management hours

[whatwasithinking]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess it will only be a matter of time (though could be years) that full time sups will be on something similar to PTRS. There are so many disgruntled (maybe not the right term), fellow sups, and mgrs (for that matter) that I continue to fear the future of the company. I have a difficult time looking at a driver or Pt'er and telling them that mgmt is the right thing to do...in this current environment. I understand that we should always be striving for improvement and to keep generating profits, but we are making approx 1 bil. net income quarterly. What should the company make 5, 10 15 bil, what is the "right" number. I spend too many hours working on meaningless tasks when we should be trying to figure out how to pick up and deliver packages as efficiently as possible. My greatest concern is for the future, since all my fellow operational sups seem to dread going to work everyday. It is the daily beat down. And from what I see, it doesn't change as you move up the ladder. I have been in meetings with mgs, div mgrs, ops mgr, and reg ops mgr and they all talk to their subordinates like we are all pieces of crap. Now, I am just one person in one city, but if it is any indication of how these people address our people, I don't know how anyone wants to put up with that crap. What always bothers me is that we talk about "taking care" of our employees, and people are quick to forget that lower level mgmt folks are "employees" also. Hell, we all are! I just look forward to the day when I can say I can't wait to get to UPS, instead of saying that I can't wait for this day to get over with. That day will come only when we get a board of directors that is predominantly UPS'ers and not outsiders that are looking out for our share price, not the people that will help to determine what that share price will be.

 

[Catatonic]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess it will only be a matter of time (though could be years) that full time sups will be on something similar to PTRS. There are so many disgruntled (maybe not the right term), fellow sups, and mgrs (for that matter) that I continue to fear the future of the company. I have a difficult time looking at a driver or Pt'er and telling them that mgmt is the right thing to do...in this current environment. I understand that we should always be striving for improvement and to keep generating profits, but we are making approx 1 bil. net income quarterly. What should the company make 5, 10 15 bil, what is the "right" number. I spend too many hours working on meaningless tasks when we should be trying to figure out how to pick up and deliver packages as efficiently as possible. My greatest concern is for the future, since all my fellow operational sups seem to dread going to work everyday. It is the daily beat down. And from what I see, it doesn't change as you move up the ladder. I have been in meetings with mgs, div mgrs, ops mgr, and reg ops mgr and they all talk to their subordinates like we are all pieces of crap. Now, I am just one person in one city, but if it is any indication of how these people address our people, I don't know how anyone wants to put up with that crap. What always bothers me is that we talk about "taking care" of our employees, and people are quick to forget that lower level mgmt folks are "employees" also. Hell, we all are! I just look forward to the day when I can say I can't wait to get to UPS, instead of saying that I can't wait for this day to get over with. That day will come only when we get a board of directors that is predominantly UPS'ers and not outsiders that are looking out for our share price, not the people that will help to determine what that share price will be.

We are already on a "time card" system called ITAS.

As far as being talked down to, I have not seen that ... we I get get chastised, it is in private and when I screwed up. It is handled professoinally.

I can remember the Operations days and the GROUP talkdown happened occasionally but not that often.

 

[UPSwidow]

So my beef with the FT SUP hours, is that they are so uneven. I am on-car, and work around 55 hrs/wk. 7am till I get done, and some Saturdays. But my preload partners barely break 35 hrs/wk. They get in around 4am usually and are rarely there past noon. Yet they are the same pay grade me! It's something we have brought up in WFI before, yet no change has occurred!

11 hour days would be a cake walk here.

 

[Dragon]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess it will only be a matter of time (though could be years) that full time sups will be on something similar to PTRS. There are so many disgruntled (maybe not the right term), fellow sups, and mgrs (for that matter) that I continue to fear the future of the company. I have a difficult time looking at a driver or Pt'er and telling them that mgmt is the right thing to do...in this current environment. I understand that we should always be striving for improvement and to keep generating profits, but we are making approx 1 bil. net income quarterly. What should the company make 5, 10 15 bil, what is the "right" number. I spend too many hours working on meaningless tasks when we should be trying to figure out how to pick up and deliver packages as efficiently as possible. Here also, I spend at least 3 hrs a day on meaning less fluff. We cut out the "staff" who worked on this stuff before and its been determined I have enough time to do it myself and it still does not fix anything, but at least someone got a report!! My greatest concern is for the future, since all my fellow operational sups seem to dread going to work everyday. It is the daily beat down. And from what I see, it doesn't change as you move up the ladder. I have been in meetings with mgs, div mgrs, ops mgr, and reg ops mgr and they all talk to their subordinates like we are all pieces of crap. Now, I am just one person in one city, but if it is any indication of how these people address our people, I don't know how anyone wants to put up with that crap. What always bothers me is that we talk about "taking care" of our employees, and people are quick to forget that lower level mgmt folks are "employees" also. Hell, we all are! I just look forward to the day when I can say I can't wait to get to UPS, instead of saying that I can't wait for this day to get over with. That day will come only when we get a board of directors that is predominantly UPS'ers and not outsiders that are looking out for our share price, not the people that will help to determine what that share price will be.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

So my beef with the FT SUP hours, is that they are so uneven. I am on-car, and work around 55 hrs/wk. 7am till I get done, and some Saturdays. But my preload partners barely break 35 hrs/wk. They get in around 4am usually and are rarely there past noon. Yet they are the same pay grade me! It's something we have brought up in WFI before, yet no change has occurred!

