SFA, Why bother?

[hypo hanna]

Oh they don't give a crap about the people with banners either. All hourlies are now seen as liabilities. Payrolls and insurance eat into the bottom line.

 

[hypo hanna]

Bump

 

[MAKAVELI]

I haven't taken it and don't plan on it. I can tell management is steaming about it but have not said anything to me as that would bust their it's "totally anonymous" lie. Just my little silent protest.

 

[SmithBarney]

Oh they know who hasn't taken it... that isn't a secret.

 

[Guapo]

I took it yesterday, so I fully expect next week that--- I will be given a raise to what I think is fair, my Insurance will meet me and my wife's needs, Ill stay even if offered the same job and pay somewhere else, and I'll be proud to work here. Honestly I have no complaints about my manager I've had much worse just don't know why raises are so p-poor

 

[hypo hanna]

Bump

 

[Goldilocks]

I did take it, however I did not answer from question 12 down. Its too bad my manager and SM are caught up in this web. They are very good people and good managers that are trying really hard to make it better for us. But as far as the corporation mandating these rules and treating us like garbage and pushing us to the limit, they got a big fat zero from me.....

 

[vin059]

my manager asked me to take sfa today....i told him i was going to defer it until october....

 

[Cactus]

my manager asked me to take sfa today....i told him i was going to defer it until october....

Good one!

 

[MrFedEx]

my manager asked me to take sfa today....i told him i was going to defer it until october....

Excellent answer!! Not taking the SFA is the best choice, but if you DO feel compelled to take it, just slam them...all of them. "Protecting" a good senior or ops manager isn't going to do you any good, or any of your fellow employees. If they are a decent manager, they'll do just fine anyway, and it's their other numbers that FedEx really cares about...not the SFA.

Memphis needs to know we are very unhappy, and unlikely to cooperate in terms of productivity and service. That's the message they need to hear, and when you give your manager good scores they figure you're not that unhappy after all. If everyone who actually does take it slams everything, then they get the picture. Not even being willing to take it sends a much louder message.

No matter what, they're never going to release the true results anyway. Do you really think MT3 or whomever is going to go on Frontline, UpClose, or any other corporate medium and apologize for what they've been doing? No way. If anything, they will spin-it to look like we are unappreciative of all they've been doing for us and for the corporation.

One of the longest running BS excuses is that "we have to re-invest in the company to protect your career long-term", or "we're thinking of your future". Crap, crap, and more CRAP. You see, that's why they are investing so much in Ground...it's all for you. You're just too dumb to understand how much they care about you.

I fully expect them to engage in another round of back-slapping and self-congratulations when SFA results are announced. Any "areas of concern" will be given the usual treatment...a useless "discussion", a BBQ, and an equally useless "feedback session" where they will show you how your concerns will be addressed, which means a chart on the wall outside your manager's office listing everything he will promise to do but actually never do in order to improve things.

Barnum and Bailey, smoke and mirrors, dog and pony. A big JOKE.

 

[DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS]

Excellent answer!! Not taking the SFA is the best choice, but if you DO feel compelled to take it, just slam them...all of them. "Protecting" a good senior or ops manager isn't going to do you any good, or any of your fellow employees. If they are a decent manager, they'll do just fine anyway, and it's their other numbers that FedEx really cares about...not the SFA.

Memphis needs to know we are very unhappy, and unlikely to cooperate in terms of productivity and service. That's the message they need to hear, and when you give your manager good scores they figure you're not that unhappy after all. If everyone who actually does take it slams everything, then they get the picture. Not even being willing to take it sends a much louder message.

No matter what, they're never going to release the true results anyway. Do you really think MT3 or whomever is going to go on Frontline, UpClose, or any other corporate medium and apologize for what they've been doing? No way. If anything, they will spin-it to look like we are unappreciative of all they've been doing for us and for the corporation.

One of the longest running BS excuses is that "we have to re-invest in the company to protect your career long-term", or "we're thinking of your future". Crap, crap, and more CRAP. You see, that's why they are investing so much in Ground...it's all for you. You're just too dumb to understand how much they care about you.

I fully expect them to engage in another round of back-slapping and self-congratulations when SFA results are announced. Any "areas of concern" will be given the usual treatment...a useless "discussion", a BBQ, and an equally useless "feedback session" where they will show you how your concerns will be addressed, which means a chart on the wall outside your manager's office listing everything he will promise to do but actually never do in order to improve things.


First, this is where my economics teacher's saying "lies, damn lies and statistics.." The Ivory Tower dwellers almost definitely have "spin doctors", just like any politico worth his salt. All they do is take a negative and spin it into a positive and then concoct the corroborating story to add credibility and believablity.

Second, my current manager being the useless lump that he is, scored one of the lowest (possibly THE lowest) scores in the district last year, never even bothered with a feedback meeting, notes or otherwise. He truly is as useless as teats on a crowbar.

I don't care how much they beg, and they will, how much they threaten and some will, I resolutely REFUSE to take part in the SFA, simply because it has absolutely, positively no meaning.

 

[hypo hanna]

Bump

 

[Cactus]

Are the managers required by their district managers to post their scores for all to see?

 

[hypo hanna]

I don't know. I know scores are pretty much common knowledge in our district shorty after they are released. All employees in a particular workgroup will get a printout at some point of their scores, usually at the required follow up meetings.

 

[Route 66]

I logged into the SFA, immediately indicated that I was finished and ready to send my scores to Memphis and got up and left.
​

 

[Cactus]

The required follow up meetings are a joke.

With only a half an hour allocated, our manager hogs the whole thing, never reveals his (obviously low) score and only selects a few topics he wants to talk about and very little time for any questions.

 

[!Retired!]

The required follow up meetings are a joke.

With only a half an hour allocated, our manager hogs the whole thing, never reveals his (obviously low) score and only selects a few topics he wants to talk about and very little time for any questions.

Then he/she isn't doing their job. Ours tells us his score and we all go over the lowest sections. But, normally you just hear crickets when he asks why this part was low.


Last year I took SFA and it was the lowest I've ever given. This year makes last year look like high praises.

 

[hypo hanna]

Again I ask, why take it? MFE made the suggestion a while back that its only purpose was a way for Memphis to gage how much more abuse we will take. Issues that have been low scores for ten years like pay, benefits and hours have been ignored and mostly gotten worse for hourlies. Seeing as how it has no bearing on the issues we bring up, Im convinced he is right. Participating only serves the goals of mgmt.

 

[Cactus]

The follow up meetings are a joke. With only a half an hour given, our manager hogs the whole meeting and only picks a few topics that he wants to talk about. Fred's too cheap to give us adequate time.

 

[hypo hanna]

The follow up meetings are a joke. With only a half an hour given, our manager hogs the whole meeting and only picks a few topics that he wants to talk about. Fred's too cheap to give us adequate time.

I can't really blame the ops mgr for that. He is told by upper mgmt to keep it short. They don't want to waste FTE's on this circus. If I were in that managers shoes, I'm going to focus the discussion on the one thing I might have some control over. Cleanliness of the bathrooms, how the trucks are being parked etc. not pay or bennies. this way I can show my senior manager I have done something. Post the plan outside my door and we can forget it till next year.
This whole thing is for corporate to see who is still drinking the kool aid. If you take it, you are saying to them that you still believe they are listening to your concerns and it has some bearing on how you are treated as an employee of FedEx.