I'm putting in my two weeks today!
Letter of Resignation to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
After four years and seven months in the employ of this corporation and store I have come to the decision that I have no interest in continuing on further.
My decision to resign is traceable to three key events over the last ten months.
Thanksgiving;a time when families gather, many the only time in the year when relatives from near and far are brought together in a sense of familial community to express, reflect upon and give thanks for the years blessings and occurrences.
Unless you work in the back room of Wal-Mart, in which case a couple of extra hours to spend a reasonable amount of time at a holiday dinner is less important than the irrelevant amount of time needed to get a jump on the weekly sales.
It was at this time I decided that my place of employment had chosen a plan of action counter to my sense of what was truly more important in life and that I should begin seeking an alternative path to the one I was on.
Annual Review; I cannot recall an annual review over the last four years in which I failed to receive the highest possible mark on an over all grade, with the exception of my most recent.
When I asked what could be done to improve my performance, what was expected to achieve this new ranking, neither my immediate supervisor or his knew how to answer, nor do I believe it is a question they could answer if you asked them today.
I decided at that moment that I had received my last review.
My most recent Written Coaching; approximately two weeks ago I was given a written coaching for failing to show up for work on a day I was assigned.
The fact that I have had a set schedule for the last two years that included that particular day of the week off, that the only reason I didn't have that day marked as unavailable being that I had volunteered to help out several months back when people were needed on that day and that I became the only member of the unloader team who was taking up that slack for needed manpower (instead of the reasonable rotation initially presented to me) or that no one in management ever passed this information along when the job of unloader overseer was passed on all being moot points apparently as this was spoken in my defense.
Supplemental to these three events is an atmosphere of degrading morale, deterioration of individual standards and my own difference of opinion as to the manner in which management is, on a whole, conducted.
A brief, but fairly detailed, list of my individual grievances follow.
Threats: Confirmation of my fortune for having my position is no less than a veiled threat to confirm how easily it could be lost. Attempting to instill fear into an employee to cow them into obedience fosters a counterproductive sense of resentment that sets their standards to putting forth only the minimum effort required to keep from being fired.
A lack of Ownership/Pride: Whether a person enjoys their work or not, a sense of ownership is necessary to instill the pride needed perform it competently and correctly. Ownership is felt when a position is earned and it is reflected by both his peers and superiors that his opinion is valued. Nothing is more destructive to this relationship than the flat dismissal of said individuals advice by a member of management operating under a their own (oft times flawed) understanding of that associate's area of expertise.
Insufficient Training: On many occasions I (qualifying myself as a competent and where relevant licensed source)have been prevented from being allowed to adequately instruct newer associates in aspects of their job for which they sought help to learn.
Nothing less could be required of an employee to serve his company than to be accurately trained for his position. An employee lacking the specific skills of his job due to negligence on the part of the management support structure is both inefficient and often dangerous.
Regarding the CBL process: A virtual classroom is not a sufficient resource for most individuals to truly grasp the breadth of real world material set before them. A true mentoring system for new employees must be initiated AND adhered to.
Erratic Standards of Work and Conduct: While I bear no personal grievance toward any individual beyond what exists as a disagreement in the judgment shown to have placed and maintained certain persons in the positions of management whose abilities are lacking to what is required of them, I do have a genuine complaint in the following the matter.
That the number of Co-managers and various lesser management positions have easily doubled since I began shows nothing (in my opinion) of a less chaotic flow of operation. If anything, it often seems that the basic expectations of day to day operation change depending on who is in charge that particular day and that those standards are then reset with the new watch.
To function efficiently there must be a uniform standard that is met, maintained and enforced by (and upon) all members making up the chain of management.
A lack of Comradery: The only regret I have in leaving is that I will no longer be spending time with the friendly and generally positive minded people I have come to know over my years spent in the Vestal store.
The one unmistakable fact about being in a bad situation is that misery loves company and no matter what was thrown at you, it was nice to know you had a team to back you up (and to which you were expected to back up in return). However, less than teamwork, I have seen a larger share of backstabbing and blame laying of late and the comradery that was once shared has become (for the most part) a darkly sarcastic remembrance of such.
The summary of my primary complaints having been herein contained, I submit the following statement:
My last day of employment will be September 1st, 2010. I do have some appreciation for the term of gainful employment at this establishment and wish luck to the store and its associates.
