee who breaks his back 8 hours a day to earn money to feed our family and the big difference between us is that you kiss-ass!
"...running a business is no easy matter. The people at the top have to worry about how to keep the business earning, or at the very least, running. having to force leave more 55 employees was the best course of action to alleviate expenses, as opposed to shutting down the entire program, sounds cruel, but that's life. from what i understand, 2 reasons for this were low call volume and sub par performance..."
I agree that running a business is no easy matter but that's no excuse for enforcing a decision that doesn't take into account your employees' welfare as well as the laws that govern the land where you're running a business. You're talking about alleviating expenses, so let's talk about that as well. You said:
"...with regards to the dell agents from Etel being trained for HP conflicting with the low call volume excuse- this is totally unrelated. stream can only bill the client for the time the SPs are already taking in calls. the expenses incurred for training are shouldered by stream and they cannot bill the client for that. HP doesnt spend a cent to train those dell agents..."
I would tell you that it is directly related. OK, so it's Stream that's funding the training? Let me ask you then, which would cost more money, training a hundred agents for an HP account or paying the salary of the 55 agents who were considered for forced leave? We are only talking about money to be spent for a 30-day period here. Each HP agent who is already on board would cost Stream between P18,000-P20,000 in salaries. Multiply that by 55 and you get P990,000-P1.1M in 30 days. As opposed to how much? Let's say that it will cost Stream about P30,000 per head to train an HP agent, and everyone knows I'm already being way conservative about the amount here. That's already a whooping P3,000,000! More than twice the salary of the agents who would be on forced leave! Alleviating expenses my ass! And damn you for making me look for my laptop's calculator! X( At least eTelecare is doing their damn best to keep their agents employed. Obviously I can't say the same for Stream Global Services' upper management. Sounds cruel? Yes. That's life? Hell, no! There are a number of things that upper management could have done to address the issues but they chose the easy and evil way out!
"...no matter how good a performance a site gives, if there is low call volume, there is really nothing that can be done except to mitigate expenses- hence time off. if this isnt done, then the program would be paying for salaries of employees not doing anything, until the program would have to shut down permanently. in the long run, everyone loses..."
You want me to believe this crap? From what I know, a site that performs excellently is given a good chunk of the call volume. If this is not true, then driving your agents to excellence is simply useless. I agree that if losses are incurred, then there's no way for a company but to mitigate expenses - but time off's and specially forced leaves for an extended period of time are not the only solutions. If forced leaves and layoffs cannot be avoided, then there are rules and guidelines to follow. You cannot just hand them over to your employees simply because you feel like doing it and you believe that it's timely. No, sir, no. The time of kings and tyrants are already over and the last time I checked, Stream Global Services is a company and the Philippines is still a democratic country with a constitution and by-laws.
"...sub par performance is not acceptable for a business is to earn. sub par performance would be okay if making money wasnt the goal (how do you expect to be paid). from what i was told, the performance at PSG is not something spectacular, or at the very least, has alot to be desired. Sure, 6j or kv did win best site for a particular month- but that was just 1 month. Do if for 3 months straight then we'll talk..."
Let me grab this chance to say that I am not in any way flaming IPG for its performance. My purpose here is to expose the wrongdoings of Stream Global Services and if ever IPG was ever mentioned, it was because of how its two STM's behaved during the FGD's for the affected PSG agents. I don't believe that there is an enmity existing between PSG and IPG agents. From what I know, they have been co-existing peacefully and have mutual respect for each other.
We cannot single out PSG or IPG agents for subpar performance. In any environment, there are naturally those who perform better than others. Stream Quezon's 6J did win best 6J site on the planet and though it's something that wasn't repeated, it wasn't so long ago and it just shows the kind of competition that HP accounts have under the umbrella of Stream Global Services. You just have to admit that that wasn't an easy accomplishment either. Do it for three months, then we'll talk? If we're talking salary increase and additional incentives then that's understandable. Can IPG's STM's even duplicate that accomplishment? Have they even been cited for such an accolade? Never.
