Not unemployed, but in a job pool

[Jeemie]

Alas, I did not escape the second round of job cuts in my division unscathed.

I am in a pool of two people for one job.

The good news- the other person has expressed a desire to leave the company and spend time as a full-time mom with her two adopted sons.

The bad news- in order for me to keep my job, my functional boss (to whom I report on a dotted line) must choose me over her, his direct report.

I truly don't know whether he will accede to her wishes or not, and I don't know whether this pool will be decided on our skills alone, or whether this stuff will play into it (also she is in the UK where he is).

My assistant is also in a pool with her assistant, and I don't know whether our pools will be decided independently. IMHO, on skill and drive alone, my assistant trumps her assistant 10x (I'm not the only one who feels this way). She (the person with whom I am in the pool) and I are probably almost equal performers (she's probably slightly better overall, but I have my hand in matters that will be quite crucial to our division going forward).

This is a most interesting situation...will be fascinating to see how this plays out (would be more fascinating if I wasn't involved!)

[Jeemie]

I should say, in fairness to my functional boss, that it's not all his call.

There will be a board that includes my direct boss, my functional boss, and an HR rep.

And I will get my say, but via paper interview.

[a1mamacat]

Alas, I did not escape the second round of job cuts in my division unscathed.

I am in a pool of two people for one job.

The good news- the other person has expressed a desire to leave the company and spend time as a full-time mom with her two adopted sons.

The bad news- in order for me to keep my job, my functional boss (to whom I report on a dotted line) must choose me over her, his direct report.

I truly don't know whether he will accede to her wishes or not, and I don't know whether this pool will be decided on our skills alone, or whether this stuff will play into it (also she is in the UK where he is).

My assistant is also in a pool with her assistant, and I don't know whether our pools will be decided independently. IMHO, on skill and drive alone, my assistant trumps her assistant 10x (I'm not the only one who feels this way). She (the person with whom I am in the pool) and I are probably almost equal performers (she's probably slightly better overall, but I have my hand in matters that will be quite crucial to our division going forward).

This is a most interesting situation...will be fascinating to see how this plays out (would be more fascinating if I wasn't involved!)

Wow, convoluted.! Hoping for sanity all around and that both you and the co-worker get what you want..her time off, you job.

[cindy.wellman]

Goodness, that sucks. I hope he makes the decision that is best for you. If he doesn't, I hope that something even better comes of this.


ps - Sorry I kicked your butt this week. (really)

[christie1111]

Best wishes Jeemie.

I am proof sometimes things work out for the best in the long run.

[cindy.wellman]

Best wishes Jeemie.

I am proof sometimes things work out for the best in the long run.

Right on, sister

[kayrharris]

Best wishes for a good outcome.

Let us know how it goes!

[Beebs52]

I hope it all works out for you. I certainly empathize considering what all is going on around and about here, too.

[jaybee]

Could be worse - You could have to take a test and then audition and then wait for the happy job card.

Good Luck!

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I hope that they pick you.

[peacock2121]

Hope it goes the way that is best for you.

[Jeemie]

Could be worse - You could have to take a test and then audition and then wait for the happy job card.

Good Luck!

I sorta have to...except the "audition" is on paper.

What's worse, since it's a cross-national pool, we're playing by UK rules.

In the UK, you have to go through a "consultation" process before you do anything.

It's mid-November by the EARLIEST that I will hear anything- unless my colleague opts out of the pool.

[MarleysGh0st]

Could be worse - You could have to take a test and then audition and then wait for the happy job card.

Good Luck!

I sorta have to...except the "audition" is on paper.

What's worse, since it's a cross-national pool, we're playing by UK rules.

In the UK, you have to go through a "consultation" process before you do anything.

It's mid-November by the EARLIEST that I will hear anything- unless my colleague opts out of the pool.

Yeesh!

Good luck, Jeemie!

[Jeemie]

Could be worse - You could have to take a test and then audition and then wait for the happy job card.

Good Luck!

I sorta have to...except the "audition" is on paper.

What's worse, since it's a cross-national pool, we're playing by UK rules.

In the UK, you have to go through a "consultation" process before you do anything.

It's mid-November by the EARLIEST that I will hear anything- unless my colleague opts out of the pool.

Yeesh!

Good luck, Jeemie!

Yessh! Emotionally- I agree.

Practically, the longer the process takes, the more time I have to prepare in case I'm not selected (which I already have been doing).

Because as long as the pool is not decided, I'm still working and getting paid.

[geoffil]

Wow, that is an unusual system for deciding who doesn't get laid off. In the bored's case being in a pool is a good thing. Humm I bet they did this because they want the merger to go smoothly and use this method to make sure everyone does a great job even if you have a possibility of getting the boot. Not fair.

I hope you get picked and still enjoy your job.

[Jeemie]

Wow, that is an unusual system for deciding who doesn't get laid off. In the bored's case being in a pool is a good thing. Humm I bet they did this because they want the merger to go smoothly and use this method to make sure everyone does a great job even if you have a possibility of getting the boot. Not fair.

I hope you get picked and still enjoy your job.

It's not a merger, and job pools are actually used quite often when jobs are being cut and there are multiple people that can do the same job or have similar skillsets.

At least in my industry, they are.

BTW- my UK colleague did put in a preference to be made redundant, so barring unforseen events, I should be OK.

[geoffil]

What type of industry are you in? I have never heard of job pools, only contestant pools. Most of the time I hear people being laid off by "forced ranking" or divisions being eliminated. I used to work at ADP (the computer company not my sorority) and we had a meeting and were told our division was being "sunseted." We all didn't give it much thought until days later we finally found out it meant all current clients would still be serviced, but no new ones would be added. Clients would then be transferred to another division and our division would be eliminated after about a year.
The best and brightest could apply for a transfer so that keep everyone on their toes to still work hard.

[Jeemie]

What type of industry are you in? I have never heard of job pools, only contestant pools. Most of the time I hear people being laid off by "forced ranking" or divisions being eliminated. I used to work at ADP (the computer company not my sorority) and we had a meeting and were told our division was being "sunseted." We all didn't give it much thought until days later we finally found out it meant all current clients would still be serviced, but no new ones would be added. Clients would then be transferred to another division and our division would be eliminated after about a year.
The best and brightest could apply for a transfer so that keep everyone on their toes to still work hard.

I'm in pharma, so we have lots of people doing job that have similar skills.

For example, we may have 20 analytical chemists at a site, and they decide to reduce the number of chemists at that site to 15.

Rather than picking 5 people at random, or via a LIFO or FIFO process, they are grouped into a pool and have to submit forms (a "paper interview"). A board (usually a division manager, some line manager, and HR) look over the paperwork and make a decision as to which ones to keep based on who has the better skillsets. The 5-lowest-ranking individuals are let go.

Just like interviewing for an open position (only not live)- there are always several candidates for one job. The person that scores highest on the interview wins the job.

Pools are a (theoretically) good way to retain people in a layoff based on talent and business need rather than seniority or some other set of criteria.

[nitrah55]

Hoping this works out for you.

[geoffil]

Ok, that makes more sense. So it is done in the open rather than some secretive political process. Good luck and I hope you get picked.

[gsabc]

Been there. Good luck with everything here, but be sending out those resumes just in case.

[Jeemie]

As I said, it looks like it will work out for me.

My pool colleague has informed everyone of her desire to be made redundant, so it looks like it will all work out.

Still will have to wait a few weeks re: my assistant, though.