Tag: bonus

Bad Recruitment

MandeeLeave a Comment on Bad Recruitment

This morning I got an email from a well known online job site, offering a job in my department for £2000-5000 more than what I’m on. Well, I read and re-read this email and the job specs. I was furious. As you can probably imagine.

I got into work at 7.30am and went straight to the sales manager who was in early. I asked him why the company was advertising jobs in my department for more money. I told him I’d been there for many years and wanted a pay increase.

He assured me that it was incorrect. For another department he said. I told him that the other department was not mentioned. He didn’t seem unduly bothered. Just told me to email HR, which I did. Much use that was. They can’t be bothered to get off their backsides for a mere agent.

About two hours later I spoke to another sales manager. She took a bit more notice – probably because two managers overheard and the pay on offer was more than they were on too. This sales manager asked me to forward the email to her. She then got in touch with HR. They answered her, but then she’s a senior manager so they would. Turns out that not only is the job for a different department, but the vacancies have already been filled.

Of course our HR department is blaming the job site. Specs all wrong and vacancies filled. However, I’m thinking that the specs advertised were given to the job site by someone in HR. The job site couldn’t just make them up! They may not have been told that the vacancies were filled, but they would have to fill the advertisement with the details they were given.

It won’t be too difficult to find out what the new people are being paid. Are I know quite a lot about how the company works and I can use that to my advantage.

I pointed out to the sales manager that if it was my department and new people were being offered far more pay than any of us, then I would be photocopying the email and I would hand it out to every person on the floor. It would cause absolute chaos.

I’ve done this before and got our department our bonus when the managers tried to say that we weren’t eligible. So they already now what I’m willing to do.

Watch this space. This could be all out war.

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Long Term Service

MandeeLeave a Comment on Long Term Service

I remember when I started work, many years ago, I was advised that it was always better to work at a company for a few years and then leave for a better job and more money. I followed this advice for quite a while, until I found my present job that paid loads in commission.

I’ve now been at the call centre for 10.5 years, and I’ve worked in 5 different departments. I’m very comfortable in the job, although there has been some ups and downs along the way. I’ve even thought that I may be there for a few more years yet.

Over the last couple of years I’ve found myself with more calls and more lines than other people. When I’ve queried this I’ve been told that it’s because of my experience. It’s made me feel under extra stress, and penalised because I’ve been there some time. On the other hand, it’s nice to be able to help colleagues if they have problems, and show them a few tips on the system.

With the changes in the company of late, many of which are due to the FCA who we are regulated by, a lot of the commission that we were earning is now being removed. We can’t do anything about this as it’s not compulsary. The company is also standardising the pay structure, which is something that is done in many other companies.

Personally I will be losing money as my bonus is being cut. Although we are gaining a pay increase, people who have only been at the company for a few years will be gaining as their basic is to be raised by 2-3 thousand so that it can be a standard rate. I’m on a higher basic because of the length of time at the company.

Now this is all making me wonder whether I have done the right thing by staying at the company so long. After my experience has been taken full advantage of, I now find that new people will be earning what I was on 2 years ago. It’s like a kick in the teeth, being told that new people are to gain a lot of money, while those of us who been there for many years are to be penalised. Some of my colleagues have been at the company 15 years or more.

Now, of course, I’m thinking of looking for another job. I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only person. I think it’s a real pity that loyalty and experience can be treated so flipantly and tossed aside with such ease.

Chinese Whispers

MandeeLeave a Comment on Chinese Whispers

We’re having a lot of changes at work at the moment. There were briefings given out last week while I was on leave, so I’ve yet to get the full details. I have been given a brief overview by our lead agent, and also the opinions of my colleagues. I seem to be getting different information from each person though.

When we are given important information we each take in the bit that is important to us personally, and then we subtley adapt it to meet our requirements. We then pass this information to other people with the slight change, or coloured by our own opinions. This information can then either become good news or bad news.

I’d rather get the information from the proverbial horse’s mouth. I’m one of those people who can’t accept what I’m being told until it comes first hand, or I’ve experienced it, or I’ve done enough research to formulate an opionion based on both positive and negative information.

The current briefings are about pay and bonus structures. Very imporant stuff for any employee. I’ve decided to hold my opinion until I’ve had the full information. And although I will listen to the opinions of my colleagues, I will not allow them to worry me.

Script Changes

MandeeLeave a Comment on Script Changes

As we are regulated by the FCA we have a script to follow when setting up a sale. In fact, there’s a bloody script for everything, but the main one is for a new policy. Anyway, this script is 12 pages long. Luckily we don’t have to read every word. A lot of it is guidelines and notes for us agents.

Quite frequently they change or update the script. Usually it’s a few words or a sentence here and there. Nothing major. But sometimes it’s whole segments that change.

This has happened in the last few days. Tuesday I’m told that the script for 2 policies have changed. I had a lieu day yesterday so wasn’t at work. I went in this morning to find that all the scripts have changed! Bloody marvelous.

There I was trying to figure out what was going on during my very first call at 8am. I almost missed details out. I would have been in big trouble. Luckily I took my time as soon as I realised that they had all changed, so I spotted where I had gone wrong and was able to correct myself straight away.

We have major penalties if we don’t pass our quality screening. This is where the company makes sure that we are reading the script to the letter and not deviating at all. If we pass our quality we get an extra bonus. If we fail we lose the extra bonus – which could be a few hundred pound. So when there are changes to the script, we get worried.

We read the script so many times that it becomes memorised, and reciting it becomes automatic. So when it changes it’s very easy to cock up.

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