The Horka Blog

People in corporations have memory. Then why is it that employees with impeccable track records of sound performance and numerous cases of performance above and beyond the call of duty, get laid off? Did someone forget what the employees did? When employees put in that extra effort, yes, it is partly because they have pride in their work and believe that their performance reflects on themselves and gives them a sense of value. But for most of them, not all this work is strictly altruistic. They also hope that those that matter – managers, etc., will recognize the great and/or extra work and will take that into account  when considering promotions, raises and who gets the axe when times are tough.

However, in most corporations, those managers, the memory that matters, change quickly.  And when they do, all those hard earned accomplishments are very quickly forgotten. The memory is lost. How else do you explain employees whose work has exceeded all expectations, who receive awards in recognition of their excellence, but end up being laid off within a year of getting that acclaim? The people they tried to impress are gone. And feeling good about yourself only goes so far when one no longer has a job. And when the only objective is short term share value maximization, a life of service to a corporation is quickly sacrificed for share value.

I have seen excellent employees have to fight over and over to impress their ever-changing managers. In any corporate department there is a general sense of who the performers are. Yet there is no structural mechanism in place to note the achievements and on-going excellence and ensure that this information is front and center whenever management changes.

This is just part and parcel of the malaise of many modern corporations run by MBAs who don’t know the business and management which is only rewarded on the basis of increasing shareholder value. Corporations have no memory, and more and more they have no sense of obligation to employees who give up their lives, other than through the payment of the  most minimal wages they can get away with.