---> Sean D. Kelly
After four years and seven months in the employ of this corporation and store I have come to the decision that I have no interest in continuing on further.
My decision to resign is traceable to three key events over the last ten months.
Thanksgiving;a time when families gather, many the only time in the year when relatives from near and far are brought together in a sense of familial community to express, reflect upon and give thanks for the years blessings and occurrences.
Unless you work in the back room of Wal-Mart, in which case a couple of extra hours to spend a reasonable amount of time at a holiday dinner is less important than the irrelevant amount of time needed to get a jump on the weekly sales.
It was at this time I decided that my place of employment had chosen a plan of action counter to my sense of what was truly more important in life and that I should begin seeking an alternative path to the one I was on.
Annual Review; I cannot recall an annual review over the last four years in which I failed to receive the highest possible mark on an over all grade, with the exception of my most recent.
When I asked what could be done to improve my performance, what was expected to achieve this new ranking, neither my immediate supervisor or his knew how to answer, nor do I believe it is a question they could answer if you asked them today.
I decided at that moment that I had received my last review.
My most recent Written Coaching; approximately two weeks ago I was given a written coaching for failing to show up for work on a day I was assigned.
The fact that I have had a set schedule for the last two years that included that particular day of the week off, that the only reason I didn't have that day marked as unavailable being that I had volunteered to help out several months back when people were needed on that day and that I became the only member of the unloader team who was taking up that slack for needed manpower (instead of the reasonable rotation initially presented to me) or that no one in management ever passed this information along when the job of unloader overseer was passed on all being moot points apparently as this was spoken in my defense.
Supplemental to these three events is an atmosphere of degrading morale, deterioration of individual standards and my own difference of opinion as to the manner in which management is, on a whole, conducted.
A brief, but fairly detailed, list of my individual grievances follow.
Threats: Confirmation of my fortune for having my position is no less than a veiled threat to confirm how easily it could be lost. Attempting to instill fear into an employee to cow them into obedience fosters a counterproductive sense of resentment that sets their standards to putting forth only the minimum effort required to keep from being fired.
A lack of Ownership/Pride: Whether a person enjoys their work or not, a sense of ownership is necessary to instill the pride needed perform it competently and correctly. Ownership is felt when a position is earned and it is reflected by both his peers and superiors that his opinion is valued. Nothing is more destructive to this relationship than the flat dismissal of said individuals advice by a member of management operating under a their own (oft times flawed) understanding of that associate's area of expertise.
Insufficient Training: On many occasions I (qualifying myself as a competent and where relevant licensed source)have been prevented from being allowed to adequately instruct newer associates in aspects of their job for which they sought help to learn.
Nothing less could be required of an employee to serve his company than to be accurately trained for his position. An employee lacking the specific skills of his job due to negligence on the part of the management support structure is both inefficient and often dangerous.
Regarding the CBL process: A virtual classroom is not a sufficient resource for most individuals to truly grasp the breadth of real world material set before them. A true mentoring system for new employees must be initiated AND adhered to.
Erratic Standards of Work and Conduct: While I bear no personal grievance toward any individual beyond what exists as a disagreement in the judgment shown to have placed and maintained certain persons in the positions of management whose abilities are lacking to what is required of them, I do have a genuine complaint in the following the matter.
That the number of Co-managers and various lesser management positions have easily doubled since I began shows nothing (in my opinion) of a less chaotic flow of operation. If anything, it often seems that the basic expectations of day to day operation change depending on who is in charge that particular day and that those standards are then reset with the new watch.
To function efficiently there must be a uniform standard that is met, maintained and enforced by (and upon) all members making up the chain of management.
A lack of Comradery: The only regret I have in leaving is that I will no longer be spending time with the friendly and generally positive minded people I have come to know over my years spent in the Vestal store.
The one unmistakable fact about being in a bad situation is that misery loves company and no matter what was thrown at you, it was nice to know you had a team to back you up (and to which you were expected to back up in return). However, less than teamwork, I have seen a larger share of backstabbing and blame laying of late and the comradery that was once shared has become (for the most part) a darkly sarcastic remembrance of such.
The summary of my primary complaints having been herein contained, I submit the following statement:
My last day of employment will be September 1st, 2010. I do have some appreciation for the term of gainful employment at this establishment and wish luck to the store and its associates.
---> Sean D. Kelly