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XPO | Culture Matters

ScotchNeat said:
Merdock, here is the culture problem relative to this company. Culture is like tradition, it gets passed down and taught to new generations, senior drivers to newbies. What sort of lesson do the newbies get from a bunch of drivers who over the years have been screwed out of their pensions, annual bonuses, and vacations? Do you know how many senior drivers at my place tell me that this used to be a good company and now they're just here for the paycheck, waiting to retire? ALL OF THEM. Since the Conway acquisition by XPO, they have done nothing but cut our workforce, complained about dwell times, chopped overtime, and the latest announcement is they are going to withhold VPP and manager bonuses until the end of March? What's next? Paychecks bouncing? XPO has done nothing to improve the culture at this place and at the rate they're going, they might turn this place profitable in a couple of quarters, but at what cost? Talent leaving for the competitor? More damage claims? A more disgruntled work force? If XPO is going to succeed in the LTL biz, it needs to change its culture a little bit and start respecting it's new drivers.
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I don't think any checks will bounce. But a lot of the rest you said has merit. And we know the cuts have just started. It's going to be an interesting year.
 
I heard there is talk of Mr Jacobs expressing an intent to find out how some terminals are successful with employee engagement and taking these practices into the challenged terminals. For what it's worth we addressed this ten months ago on this site.
 
Northern Flash said:
I know that loyalty runs deep with some people, and they'd rather have kept the Conway name, but why would there be resentment when nothing bad has even happened, from what I've heard?

And I'm sure that you realize that lots of people threaten to leave........but never will.
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You obviously don't have a clue
 
Merdock said:
I was asked, what do I think of the transition to XPO Freight? Ha... I could fill a couple pages, but I want to keep it simple and positive. At the end of the day I just want to work for a great company.

So many try and identify what Con-Way is today and what it was once upon a time. What matters is tomorrow. Tomorrow can be business as usual or tomorrow can be the start of one culture throughout the whole freight company. We do not have one culture within this company, every terminal has its own culture, some fortunately have a participative culture and sadly too many have a directive culture. Lean was supposed to be a destination, a cultural destination. It can not happen. Lean is only a set of tools to help drive a culture, it can deliver you to engaged employees or it can deliver you dictatorial management practices that produce scorecard results, at any costs.

Our culture is not a ship to be compared to the Titanic and trying to change the course of one big ship. Our company is a fleet of many ships (service centers), over three hundred, each in need of one Commander in Chief, with him providing navigational aids, maps, and charts to steer all ships in the same direction no matter where they are currently located in the sea of employee engagement. (Too many are lost at sea these days)
So, how would I do it? First I would have Brad and Tony stand at the front of the room next week in St Louis and define the culture of XPO, hopefully a culture of engagement and participation. Next I would take the talents of the Lean Department, place the VVT under their umbrella and re-task the group as the "Continuous Improvement and Engagement Team". We have had it backwards for three plus years, Lean does not drive engagement, engagement drives the success of Lean.
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I listened to the LTL podcast and I thank Tony and all others involved in producing the conference calls. I think it's a step in the right direction. One recurring question answered by TC was the concern over our damages. The answer was the same one we have heard throughout our "LEAN" years... "just get them to follow standard processes" (I'm paraphrasing Tom's reply).
Everyone talks engagement but few seem to know what step one of change should be and where to find it. I believe that if you look at the service centers producing the most damages you will find the locations lacking "discretionary effort on the part of the employee that supports the company". Or in other words, those locations needing an engagement intervention. And to be very clear here, a successful change of culture starts with the building's management, not the hourly workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
There's a great quote regarding engagement from Kai Hammerich:
There are several definitions of corporate and group culture. The American guru of culture and leadership, Edgar A. Schein, defines organizational culture as "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.”


