Let me put this a way that management will understand:
Passion –
You will continuously be told that your region is your own business – that is not true. You will put time and effort into building up a region, winning market share for the company, and succeeding then the company will move you to another region and you will do it again. After years of doing this and climbing the corporate step stool (because if you aren’t an outside hire or in the Canadian corporate office you can only move up a rung or two so it is not a ladder) you will be fired, most likely out of the blue. The newly hired executive in charge demands that you are passionate about appraisal management, you know because everyone grew up as a kid wanting to be a corporate middleman. If you want people to be passionate about the industry then why not do some on the job training. Maybe some employees would like a career as an appraiser. It is obvious that there is no way to have a safe career at this company so if you intend to use people up over 3-4 years then why not give them skills that translate into the industry?
Innovation-
The appraiser facing software hasn’t been updated in years. The company does not pay appraisers by direct deposit. There is no mobile app. The executives ask you to go out and recruit the most business savvy appraisers. How can you do that when you offer them subpar technology and a payment method that hasn’t been utilized in the tech industry since floppy disks? Any dissent in the company is responded to with termination. You can’t foster innovative ideas with a company full of yes men and women. When I first started with the company they were very results oriented. If you were successful and you could explain your process then you’d succeed. After two years this all changed and they wanted to fit everyone and every region into the same mold that worked in the market in 2009. If you weren’t onboard to do it exactly that way they would put you on a team of a micromanager and then eventually let you go. It is their way or there is the door. The company praised hiring smart driven people then tried to fit everyone into one mold. I wonder why it isn’t working out, smart people think and can see that something is not working.
Caring-
Besides the mass layoffs of long-term employees that seemingly happen monthly and have made the place into a room of employees whispering about how much they hate the working environment there are a bunch of other reasons why they do not care. How about the organizational effectiveness department? I worked there for years and after they let go the long time head of OE about a year ago I never spoke to one of the members of the OE team. I really don’t think they even knew my name. I’ve heard managers and executives in meetings talk about appraisers whom they say are “partners” in public like they are subhuman. If an appraiser has done years of work with company and helped build market share in an area I’ve seen them get tossed out because someone just doesn’t like them or they are doing too much work and it is seen as a liability. Don’t preach that these people are your partners and then tell your employees to stop working with them.
Excellence –
People are promoted based on who you suck up to and which executive you schmooze. The company has had a massive brain drain in the last year. Anyone that is smart has been ritualistically laid off or has found employment elsewhere and those that remain are putting applications out left and right. The company is going to be left with a bunch of yes men/women who are nice to the executive team, who are themselves lost in the wilderness, and a group of employees too frightened to leave.
If you are reading this and wondering why did this person use these four subheadings, these are Solidifi’s “Core Values” and all the reasons why they are failing miserably at them. The company is going downhill fast. The only reason their stock price is even steady at $5 Canadian is that they must be inflating it by buying back massive amounts of stock. Which seems shortsighted since they should be investing that money into their business but what do I know?
