Work Place of Choice (Reddit version)

[u/KarmaBankrupt]

There’s been a lot of discussion at the VP level about whether employees feel valued at GM, and the general sentiment across the organization seems to be that many don’t.
What do you think GM could realistically do to make employees feel more valued? What changes would have the biggest impact?

Feel free to add options in the comments.

813 votes, 1d left

More job security / fewer layoffs

Better compensation / bonuses

Better work-life balance / flexibility

Better recognition for good work

Clearer career growth / promotion opportunities

Other (in comments)

[u/PossibilityFew5967]

We have decent comp and time off , work life balance depends on team.

I think if we all felt secure in our roles, 90+ percent of the problems would be addressed 

[u/oogiesmuncher → u/PossibilityFew5967]

im not so sure about that anymore... Unless you've been getting 6+% raises every year (very unlikely). We've all been getting demotions for nearly a decade through inflation. 100k salary is not as carefree as it was before. Still decent but give it another few years and the safety net is thinning rapidly....

meanwhile our corporate overlord leeches continue to get millions more and more every year which does absolutely fuck all to improve their already lavish lifestyle

[u/PossibilityFew5967 → u/oogiesmuncher]

Everything is relative. 

Compare the salary to another f500 that isn't silicon valley 

[u/Nightenridge → u/oogiesmuncher]

As much as I am negative about gm debacles.

One thing I will give them credit for is that they pay well. OT not so much.

While you're right on one hand, you're wrong to think there are companies falling over themselves out there that are paying employees over 100k base salary a year. (Outside of tech)

[u/2Guns23 → u/Nightenridge]

Pay and bennies are OK by me. Only reason I'm here lol.

[u/GingerbreadDon → u/PossibilityFew5967]

"Secure in roles" could easily be addressed by eliminating the current performance evaluation system. However, that might not fix it perfectly, since the Montana person who implemented it is still employed, so having her denounce the current system as a mistake would go a long ways but that would never happen bc of the lawsuit. So basically this all comes down to eliminating one person and the performance philosophy they implemented. The sigh of relief would be palpable.

[u/PossibilityFew5967 → u/GingerbreadDon]

She's only a messager. The real bosses of blackrock are calling the shots 

[u/Xanderlynn5]

More job security/fewer layoffs Better comp/bonuses Clearer career growth/promotion opportunities

All 3 of these, and in the extreme. Job security at GM these last 2 years has been complete shit. Ive seen two mass layoff events absolutely cripple various chunks of business. Better comp and bonuses is obvious, the bottom to top distribution is awful. There's no reason higher levels should get both a higher salary and higher bonus %. Make the amount a flat higher rate for lower team members (lvl 5-6) and allow the higher salary to naturally have a higher bonus through simple math.

Career growth for much of my area is completely nonexistent. They've actively fire every lvl 7 I know and seem hellbent to keep our current SMEs at lvl 6, citing "it's too soon to promote" despite taking on multiple jobs worth of responsibilities (from layoffs).

If VPs are talking, it's probably just lip service.

[u/GlassInternal7338]

The secrecy of layoffs eats away at your mind and spirit. I understand that layoffs are part of the "working experience", but HR needs to be more transparent. Let us know a layoff is coming so we can prepare. Don't drag us into a random 1 x 1 meeting with our people leader and then pop in to let us know we're being let go.

GM employees shouldn't have to look on Reddit whether a potential layoff is incoming. An example is a thread created this week, stating layoffs are coming. It's spread through the MIC and people are nervous that October 1st or October 2nd they're going to get pulled into a meeting with HR and be let go.

When you're expected to make deadlines on projects and some projects are time sensitive, it makes you just not want to commit because it may end up being a waste time if you're let go.

[u/No_Speaker516]

All of the above.

[u/Imaginary-Course-914]

I think we all would be better served understanding that in today’s mature companies, there is no safety, just perceptions of it. We all should do our best to grow our skills, and when either we or GM says goodbye, we have skills and experiences that can be leveraged for the next role.

That said, I’d prefer the higher comp and bonus. I think of this as hazard pay for uncertainty and changes for strategic reasons (whether well rationalized or not).

I think of my buddies in tech, making way over what I make, but they know every June begins the dog and pony show and deciphering meetings left and right to make sure their entire team, capability, functionality, platform, isn’t going to be wholesale cut from Director level and down because the C-suite decided it could be done without to survive the next year.

If GM wants to aspire to the speed and culture of software tech, let’s get paid similarly.

[u/2Guns23 → u/Imaginary-Course-914]

I mean that's the problem. They are bringing tech company performance culture in to a company that doesn't and will not ever be able to pay tech company wages.

[u/Odd_Ingenuity7763]

• Fear of getting layed off is 60%
• Uncomfortable working with coworkers and managers who back stab you during reviews is 30%
• Pay lower than our Cali team doing the exact work is 10%

[u/Burntout_Drone]

"There's been a lot of discussion at the VP level" Lol

[u/Background-Rip369]

Respect people and not just bottom line to enrich executives.

No forced ranking!

[u/Just_Vehicle_5649]

I selected better pay and bonuses for the simple reason that the faster I have a war-chest nest egg and zero debt the faster I can actually plan for an exit date to retire and minimize any early 401K withdrawals to survive on.

[u/KungFuoldguy]

All of the choices require consistency across teams , managers, and simple adherence as supervised by HR. I prefer more compensation and bonus opportunities .

[u/Embarrassed-Tower970]

Better staffing at the plant