rdamon I believe there is no such thing as an anonymous employee survey and I answer them accordingly
I agree, and I avoid answering them whenever possible.
If forced I usually treat them like the "ever-popular public opinion poll":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8oN-kPPpqE
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Euclid There is status symbol competition among companies to claim they are full of happy employees. So they imbue that into their employee culture and make everyone aware that they are supposed to be happy. I sense a lot of that in the Glassdoor website. I believe that employees should be made safe and comfortable in doing their work, but all this focus on the value of fun and happiness is kind of sappy and shallow if you ask me.
There is status symbol competition among companies to claim they are full of happy employees. So they imbue that into their employee culture and make everyone aware that they are supposed to be happy. I sense a lot of that in the Glassdoor website. I believe that employees should be made safe and comfortable in doing their work, but all this focus on the value of fun and happiness is kind of sappy and shallow if you ask me.
Doesn't work either.. no workplace that I've ever encountered is full of happy people.. most people are struggling, mostly angry, and unhappy.. everywhere you look.. and its never their fault. Most any employer can get is a capable employee who is grounded and conducts him/herself professionally. It's a dog eat dog world, and often employees don't appreciate or even notice the protective cloak employers provide their staff.. heaven forbid they have to make a living on straight commission, where you don't eat if you can't sell whatever it is that you offer.
Surveys are great.. I use them also to gauge how I'm doing and how to improve my business. Any kind of helpful feedback is always welcomed.. especially the bad stuff.
charlie hebdo Whether a survey by an outfit like Glassdoor or a supposedly independent evaluation form, there are pluses and minuses. If you have any understanding of the process, you would know that. 1. Of all the railroads' employees reporting, the UP was the worst and only one on this list. 2. Many employers that value worker satisfaction more, get better reviews. It's not just cranks who respond.
Whether a survey by an outfit like Glassdoor or a supposedly independent evaluation form, there are pluses and minuses. If you have any understanding of the process, you would know that.
1. Of all the railroads' employees reporting, the UP was the worst and only one on this list.
2. Many employers that value worker satisfaction more, get better reviews. It's not just cranks who respond.
Surveys are fine.. but the online anonymous critiques are not..
zugmann BaltACD CSX-Sucks would take a grain of rice of truth and grow it into a rice pudding of falsity and innuendo. Which is fine, but I still fail to see any credibilty of the railfan on the deviant art site.
BaltACD CSX-Sucks would take a grain of rice of truth and grow it into a rice pudding of falsity and innuendo.
Which is fine, but I still fail to see any credibilty of the railfan on the deviant art site.
None. Looks like a hatchet job on rail workers, by a late 20s yearbook photographer and foamer.
BaltACDCSX-Sucks would take a grain of rice of truth and grow it into a rice pudding of falsity and innuendo.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Euclid How do we know they rated the other railroads?
The ratings for other companies can be found on Glassdoor. For example, CSX was rated 2.4/5 based on 779 reviews. Approximately 27 percent of the respondents recommended CSX to a friend.
I did not do a deep dive into the numbers, but you probably can find the ratings for every Class 1 railroad as well as many other companies. Also, if you did deep enough, you probably can find a good explanation of Glassdoor's methodologies.
How do we know they rated the other railroads?
It doesn't say, just didn't make the worst list.
What ratings did Glassdoor give for the other railroads?
zugmann BaltACD Debunking CSX-Sucks.com https://www.deviantart.com/the-railfan-nation/journal/Debunking-CSX-sucks-com-220119718 Debunked by a railfan posting to a site most known for furry art? (not that there's anything wrong with the latter- but really, what basis does he have for any of his arguments?) I never understood why non-employees so tirelessly defend these coporations' employment practices. Because honestly, they don't know the half of what happens behind the curtain.
BaltACD Debunking CSX-Sucks.com https://www.deviantart.com/the-railfan-nation/journal/Debunking-CSX-sucks-com-220119718
Debunking CSX-Sucks.com
https://www.deviantart.com/the-railfan-nation/journal/Debunking-CSX-sucks-com-220119718
Debunked by a railfan posting to a site most known for furry art? (not that there's anything wrong with the latter- but really, what basis does he have for any of his arguments?)
I never understood why non-employees so tirelessly defend these coporations' employment practices. Because honestly, they don't know the half of what happens behind the curtain.
CSX-Sucks would take a grain of rice of truth and grow it into a rice pudding of falsity and innuendo. If the liar in chief complains about the present media, CSX-Sucks should be covering him - far beyond Fox News.
I was behind the curtain at times.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
The UP has started doing quarterly employee surveys, trying to figure out why the work force is unhappy. There have been a few changes because of them. The rest of the iceberg remains to be seen.
It does intrigue me that UP made the list. Not that it doesn't deserve to, but that no other class one railroad didn't. From reading elsewhere about conditions on other railroads, UP really isn't all that different from the rest. Could it be because of the employee surveys, there was a paper trail to catch the list compiler's attention?