Our centers FT preload supervisor is in the bldg from roughly 1am to 12pm every day M-friend. 11 hour nights inside is IMO much worse than 12 hour days, at least in theory

 

[Catatonic]

Here also, I spend at least 3 hrs a day on meaning less fluff. We cut out the "staff" who worked on this stuff before and its been determined I have enough time to do it myself and it still does not fix anything, but at least someone got a report!!

This is the bane of Corporate Management. Being able to have a report generated makes some people think they have control of an operation or effort.
Most of the time, as you allude, the reports are meaningless and don't really measure what is trying to be measured.
I remember I was put in control of the I.E. office (along with other responsibilities) at one point in my career (about 20 years ago) and when I looked at what people were doing I was amazed at the waste. There were three people putting together over 50 reports. I stopped all these reports and only four were ever asked about (2 by the District Manager) and we reinstated 3 of those 4.
2 of the people went into the hub and the 1 person spent about 2 hours a day on those three reports.
I also looked at the file cabinets and all the reports in them. There were over 20 file cabinets with reports in them that were, for the most part, never looked at. We got them reduced down to 6.

Reporting is one of the most wasteful activities in any large company/corporation IMO.
Now I see people with reports and files from 2, 3 and even 10 years ago on their computers. It is almost always from people who have control issues and are afraid of not having an answer when one of their management asks them for some bit of information.

If these people were running their own company, they would not be doing these things or they would be out of business.

OK - got that rant out of my system. I feel better.

 

[Dragon]

This is the bane of Corporate Management. Being able to have a report generated makes some people think they have control of an operation or effort.
Most of the time, as you allude, the reports are meaningless and don't really measure what is trying to be measured.
I remember I was put in control of the I.E. office (along with other responsibilities) at one point in my career (about 20 years ago) and when I looked at what people were doing I was amazed at the waste. There were three people putting together over 50 reports. I stopped all these reports and only four were ever asked about (2 by the District Manager) and we reinstated 3 of those 4.
2 of the people went into the hub and the 1 person spent about 2 hours a day on those three reports.
I also looked at the file cabinets and all the reports in them. There were over 20 file cabinets with reports in them that were, for the most part, never looked at. We got them reduced down to 6.

Reporting is one of the most wasteful activities in any large company/corporation IMO.
Now I see people with reports and files from 2, 3 and even 10 years ago on their computers. It is almost always from people who have control issues and are afraid of not having an answer when one of their management asks them for some bit of information.

If these people were running their own company, they would not be doing these things or they would be out of business.

OK - got that rant out of my system. I feel better.

After the consolidation you would think we would get rid of alot of the unnecessary reports, no such luck it seems. Great post Hoax.

 

[beentheredonethat]

I remember I was put in control of the I.E. office (along with other responsibilities) at one point in my career (about 20 years ago) and when I looked at what people were doing I was amazed at the waste. There were three people putting together over 50 reports. I stopped all these reports and only four were ever asked about (2 by the District Manager) and we reinstated 3 of those 4.

Hoax, I did the exact same thing when I took over an IE job about 20 years ago. I had 2 clerks working to create a bunch of reports. 1 of the admins was going out on maternity leave. I decided to have them for 1 week continue to create the report but I told them don't worry about making photocopies and house-mailing them. I had only a handful of ctr mgrs contact me asking for the reports. So I started to distribute the handful of reports people asked for and got rid of the rest.

 

[BrownTie]

If they are only doing the Preload Job then maybe, but in our building, the FT Preload Supervisor is also the FT PDS. He gets in at around 1:00am and does not leave till around 11:30 or noon.. Ask them what time they took their 1 hour lunch?

 

[bones]

Dragon,

I think you work in the same district I do, maybe same building, you just described them to the letter

 

[Hawaii50]

Regardless of quality of work, hours worked are still a metric by which many managers measure your dedication and performance.

 

[GoForBroke]

If they are only doing the Preload Job then maybe, but in our building, the FT Preload Supervisor is also the FT PDS. He gets in at around 1:00am and does not leave till around 11:30 or noon.. Ask them what time they took their 1 hour lunch?

Here, in my building there are 12 PT sups, 4 FT sups, and a MGR. We just recently consolidated from 3 center to 2.

