During a reorganisation, I had to reapply for my job. There were three jobs between four people. I was the most experienced by about ten years, was better at the job than the other candidates, frequently helped them with their work, and it was acknowledged that the three of them were going for the two remaining jobs. Except I was unsuccessful.
I asked for a meeting with HR. They told me I had scored 96% on the externally set intelligence tests, but had performed badly on the other criteria. (This was not true).
Unluckily for the recruiting manager, I was able to produce a spreadsheet which was her own target operating model, prepared at great expense by KPMG. I asked why there was an entry against my name (and fifty other unsuccessful applicants in the reorganisation) which said "Headcount reduction", and was it a coincidence that the three successful candidates weren't designated under this category. They had no answer. I asked for a second meeting with my Trade Union rep present.
They absolutely wet themselves at this point, and came back to me with the offer of my perfect job, pretty much self-managed. I did this for two years, was then offered redundancy with 12 months salary as compensation.
After 40 years working for that company, I retired two years ago, aged 58, enjoying every minute of it.
But the moral of the story is, no matter how long you have worked for a company, things can change in an instant. Work hard, work your contacted hours, don't give them anything for free. Your loyalty to them will count for nothing when a new manager comes in with new ideas, and instructions to cut the staff budgets.
I asked for a meeting with HR. They told me I had scored 96% on the externally set intelligence tests, but had performed badly on the other criteria. (This was not true).
Unluckily for the recruiting manager, I was able to produce a spreadsheet which was her own target operating model, prepared at great expense by KPMG. I asked why there was an entry against my name (and fifty other unsuccessful applicants in the reorganisation) which said "Headcount reduction", and was it a coincidence that the three successful candidates weren't designated under this category. They had no answer. I asked for a second meeting with my Trade Union rep present.
They absolutely wet themselves at this point, and came back to me with the offer of my perfect job, pretty much self-managed. I did this for two years, was then offered redundancy with 12 months salary as compensation.
After 40 years working for that company, I retired two years ago, aged 58, enjoying every minute of it.
But the moral of the story is, no matter how long you have worked for a company, things can change in an instant. Work hard, work your contacted hours, don't give them anything for free. Your loyalty to them will count for nothing when a new manager comes in with new ideas, and instructions to cut the staff budgets.