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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

1165.0. "Headcount Still Growing??" by COOKIE::LENNARD () Wed Aug 22 1990 18:49

    I've heard from several sources recently that even though we had about
    3,000 people take "the package" in FY90, total corporate headcount
    still grew!!!  Does anybody know what's going on, or have we just
    gone totally bonkers?  I find it hard to believe...but at the same
    time I've seen people around the CXN facility that certainly looked
    like they were interviewing.
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1165.1This group shrank TOO muchCADSYS::HECTOR::RICHARDSONWed Aug 22 1990 19:157
    My group is five people below its authorized headcount (we got raided by an
    outside company!), so there have definitely been people around here
    interviewing, mostly from elsewhere inside DEC.  I hope we hire a few
    of them, too - it is hard to make any forward progress in some areas
    because of the loss of some of the missing people!
    
    /Charlotte
1165.2who's hiring these people?CVG::THOMPSONAut vincere aut moriWed Aug 22 1990 19:256
	One set of figures I saw showed drops in engineering and manufacturing
	but gains in the field and in marketing. I know that my group that
	was ok at 7 people, was full out at 6, now has 4 people. We're all
	working pretty hard these days.

			Alfred
1165.3COOKIE::LENNARDWed Aug 22 1990 19:354
    The only reason I bring this up is that one of the really major
    criteria by which Wall Street measures whether we are getting our act
    together is how successfully we manage our excessive headcount.  It
    would appear we are not doing a very good job.
1165.4Layoffs?PHAROS::FANTOZZIWed Aug 22 1990 20:038
    
    I heard that DEC has announced layoffs of 8,000 people worldwide
    today. Anyone else hear that?
    
    That would solve some headcount problems....
    
    Mary
    
1165.5Check note 372.10VAXWRK::PIANTEDOSIRadar-equipped, stealth MosquitosWed Aug 22 1990 20:081
    Check note 372.10 for some info on this subject...
1165.6buy out 8000 more, hire 10000GLDOA::STAGGSRather be FishingThu Aug 23 1990 02:328
    Saw in the evening paper tonight that DEC is reducing personnel by
    8,000.  The article indicated a new buy-out plan, but not near as
    lucrative as the previous one.  No further details were available,
    except that the article commented on the impact to Mass. unemployment
    figures.
    
    rick
    
1165.7Different way of counting?JGO::EVANSThu Aug 23 1990 07:5013
    re .0
    
    There is an active project to uniformly define heads and maybe this
    has led to different results :-
    
    e.g. temps and contractors under the old system were not counted
    as heads unless they were working on particular reference days.
    The new method of counting was as far as I know to include everyone
    but only in relation to full time. So someone working half days
    would only count as half instead of as one under the old system.
    
    j.e.
     
1165.8SICML::LEVINMy kind of town, Chicago isThu Aug 23 1990 19:3210
Yes, the company did change the way it did headcount. (I think this was all
effective July 1). If a manager hired a part-timer, that person would be counted
as filling a slot. So two 1/2-timers took two slots.  The change was to go from
number of people to full time equivalents. That way a manager could fill a 
single position with two 1/2-time people.

Besides giving a truer measure of "human resources" in a group, it also creates
some flixibility in hiring, such as job-sharing.

	/Marvin
1165.9New method is for internal use only...FRAGLE::CALHOUNFri Aug 24 1990 12:457
    Bear in mind, however, that as of August 10th, when I attended training
    in the new headcount methodology, the "true resource" concept was to 
    be used for internal reporting only.  The external reporting will still
    reflect "gross headcount", at least for FY91.  So if we're going to
    lose people, it will be a real decrease, not a number shuffle.