From this definition, it follows that culture is learned, reinforced and handed to the next generation and new members of the group. Culture has a purpose in terms of achieving common objectives. Perceived success will reinforce the culture and make it stronger. A group will develop its own distinct patterns of behaviors and beliefs to support the culture and the internal socialization process.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/54...break-your-business.html#sthash.JcVOS51g.dpuf

"learned, reinforced, and handed to the next..." in January of 2014 our culture went from a customer driven culture to a process driven culture, participative to directive.
 
Merdock said:
I listened to the LTL podcast and I thank Tony and all others involved in producing the conference calls. I think it's a step in the right direction. One recurring question answered by TC was the concern over our damages. The answer was the same one we have heard throughout our "LEAN" years... "just get them to follow standard processes" (I'm paraphrasing Tom's reply).
Everyone talks engagement but few seem to know what step one of change should be and where to find it. I believe that if you look at the service centers producing the most damages you will find the locations lacking "discretionary effort on the part of the employee that supports the company". Or in other words, those locations needing an engagement intervention. And to be very clear here, a successful change of culture starts with the building's management, not the hourly workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
There's a great quote regarding engagement from Kai Hammerich:
There are several definitions of corporate and group culture. The American guru of culture and leadership, Edgar A. Schein, defines organizational culture as "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.”


From this definition, it follows that culture is learned, reinforced and handed to the next generation and new members of the group. Culture has a purpose in terms of achieving common objectives. Perceived success will reinforce the culture and make it stronger. A group will develop its own distinct patterns of behaviors and beliefs to support the culture and the internal socialization process.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/54...break-your-business.html#sthash.JcVOS51g.dpuf

"learned, reinforced, and handed to the next..." in January of 2014 our culture went from a customer driven culture to a process driven culture, participative to directive.
Click to expand...
Are you refering to the monthly " Your Voice is Heard" podcast for Truckload?
http://wedrivexpo.com/podcast-feed/
 
Merdock said:
I listened to the LTL podcast and I thank Tony and all others involved in producing the conference calls. I think it's a step in the right direction. One recurring question answered by TC was the concern over our damages. The answer was the same one we have heard throughout our "LEAN" years... "just get them to follow standard processes" (I'm paraphrasing Tom's reply).
Everyone talks engagement but few seem to know what step one of change should be and where to find it. I believe that if you look at the service centers producing the most damages you will find the locations lacking "discretionary effort on the part of the employee that supports the company". Or in other words, those locations needing an engagement intervention. And to be very clear here, a successful change of culture starts with the building's management, not the hourly workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
There's a great quote regarding engagement from Kai Hammerich:
There are several definitions of corporate and group culture. The American guru of culture and leadership, Edgar A. Schein, defines organizational culture as "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.”


From this definition, it follows that culture is learned, reinforced and handed to the next generation and new members of the group. Culture has a purpose in terms of achieving common objectives. Perceived success will reinforce the culture and make it stronger. A group will develop its own distinct patterns of behaviors and beliefs to support the culture and the internal socialization process.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/54...break-your-business.html#sthash.JcVOS51g.dpuf

"learned, reinforced, and handed to the next..." in January of 2014 our culture went from a customer driven culture to a process driven culture, participative to directive.
Click to expand...
They still don't get it. Still haven't figured it out. Guess they never will.
 
Merdock said:
I listened to the LTL podcast and I thank Tony and all others involved in producing the conference calls. I think it's a step in the right direction. One recurring question answered by TC was the concern over our damages. The answer was the same one we have heard throughout our "LEAN" years... "just get them to follow standard processes" (I'm paraphrasing Tom's reply).
Everyone talks engagement but few seem to know what step one of change should be and where to find it. I believe that if you look at the service centers producing the most damages you will find the locations lacking "discretionary effort on the part of the employee that supports the company". Or in other words, those locations needing an engagement intervention. And to be very clear here, a successful change of culture starts with the building's management, not the hourly workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
There's a great quote regarding engagement from Kai Hammerich:
There are several definitions of corporate and group culture. The American guru of culture and leadership, Edgar A. Schein, defines organizational culture as "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.”