But we're talking forced leaves here, remember? There WAS NOT EVEN A SINGLE TALK! There was just that cold sheet of paper that the upper management handed out to its poor employees. Oh let me rephrase that... that the upper management slapped on it's employees faces! That is so inconsiderate! If there's any message that I'm sending to HP IPG and even PSG agents in Stream Global Services it's for them to be vigilant. If Stream can do it to "performing" agents like us then there's no way they cannot do it to you!
On my next blog... the dreaded stack ranking and how they cooked up those shitty data!
So let's move on to the topic at hand, shall we?
Let's start with the rest of the story about the FGD with Stream Global Services' Site Director. My sources informed me that one of the agents present in the meeting proposed an alternative solution. Instead of having 55 people go on forced leave, a group of PSG agents will go on leave on a particular week and so on and so forth. This way, no one has to be on leave for a lengthy period of time because let's face it, 30-days without pay would really be a big blow to anyone. Site Director Nem, replied by saying, "If I am a top performer and you will come up to me with that kind of resolution, I will turn my back on you and walk away..." Now that sounds logical. But wait, we're talking about PSG people here. So that those who are not familiar with the PSG family would understand, the PSG folks already weathered a season like this when call volume is very low. Ask any PSG agent, TM, or STM and they would attest to the fact that this already happened before and no one was made to go home for 30 days without pay. An agent present on the FGD even challenged SD Nem to make a survey on-the-spot and see what PSG's top performers has to say about the issues at hand but Nem turned him down flat. Why is that? Is that because he knew that PSG people are united in fighting this directive? If that is the case, then he is right to think that.
To the anonymous follower who commented on my blog, you got my attention. And here's what I have to say about your comments:
"FGD stands for Focus Group Discussion. this is where a select group of people are gathered to discuss something. the reason it's called a focus group is because you only get a sample of the general populace. Anything more would be a town hall meeting..."
Thank you so much for the definition. My point is not about what an FGD is. I am questioning the timing. If a big decision, in scope and magnitude, is about to be handed down to employees, the upper management should talk to the employees first, at the very least, notify them about it. It should be town hall or FGD before the decision and not the other way around. Now, a town hall should be more appropriate, in my opinion, for events such as this.
"...i know its a little off when the issue is about PSG and you have STMs from IPG in the discussion, so i wonder where were the 2 STMs? it would have been much better if they were there, but management had their reasons..."
Having IPG STM's on a meeting for PSG concerns is not just a little off, it's not even close to that because it's just not right - plain and simple. The PSG STM's, for the record, are on leave. So can't the upper management wait for them to come back before handing down this very important directive? Can't they order them back to the office for important matters such as these? No, they did not, because they couldn't care less about who serves the forced leave as long as it gets served! What's the hurry? Inviting PSG TM's would have been more appropriate if there are no PSG STM's present. But no... even the lone PSG TM present on the said FGD was sent out by the upper management. Yes, I agree with you that management had their reasons... and these reasons are what scares me.
"...like it or not, this is a business. the objective is to make money- not to provide jobs. it just so happens that people are needed to make that money. so if we do our jobs, then the business runs. if we do our jobs well, the business earns. but if we do our jobs poorly, then the business loses. The business is not obligated to employ for the sake of employment if they dont earn..."
I don't even want to comment about this. The way you said it actually did more damage to you than it did to me. Can you even hear yourself when you said this? I hope to God you are just an employee and not a call center owner because if you are and you think this way and there are half a dozen of you in the Philippines, then we Filipinos are in a very deep shit! Wow, I really admire your guts! Even Bill Gates (who probably might be thinking along the same line) wouldn't dare say that publicly. Or maybe you're that confident because you're just like one of us, an employee who breaks his back 8 hours a day to earn money to feed our family and the big difference between us is that you kiss-ass!