 

[GoForBroke]

I look around at my drivers and see many of them that would make excellent sups. So when I bring it up to them, that say the same thing. " I look at you, see your stress and level and say friend that noise!" The performance depends required are out of control. I can't even begin to reduce hours, I'm spending all my time filling out reports, QIP, twice daily surveys, texts to my DM. Running misloads, running more misloads. Now they just added Telematics to my mix. With all of the consolidation and elimination of staff positions, My work load of meaningless tasks have tripled. We now have to put in the Current PAR's for any TAW employees, not staff. I was given control of DFU's and claims since the OMS is not capable of it. Teaching driver to use UPSers for the new HR Service Center. AND I am expected to be on the raod OJSing 70% of the time.

 

[GoForBroke]

As far as being talked down to, I have not seen that ... we I get get chastised, it is in private and when I screwed up. It is handled professoinally.

The worst and most brutal verbal beating I have EVER recieved in my entire life was from my DM. Over a single info notice discrepency by a SAT AIR driver, and I did not even run SAT AIR, but my center did. I never recived a verbal assault like that ever, not even from my parents when I would do something really stupid. I have also seen him rip a phone out of the wall because it was ringing when he was yelling at us sups.

 

[menotyou]

The worst and most brutal verbal beating I have EVER recieved in my entire life was from my DM. Over a single info notice discrepency by a SAT AIR driver, and I did not even run SAT AIR, but my center did. I never recived a verbal assault like that ever, not even from my parents when I would do something really stupid. I have also seen him rip a phone out of the wall because it was ringing when he was yelling at us sups.

Are you in my district?

 

[Dragon]

I look around at my drivers and see many of them that would make excellent sups. So when I bring it up to them, that say the same thing. " I look at you, see your stress and level and say friend that noise!" The performance depends required are out of control. I can't even begin to reduce hours, I'm spending all my time filling out reports, QIP, twice daily surveys, texts to my DM. Running misloads, running more misloads. Now they just added Telematics to my mix. With all of the consolidation and elimination of staff positions, My work load of meaningless tasks have tripled. We now have to put in the Current PAR's for any TAW employees, not staff. I was given control of DFU's and claims since the OMS is not capable of it. Teaching driver to use UPSers for the new HR Service Center. AND I am expected to be on the raod OJSing 70% of the time.

Telematics, while a great tool, has just created more reports that have to be generated and answered for. If you are truly doing a vOJS correctly it requires you to come in even earlier. The rest of the stuff you are doing is going on here too. Glad we got rid of all the overpaid staff, that really freed me up to do even more useful (meaningless tasks) stuff!!

 

[FracusBrown]

Telematics, while a great tool, has just created more reports that have to be generated and answered for. If you are truly doing a vOJS correctly it requires you to come in even earlier. The rest of the stuff you are doing is going on here too. Glad we got rid of all the overpaid staff, that really freed me up to do even more useful (meaningless tasks) stuff!!

It's supposed to make your day easier and all the rest of the stuff is supposed to go away when telematics is implemented. You must not be using it correctly...so they say.

 

[brownIEman]

We are already on a "time card" system called ITAS.

As far as being talked down to, I have not seen that ... we I get get chastised, it is in private and when I screwed up. It is handled professoinally.

I can remember the Operations days and the GROUP talkdown happened occasionally but not that often.

You are describing the old UPS operations model. In the old model, the District Manager sat down with every FT management person for the MIP presentation too. Now with the consolidations, he or she no longer has the time to do that. Likewise, the Division Managers no longer have the time to discuss a FT sups shortcomings in a private, professional way. It is now done on a daily conference call with several divisions where in the MHN supervisors are made to report and then berated in front of everyone. The icing on the cake, at least from my POV in a preload operation, is that we are not berated for screwing up a SATR load, or excessive misloads or LIB, no no, we are berated because we are only achieving 6-10 PPH better than the same time last year, when clearly we should be doing 20 or more better because that is what the business plan is now set to.

True story...

 

[Dragon]

It's supposed to make your day easier and all the rest of the stuff is supposed to go away when telematics is implemented. You must not be using it correctly...so they say.

They say wrong...its actually added to me and my supervisors day as for the "rest of the stuff is supposed to go away" its still there...it takes time to fill in 15 items and do screen shots for all of them w/notes and do all the "rest of the morning stuff" prior to start time.

 

[Dragon]

You are describing the old UPS operations model. In the old model, the District Manager sat down with every FT management person for the MIP presentation too. Now with the consolidations, he or she no longer has the time to do that. Likewise, the Division Managers no longer have the time to discuss a FT sups shortcomings in a private, professional way. It is now done on a daily conference call with several divisions where in the MHN supervisors are made to report and then berated in front of everyone. The icing on the cake, at least from my POV in a preload operation, is that we are not berated for screwing up a SATR load, or excessive misloads or LIB, no no, we are berated because we are only achieving 6-10 PPH better than the same time last year, when clearly we should be doing 20 or more better because that is what the business plan is now set to.

True story...

the business plan.....enough said.