HP Invent...: Enough !

November 28, 2008

Enough !

Mark Hurd to employees, November 24th : "We will take aggressive action on discretionary spending…And we’ll implement a number of cost saving initiatives that are going to be tough and that some people aren’t going to like…"

And now, the list of actions on "discretionary spending" :

- There will be no salary increases, except where legally required
- EAwards are suspended
- Comprehensive benefit reviews are continuing on a country-by-country basis to harmonize HP and EDS offerings based on market practice.
- Recognition and learning & development programs are also affected
...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: If they also mess with the VPB after HP's best year on record then many of us will certainly start talking with our feet. Does anyone have visability of VPB yet?

I heard from some it's going to be good and from others saying don't expect much. Hurd keeps saying VPB is the place to reward employees, he better not f##k this up too.

BTW: In the UK we have also been told to cancel any christmas events, even if they have been paid for in advance.; 11:09 AM, November 30, 2008
Anonymous said...: Mark,

I'm afraid you took the wrong decision.

Salary freeze may be an appropriate means to help a troubled company in a regular economic environment. But we as HP are a very successful company (with record results) in a troubled economy. Which HP employee is likely to buy a car knowing that his company effectively cut his salary following record results. What can he or she expect from the future if the worsening economic climate starts to affect HP? Freezing the salary accelerates the downward spiral "less money to spend -> fewer products and services purchased -> more companies that fail -> less people with money to spend ..."

As a successful global company we need to act differently and acknowledge our global responsibility in this situation.

What is required?
CONFIDENCE that HP can and will sustain this difficult environment and provide its employees with the financial means to sustain it as well.
CONFIDENCE that HP will be loyal to its employees in the same way that they have been loyal to HP for many, many years.
A new value set that governs top management decisions. The value set "profit and bonus maximization at all costs" has ruined the financial industry worldwide. It should not also ruin HP, a company known for other values.

Actions to take:
Stop the share buy back program that produces zero economic value (I also own quite a few HP shares)
Use these funds to increase employee salaries in order to compensate for the inflation rate
Communicate which financial loss you and the EC are willing to take in this situation for the best of HP

This is not only the time of great companies, this is also the time of great leaders.

May I kindly ask you to rethink your decision?

Thank you,

xxxx

Boeblingen, Germany; 11:48 AM, December 05, 2008
Anonymous said...: Mark,

I’m sorry but I really feel the need to speak out after yet another demoralising message from HP, made even worse by the smiling face attached to it!

This comes hard on the heels of a message from Steve Gill about cancelling Christmas events…….the name Scrooge springs to mind.

In the scheme of things how much money will that save, compared to the effect of demoralising the work force even further? It’s very short sighted in my opinion.

Our commitment and support as employees (of this once proud people company) would be a lot greater if HP stopped reducing our benefits year on year and gave us a pay rise now and then to reflect the good work done by its employees, rather than the ‘thanks for your efforts and continued support’ we get, when helping make this company millions of dollars in profits, which we see none of these days!

Working as one motivated team pushing the company forward, when all we get is continual demoralising news week on week is very difficult, especially when it is not reflected in the company’s year on year performance. Receiving continuous messages telling us how well the company are doing and the profits being made, I, and others, find it extremely insulting to then be told the sort of information contained in Ann and Steve’s emails.

HP is continually chipping away at all the employee benefits built up over the years by Bill and Dave and for what?

More market share!

Another cent on the share price!

Quite frankly when will we have enough market share? Is there an optimum number that will suffice or will HP not be satisfied until it has 100%? How many more companies does HP have to take over making thousands of hard working employees redundant in the pursuit of market share? Not to mention outsourcing to third world countries on the pretence it’s all in a good cause and not merely for monetary gain!

Bill & Dave would be mortified to know that HP has finally become ‘A Selfish Capitalist’….

I used to look forward to coming to work every single day and would love every challenge that was thrown at me with relish and perform to my best ability for this company. I used to jump out of bed to get to work and would work my butt off; putting in whatever hours it took to get the job done. Can I still say the same holds true today? NO!

Why, you might ask did I use to be this way and what has changed?

Simply because we had great respect for Bill and Dave and what they had built as a company and we were proud to say we worked for HP and treasured our jobs within this once great organisation. It was our family!

That has all but been torn down, with remnants remaining here and there, which are also being gradually eroded. When asked about working for HP in the past I used to sing its praises and people used to be in awe of anyone who was lucky enough to work for HP. Nowadays, my response is, ‘It used to be a great company to work for, but’ and I find myself going through a continually growing list of reasons why it’s not that great to work for anymore. And this message from Ann just reinforces that continuous demoralising theme

Where would HP be without its hard working loyal people?

Regards

xxx

UK; 11:49 AM, December 05, 2008

I leave you now HP

They say the "lights will still go on at HP" without me here. I wonder who will miss the love I have given this company, I wonder who will miss how much I cared about The HP Way. I often chose to come in early, work through lunch and stay late. I thought what I was doing was so important. Especially when it was for customers or when it was something so new, What we were doing would change the world. But the times I was the most selfless, was for my co-workers who needed me. Maybe it was to review a document, give feedback, change the code, whatever... This is what I will miss most, knowing that I was important to my co-workers. I will miss the lifelong friends I have made We had so many days of meaningful work together. We made a difference and we knew it. We understood the power of a team. I will miss that where ever I went in the world, I always found great HP people. People who cared as much as I did. People who loved our HP culture enough to keep it precious. These are the great HP people who shared in success And when times were tough were the first to say, "We'll get through it together". I will miss the picnics and the beer busts. But mostly I will miss the managers who believed in me, who challenged me, who told me that I was a leader and important to the business. I will miss the profit sharing checks. Not for the money but because I knew I was a part of something so much greater than myself. I will always remember the handshake and the "Thank you" of the general manager. Those were some of my favorite times. I will miss the laughter and excitement of creating new businesses and improving processes. I will miss the serious times when customers' needs were on the line. We were all engaged for one purpose. It was our finest hour. I will miss saying I helped create a great HP product. And now will relish in how it changed the world. I wouldn't have missed that for anything. How proud I am to have been an HP employee. I would have worked for free for you HP. I loved you that much. You should know that I cried when Bill and Dave died. I had finally figured out what values really mean to a company's culture. My only regret is I didn't have a chance to say thank you. I'll take that learning with me as a final gift of all the years, of the great company Bill & Dave built. I leave you now HP.