"...running a business is no easy matter. The people at the top have to worry about how to keep the business earning, or at the very least, running. having to force leave more 55 employees was the best course of action to alleviate expenses, as opposed to shutting down the entire program, sounds cruel, but that's life. from what i understand, 2 reasons for this were low call volume and sub par performance..."
I agree that running a business is no easy matter but that's no excuse for enforcing a decision that doesn't take into account your employees' welfare as well as the laws that govern the land where you're running a business. You're talking about alleviating expenses, so let's talk about that as well. You said:
"...with regards to the dell agents from Etel being trained for HP conflicting with the low call volume excuse- this is totally unrelated. stream can only bill the client for the time the SPs are already taking in calls. the expenses incurred for training are shouldered by stream and they cannot bill the client for that. HP doesnt spend a cent to train those dell agents..."
I would tell you that it is directly related. OK, so it's Stream that's funding the training? Let me ask you then, which would cost more money, training a hundred agents for an HP account or paying the salary of the 55 agents who were considered for forced leave? We are only talking about money to be spent for a 30-day period here. Each HP agent who is already on board would cost Stream between P18,000-P20,000 in salaries. Multiply that by 55 and you get P990,000-P1.1M in 30 days. As opposed to how much? Let's say that it will cost Stream about P30,000 per head to train an HP agent, and everyone knows I'm already being way conservative about the amount here. That's already a whooping P3,000,000! More than twice the salary of the agents who would be on forced leave! Alleviating expenses my ass! And damn you for making me look for my laptop's calculator! X( At least eTelecare is doing their damn best to keep their agents employed. Obviously I can't say the same for Stream Global Services' upper management. Sounds cruel? Yes. That's life? Hell, no! There are a number of things that upper management could have done to address the issues but they chose the easy and evil way out!
"...no matter how good a performance a site gives, if there is low call volume, there is really nothing that can be done except to mitigate expenses- hence time off. if this isnt done, then the program would be paying for salaries of employees not doing anything, until the program would have to shut down permanently. in the long run, everyone loses..."
You want me to believe this crap? From what I know, a site that performs excellently is given a good chunk of the call volume. If this is not true, then driving your agents to excellence is simply useless. I agree that if losses are incurred, then there's no way for a company but to mitigate expenses - but time off's and specially forced leaves for an extended period of time are not the only solutions. If forced leaves and layoffs cannot be avoided, then there are rules and guidelines to follow. You cannot just hand them over to your employees simply because you feel like doing it and you believe that it's timely. No, sir, no. The time of kings and tyrants are already over and the last time I checked, Stream Global Services is a company and the Philippines is still a democratic country with a constitution and by-laws.
"...sub par performance is not acceptable for a business is to earn. sub par performance would be okay if making money wasnt the goal (how do you expect to be paid). from what i was told, the performance at PSG is not something spectacular, or at the very least, has alot to be desired. Sure, 6j or kv did win best site for a particular month- but that was just 1 month. Do if for 3 months straight then we'll talk..."
Let me grab this chance to say that I am not in any way flaming IPG for its performance. My purpose here is to expose the wrongdoings of Stream Global Services and if ever IPG was ever mentioned, it was because of how its two STM's behaved during the FGD's for the affected PSG agents. I don't believe that there is an enmity existing between PSG and IPG agents. From what I know, they have been co-existing peacefully and have mutual respect for each other.
We cannot single out PSG or IPG agents for subpar performance. In any environment, there are naturally those who perform better than others. Stream Quezon's 6J did win best 6J site on the planet and though it's something that wasn't repeated, it wasn't so long ago and it just shows the kind of competition that HP accounts have under the umbrella of Stream Global Services. You just have to admit that that wasn't an easy accomplishment either. Do it for three months, then we'll talk? If we're talking salary increase and additional incentives then that's understandable. Can IPG's STM's even duplicate that accomplishment? Have they even been cited for such an accolade? Never.
