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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

3774.0. "ABU VR Scheme??" by LARVAE::LEGG_B (BOB LEGG) Thu Mar 30 1995 09:38

Anyone heard about the ABU Voluntary Redundancy Scheme open to Level 10's and 
above?

Also can anyone cast some light on which industries/groups the ABU will (and 
will not) focus on as it cuts costs further?

Bob

T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
3774.1scheme or scam?HDLITE::SCHAFERMark Schafer, AXP-developer supportThu Mar 30 1995 13:445
    Bob,
    
    I hear it's being announced in 2 days.  :-)
    
    Mark
3774.2Level 10?CFSCTC::PATILAvinash Patil dtn:227-3280Thu Mar 30 1995 14:216
re .0

What is a Level 10?

Avinash
3774.3A whole lot higher than a level 3...POBOX::CORSONHigher, and a bit more to the rightThu Mar 30 1995 14:331
    
3774.4CSOA1::LENNIGDave (N8JCX), MIG, @CYOThu Mar 30 1995 14:4211
    I believe the author of .0 is in, and the program is limited to, the UK.
    
    There was a previous Voluntary Redundancy offered in the UK, primarily
    because the employee contracts over there and local laws could be
    interpreted in such a fashion as to restrict Digital from lowering the
    TFSO (involutary redundancy) program in the UK, which is quite
    generous (and more expensive) compared to, for example, the US.
    
    Check out ROCKS::UK_DIGITAL note 967
    
    Dave
3774.5It's all so cornfusing...GLDOA::WERNERThu Mar 30 1995 15:5110
    Isn't the term "voluntary redundancy" somewhat oxymoranic? How does one
    volunteer to be redundant? Wouldn't one be redundant by definition,
    rather than by volunteering. I have some involuntary redundancy around my
    waste, maybe I can get it to voluntarily leave, also. And talk about
    voluntary redundancy, how many of the current hundreds of VP's will
    recognize the symptoms and raise their hands? Perhaps the program
    should be limited to only duplicate redundancy, so that we avoid losing
    those good redundant folks. 
    
    -OFWAMI- 
3774.6Confused you are....KAOFS::R_DAVEYRobin Davey CSC/CTH dtn 772-7220Thu Mar 30 1995 17:248
    re: .5
    >>I have some involuntary redundancy around my waste, maybe I can get
    it to voluntarily leave
    
    I thought everyone's waste was redundant and generally left either 
    voluntarily or involuntarily within 36 hours, or did you mean "waist"? 
    
    Robin  8^)
3774.7virtual redundancy ... voluntary reality ... HANNAH::BECKPaul BeckThu Mar 30 1995 17:273
    VR means voluntary redundancy? I thought it meant virtual reality.
    
    Hmmm ... there's definitely a joke in there somewhere ...
3774.8KOALA::HAMNQVISTReorg cityThu Mar 30 1995 19:3330
|    Isn't the term "voluntary redundancy" somewhat oxymoranic? How does one
|    volunteer to be redundant? Wouldn't one be redundant by definition,
|    rather than by volunteering. I have some involuntary redundancy around my
|    waste, maybe I can get it to voluntarily leave, also. And talk about
|    voluntary redundancy, how many of the current hundreds of VP's will
|    recognize the symptoms and raise their hands? Perhaps the program
|    should be limited to only duplicate redundancy, so that we avoid losing
|    those good redundant folks. 

    Volunteering to become redundant means *you* accept to be terminated for
    a compensation. Often this happens when an organization has a target to
    reduce headcount by a certain number and rather than starting by going
    through a very painful process of selecting the ones to go, they first
    ask if anyone (meeting certain critera) is willing to voluteer themselves
    on the list thereby reducing the number of people who will actually have
    to be terminated on involuntary terms. 

    When we started to shed people from this company it was easy to dump the
    bad ones. But pretty quickly you realize you are comparing the merits of
    one good person against another good person. At this point you are forced
    to get rid of them, not becase they are bad, but because you have an
    excess of that type of skill. Instituting a voluntary redundancy is a
    humane way to let those who are considering to leave do so and let those
    who want to stay do so. 

    In some countries the involuntary redundancy programs are fairly well
    regulated (unlike the US) and voluntary redundancy can be a mechanism
    to pay your way around the trouble you may have to go through.

    >Per
3774.9Echoes of redundancy...GLDOA::WERNERThu Mar 30 1995 20:5215
    RE .6 I suppose that a case could be made that what's around my waist
    is waste (or should be anyway), but thanks for the correction. I
    obviously need a spell-checker option for my notes.
    
    RE .8 You have always been and always will be (sounds like a Star Trek
    line) much more civilized about that sort of thing than we in the U.S.
    We use crude terms like "getting the axe, the old heave ho, fired,
    layed off, terminated, etc. We would never have come up with such a
    nice term as voluntary redundancy, although the term "rightsizing"
    comes close to the level of obfuscation that voluntary redundancy
    carries. 
    
    8^) -OFWAMI-
    
    
3774.10VR for all, let the rest eat cake!!ANGLIN::BJAMESI feel the need, the need for SPEEDThu Mar 30 1995 21:0920
    RE: .5
    
    What a brillant expose of how "Dilbert like" this whole friggin' thing
    is.  One of the latest Dilbert's pretty much sums this up:
    
    First frame:  Catbert the HR Director perched on the top of a cube:
    Here's the new org. chart.  Maybe you're on it and maybe not.
    
    Second frame: the cat is dangling it above the heads of the
    curly-headed worker in the cube below who is trying desparately to
    reach it but it's just out of her reach.  The cat says, "Ohh! nice try!
    So close. Too bad."
    
    Last frame: now as the cat is dangling the org. chart into the cubes
    below as the employees are rushing desparately to reach it to see: 
    "It's fun to play with them before downsizing them."
    
    A little close folks....
    
    Mav
3774.11The VP of VR...GLDOA::WERNERFri Mar 31 1995 12:119
    RE .10
    
    To get even closer, every Dilbert for the next year would have to also
    have an announcement of a new VP of something or other. I can't recall
    the last week that we haven't had a least one one VP announced. Perhaps
    next week we'll get a VP of Voluntary Redundancy. Of course we'd need
    two to make the scenario complete.
    
    -OFWAMI-
3774.12Brits have a way with wordsICS::VERMAFri Mar 31 1995 13:206
    
    Re: 3774.9 by GLDOA::WERNER
    
    if your impressed with the term 'voluntary redundancy' try
    'garden leave' which I was told is taken/given in UK just before
    starting VR. How nice! 
3774.13anyone for Tiffin???SEDSWS::OCONNELLPETER PERFECTFri Mar 31 1995 14:386
    see uk_digital 1036.5 for a rather good description
    of "garden leave".
    
    (btw we should have a way with words as "English are us!!!")
    
    regards patrick
3774.14A Stab at what "Level 10" isSOLVIT::CARLTONFri Mar 31 1995 16:034
    Fwiw, "level 10" in the US, to the best of my recollection, was
    equivalent to SRI 38 under the current job code/classification scheme.
    
    Jst my $.02....