From this definition, it follows that culture is learned, reinforced and handed to the next generation and new members of the group. Culture has a purpose in terms of achieving common objectives. Perceived success will reinforce the culture and make it stronger. A group will develop its own distinct patterns of behaviors and beliefs to support the culture and the internal socialization process.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/54...break-your-business.html#sthash.JcVOS51g.dpuf

"learned, reinforced, and handed to the next..." in January of 2014 our culture went from a customer driven culture to a process driven culture, participative to directive.
Click to expand...
I dont think companies build great culters, people do!:growup::lmao:
 
At my place management is 100% responsible for all of our problems. They hold no one accountable, especially themselves. They disregard company policy when it suits them. Many drivers are working 12 hour days while some work 8. They will lie right to your face and play favorites with work assignments. Next to nothing is communicated to us linedrivers, I get all of my info from they city driver I slip seat with. I have never been so disgusted and angry in my all my time with this company. In my opinion, all but a few managers and supervisors should be fired and some drivers need to pull their weight or be shown the door. Some dock workers also need to see the light. Shut up, do your job, and do it right or else. Problem is we are so short handed they are afraid to lose people and in order for us to get our service center operating right alot of people need to be let go and replaced.
 
radman said:
At my place management is 100% responsible for all of our problems. They hold no one accountable, especially themselves. They disregard company policy when it suits them. Many drivers are working 12 hour days while some work 8. They will lie right to your face and play favorites with work assignments. Next to nothing is communicated to us linedrivers, I get all of my info from they city driver I slip seat with. I have never been so disgusted and angry in my all my time with this company. In my opinion, all but a few managers and supervisors should be fired and some drivers need to pull their weight or be shown the door. Some dock workers also need to see the light. Shut up, do your job, and do it right or else. Problem is we are so short handed they are afraid to lose people and in order for us to get our service center operating right alot of people need to be let go and replaced.
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I hear this echoed every night. Boy things sure have changed. I never expected it to be like this. And so on. We are certainly living in a different world.
 
Just wondering do any barns still have any cookouts or any safety rewards? Our barn hasn't had any little perks like that since XPO took over.
 
Merdock said:
I listened to the LTL podcast and I thank Tony and all others involved in producing the conference calls. I think it's a step in the right direction. One recurring question answered by TC was the concern over our damages. The answer was the same one we have heard throughout our "LEAN" years... "just get them to follow standard processes" (I'm paraphrasing Tom's reply).
Everyone talks engagement but few seem to know what step one of change should be and where to find it. I believe that if you look at the service centers producing the most damages you will find the locations lacking "discretionary effort on the part of the employee that supports the company". Or in other words, those locations needing an engagement intervention. And to be very clear here, a successful change of culture starts with the building's management, not the hourly workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement
There's a great quote regarding engagement from Kai Hammerich:
There are several definitions of corporate and group culture. The American guru of culture and leadership, Edgar A. Schein, defines organizational culture as "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.”


From this definition, it follows that culture is learned, reinforced and handed to the next generation and new members of the group. Culture has a purpose in terms of achieving common objectives. Perceived success will reinforce the culture and make it stronger. A group will develop its own distinct patterns of behaviors and beliefs to support the culture and the internal socialization process.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/54...break-your-business.html#sthash.JcVOS51g.dpuf

"learned, reinforced, and handed to the next..." in January of 2014 our culture went from a customer driven culture to a process driven culture, participative to directive.
Click to expand...

How about this. One's work performance is directly related to how management treats its work force. Treat me badly & I will show you the worst work ethic in the company. Treat me fairly & act likes me & fellow & my workers is what keeps the company in business, & you will have the most productive workforce in the history of any company in the world. How is that for simple? von. Or, do unto others as they do unto you.
 
Their is no concern for the long term well being of this company or its employees. It's all about the stock price and someone lining their pocket in the grand exit. Stock price is not a measure employee satisfaction .
 
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