But we're talking forced leaves here, remember? There WAS NOT EVEN A SINGLE TALK! There was just that cold sheet of paper that the upper management handed out to its poor employees. Oh let me rephrase that... that the upper management slapped on it's employees faces! That is so inconsiderate! If there's any message that I'm sending to HP IPG and even PSG agents in Stream Global Services it's for them to be vigilant. If Stream can do it to "performing" agents like us then there's no way they cannot do it to you!
On my next blog... the dreaded stack ranking and how they cooked up those shitty data!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Beware of Stream Global Services Part 2
Stream Global Services Decides to Continue Handing Out Forced Leaves
I promised you that my first blog about this topic is not going to be my last so this is me staying true to my word. Some parts of this article may be a little bit personal but I am entitled to my own opinion and I won't be holding my horses on this one, so buckle up. "This is going to be a bumpy ride," as they say.
Quote of the day:
"...well, you can choose to resign..."
That was Nemanja "Nem" Zec - Site Director/Stream Global Services Quezon City, when asked by agents what they can do if part-time jobs on non-call center establishments is not enough to tide them over the 30-days unpaid leaves because let's face it, we all have bills to pay.
That pretty much sums up what the upper management is trying to tell its HP agents when they sat down with them in an FGD (I don't know if you can call it that because the doors will only open to a selected few) yesterday morning, June 2, at around 6AM. Present are Nem Zec (Site Director/Stream Quezon), Criselda Fernando (HP SDM), Ms Heather (HR Manager), and IPG STM's Donna Geniza and Dunstan Prado. With them, of course, are about 9 or 10 of the SP's who were served their 30-day forced leaves. Make no mistake about it, they're handing out forced leaves by batch so the grand total's still 55-60 agents in all. HP KV Team Manager, Dan Bilaoen, according to my sources was originally inside the FGD venue to support the agents but was sent out by the powers-that-be.
So what happened? Well, the headline says it all. Stream Global Services is not budging and they will not retract the forced leaves they served to these unfortunate HP agents. The FGD, as it appears, is no other than a stage set by the upper management to answer questions and not to discuss the possibility of changing their decision or even listen to the agents' side. The meeting is so one-sided. As one-sided as the notices they served to their employees. The agents do not even have proper representation from their direct superiors as the HP STM's present are from the IPG side. To those who are not familiar with the HP structure, the account is divided into PSG and IPG. The PSG is comprised of desktop support (6J) and notebook support (KV). IPG handles printer support. The agents affected were from PSG while the STM's present were from IPG. Get the picture?
I'll spare you all the upper management's BS and discuss the important points in the meeting as detailed by our very reliable source. The agents affected requested for an FGD which will include every HP agent on Stream Global Services employ, whether they are affected or not, and the upper management led by Mr. Zec. I'm sure we can all see the value in this as important issues such as these must be discussed in everyone's presence. But no, Nem Zec would have none of it as it will be difficult for them to control the crowd according to him. Well, who do you think you will be talking to Mr. Site Director, a bunch of unruly savages? These are your employees who brings money to your company's account! I'm not surprised with how inhumanely you treat them with your directives because you clearly are not comfortable with them. You are more comfortable sitting in your office devicing schemes to make more money at the expense of and with no regards to your employees!
We would like to reiterate to everyone that what my friends are fighting for here is not the fact that they are on the list. That list is filled with fucked up data anyway! I wouldn't be suprised if those agents were stack ranked by Mr. Excel himself - is that right Ms. Cris Fernando? Is that the reason why you and your equally scheming boss in Mr. Zec refused to show the affected agents a copy of the list? You agreed to show them only, and only their personal scores? How can you justify the ranking then if they have no idea as to whom they can compare it with? Admit it you people - you screwed up big time! In your hurry to remove 55 agents from the HP roster, you made someone make a list of the agents, rank them somehow without considering the actual weight of every KPI (key performance indicator) and ordered him/her to slice off the bottom 55! But then, however devious this thing sounds like, what my friends are fighting for is that there shouldn't have been any forced leave at all! You people have no regard for your employees' well-being!
The FGD also showed the true colors of some of HP's bosses, according to those who attended the meeting. STM Dunstan Prado for one is definitely anti-agents. Yes, you're reading this right, HP people, IPG STM Dunstan is pro-management to his bone marrows and will never be on the agents' side. The nerve of this man to say that he's concerned about the PSG agents when he crucified every single one of them by the incriminating remarks he hurled towards those who were about to be served their forced leaves. One of them even quoted him saying, "...It is not our fault that your TM's failed to drive you to meet your metrics..." Wow, so you really know PSG's number, huh? Is that why IPG's numbers aren't that good, because you were looking for something to crucify the PSG people with all the time? Or are you grandstanding because your bosses were there and you're hoping that they will notice your FAMAS-worthy performance? You were forgetting that there are 10 pairs of SP-level eyes looking at you that day and all they saw was a kiss-ass STM using other people's misery to elevate himself. Tsk! No wonder you sided with your corporate asshole bosses to keep this FGD to yourselves.
For the record, it is a fact that Stream Global Services is training SP's for HP. There are at least 100 of them. We have confirmed this from the Site Director himself and from numerous reliable sources. They are indeed Dell employees on floating status when Dell pulled out their account from E-Telecare. Stream is adamant in saying that the account is overstaffed, thus, the need for the forced leaves. But whatever happened to the initial plan that PSG agents are supposed to be transferred to Shaw and those who choose to remain in Stream Quezon will be retrained for IPG? Why do they have the gall to put HP PSG agents on Stream Quezon on forced leave for reasons like overstaffing when they were spending money to train HP agents for Stream Shaw? Because they think that no one's going to notice? Or is it plainly the upper management's arrogant nature getting into play? Or maybe both... Well, you be the judge.
Part 3 will be coming very soon, people. I just have to make way first to make a blog for Christopher Roxas. A good friend of mine and a good friend of everyone. Until my next blog! :-)
By the way, to the anonymous person who posted a comment on my first blog, I will answer your statements right after I finish my blog for CR. I'm actually excited to make one right now but I'm pressed for time to finish Chris' blog. Don't worry Dunstan... err... I'm sorry but you really sound like him. Hehe. You'll hear from me on "Beware of SGS - Part 3"
I promised you that my first blog about this topic is not going to be my last so this is me staying true to my word. Some parts of this article may be a little bit personal but I am entitled to my own opinion and I won't be holding my horses on this one, so buckle up. "This is going to be a bumpy ride," as they say.
Quote of the day:
"...well, you can choose to resign..."
That was Nemanja "Nem" Zec - Site Director/Stream Global Services Quezon City, when asked by agents what they can do if part-time jobs on non-call center establishments is not enough to tide them over the 30-days unpaid leaves because let's face it, we all have bills to pay.
That pretty much sums up what the upper management is trying to tell its HP agents when they sat down with them in an FGD (I don't know if you can call it that because the doors will only open to a selected few) yesterday morning, June 2, at around 6AM. Present are Nem Zec (Site Director/Stream Quezon), Criselda Fernando (HP SDM), Ms Heather (HR Manager), and IPG STM's Donna Geniza and Dunstan Prado. With them, of course, are about 9 or 10 of the SP's who were served their 30-day forced leaves. Make no mistake about it, they're handing out forced leaves by batch so the grand total's still 55-60 agents in all. HP KV Team Manager, Dan Bilaoen, according to my sources was originally inside the FGD venue to support the agents but was sent out by the powers-that-be.
So what happened? Well, the headline says it all. Stream Global Services is not budging and they will not retract the forced leaves they served to these unfortunate HP agents. The FGD, as it appears, is no other than a stage set by the upper management to answer questions and not to discuss the possibility of changing their decision or even listen to the agents' side. The meeting is so one-sided. As one-sided as the notices they served to their employees. The agents do not even have proper representation from their direct superiors as the HP STM's present are from the IPG side. To those who are not familiar with the HP structure, the account is divided into PSG and IPG. The PSG is comprised of desktop support (6J) and notebook support (KV). IPG handles printer support. The agents affected were from PSG while the STM's present were from IPG. Get the picture?
I'll spare you all the upper management's BS and discuss the important points in the meeting as detailed by our very reliable source. The agents affected requested for an FGD which will include every HP agent on Stream Global Services employ, whether they are affected or not, and the upper management led by Mr. Zec. I'm sure we can all see the value in this as important issues such as these must be discussed in everyone's presence. But no, Nem Zec would have none of it as it will be difficult for them to control the crowd according to him. Well, who do you think you will be talking to Mr. Site Director, a bunch of unruly savages? These are your employees who brings money to your company's account! I'm not surprised with how inhumanely you treat them with your directives because you clearly are not comfortable with them. You are more comfortable sitting in your office devicing schemes to make more money at the expense of and with no regards to your employees!
We would like to reiterate to everyone that what my friends are fighting for here is not the fact that they are on the list. That list is filled with fucked up data anyway! I wouldn't be suprised if those agents were stack ranked by Mr. Excel himself - is that right Ms. Cris Fernando? Is that the reason why you and your equally scheming boss in Mr. Zec refused to show the affected agents a copy of the list? You agreed to show them only, and only their personal scores? How can you justify the ranking then if they have no idea as to whom they can compare it with? Admit it you people - you screwed up big time! In your hurry to remove 55 agents from the HP roster, you made someone make a list of the agents, rank them somehow without considering the actual weight of every KPI (key performance indicator) and ordered him/her to slice off the bottom 55! But then, however devious this thing sounds like, what my friends are fighting for is that there shouldn't have been any forced leave at all! You people have no regard for your employees' well-being!
The FGD also showed the true colors of some of HP's bosses, according to those who attended the meeting. STM Dunstan Prado for one is definitely anti-agents. Yes, you're reading this right, HP people, IPG STM Dunstan is pro-management to his bone marrows and will never be on the agents' side. The nerve of this man to say that he's concerned about the PSG agents when he crucified every single one of them by the incriminating remarks he hurled towards those who were about to be served their forced leaves. One of them even quoted him saying, "...It is not our fault that your TM's failed to drive you to meet your metrics..." Wow, so you really know PSG's number, huh? Is that why IPG's numbers aren't that good, because you were looking for something to crucify the PSG people with all the time? Or are you grandstanding because your bosses were there and you're hoping that they will notice your FAMAS-worthy performance? You were forgetting that there are 10 pairs of SP-level eyes looking at you that day and all they saw was a kiss-ass STM using other people's misery to elevate himself. Tsk! No wonder you sided with your corporate asshole bosses to keep this FGD to yourselves.
For the record, it is a fact that Stream Global Services is training SP's for HP. There are at least 100 of them. We have confirmed this from the Site Director himself and from numerous reliable sources. They are indeed Dell employees on floating status when Dell pulled out their account from E-Telecare. Stream is adamant in saying that the account is overstaffed, thus, the need for the forced leaves. But whatever happened to the initial plan that PSG agents are supposed to be transferred to Shaw and those who choose to remain in Stream Quezon will be retrained for IPG? Why do they have the gall to put HP PSG agents on Stream Quezon on forced leave for reasons like overstaffing when they were spending money to train HP agents for Stream Shaw? Because they think that no one's going to notice? Or is it plainly the upper management's arrogant nature getting into play? Or maybe both... Well, you be the judge.
Part 3 will be coming very soon, people. I just have to make way first to make a blog for Christopher Roxas. A good friend of mine and a good friend of everyone. Until my next blog! :-)
By the way, to the anonymous person who posted a comment on my first blog, I will answer your statements right after I finish my blog for CR. I'm actually excited to make one right now but I'm pressed for time to finish Chris' blog. Don't worry Dunstan... err... I'm sorry but you really sound like him. Hehe. You'll hear from me on "Beware of SGS - Part 3"
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