Jeff
Lots of these online companies with proprietary algorithms exist today that can tell you anything you want to know about an individual or company. Dump your own name into google even to see if you're a good person or a deadbeat. If you're not sure then a site like Mylife will tell you. Same with companies.. anyone with an axe to grind can place an anonymous review on google.. Maybe surveys are a little better.. but again.. if the sampling is small the survey results are likely inaccurate as well.
Euclid On what basis does Glassdoor rate companies best/worst to work for? Certainly, they are not just asking employees, are they?
According to Glassdoor’s webpage, "Company ratings on Glassdoor are determined by recent employee feedback. Glassdoor calculates company ratings using a proprietary ratings algorithm, with an emphasis on recency of reviews. With this improvement, we’re giving job seekers and employers what they’ve asked of us – the freshest perspective on what it’s really like to work inside any company, according to employees"
The ratings are useless to anyone that knows how to conduct and interpret a properly conducted opinion survey. Glassdoor’s ratings only show the input of those employees or recent employees that respond. They don’t include those that did not respond. Self reporting tends to be heavily biased.
Most large companies frequently conduct employee opinion surveys. They usually engaged a national firm with the expertise to conduct an independent, objective assessment of what the employees like and don't like about their situation.
I worked in HR for a Wall Street bank for more than 12 years. Although I was a compensation and benefits specialist, I participated in a wide variety of other HR activities. One of them was assisting with the employee opinion surveys conducted by national firms
On what basis does Glassdoor rate companies best/worst to work for? Certainly, they are not just asking employees, are they?
CSSHEGEWISCH One weakness of such surveys and rankings is that the sample used may skew in favor of those with complaints of any sort. People who are reasonably content with their jobs tend not to participate in such surveys. The transportation business as a whole tends to have long and/or uncertain hours and a poor work/life balance. Some of those who gripe about that situation may be relatively new hires who saw the dollar signs but expected the same sort of steady hours that they had at their previous gig.
One weakness of such surveys and rankings is that the sample used may skew in favor of those with complaints of any sort. People who are reasonably content with their jobs tend not to participate in such surveys.
The transportation business as a whole tends to have long and/or uncertain hours and a poor work/life balance. Some of those who gripe about that situation may be relatively new hires who saw the dollar signs but expected the same sort of steady hours that they had at their previous gig.
All true. Nevertheless, no other railroad made this list, not even CSX.
My conductor told me about the worst ranking. He also said we're #1, but I too saw that we're actually #3. I guess they'll just have to try harder.
He also said that the new CFO is to have said that an OR of 55% is achievable and that the goal should be 50%. He also told me he sold all his UP stock in his 401K, that another also sold his a few days later. I don't have any UP stock in my 401K. I used to, but when I signed up to have my account managed for me, they sold it all off and moved it to other stocks and funds.
I think part of the dissatisfaction is everyone is worried about their jobs. For some it's being out of work, for others the possibility that they'll only be able to hold work assignments one or two hundred miles from home.
My conductor was working as an engineer just a couple months ago, with 30 engineers of less seniority beneath him, district wide-not just his normal home terminal. I checked a couple weeks ago and saw that I had 60 junior engineers just in my home terminal, there are more at most of the other terminals on my district. It's conceivable that - because of less traffic, doubling up (although not an every day occurance) coal trains and moving trains from the short pools to the long pool - that I will either just be hanging on to the bottom or cut out altogether at my home terminal. When I went on vacation we had 10 or 11 people furloughed and they were voluntary. There were quite a few on our reserve board that works two days a week. There was even a new hire class just finishing training. I come back and things have changed. We now have over 50 furloughed, the size of the reserve board has been reduced. Supposedly there are some more operational changes coming, but nobody knows exactly what they are. While there are differing items being thrown about, there are a few items that are similar. That could lead them to cut some more. We'll wait and see.
About a year ago they were offering hiring bonuses of $10 to 20K at various locations. Many, if not most, of those places are now furloughing. So I don't know why employees wouldn't be recommending working for UP.
Yea, reduce expenses without knowldege of the operating side of the railroad. She must have read EHH's how to screw up a railroad. WELL THERE GOES THE NEIGHORHOOD.
caldreamer
BaltACD Flintlock76 The common thread here seems to be "Upper Management Issues." No surprise, the outfit I retired from had "Upper Management Issues" as well. We showed up with a poor rating on Glassdoor too, but myself and the guys who looked at the report said, "Well, it's not THAT bad!", so just how reliable Glassdoor is may be open to question. MAY be, I wouldn't know for certain. The question that probably can't be answered is, if there's upper management issues all over the place, just how do we fix them, if it's even possible? The real common thread is that 'Upper Management' continue to reward and compensate themselves at the expense of the balance of the workforce. The rising tide lifts all boats theory is no longer applicable in most corporations these days. Senior Management raises their own compensation and benefits while doing their best to reduce compensation to the work force in both employment numbers as well as employee pay and benefits.
Flintlock76 The common thread here seems to be "Upper Management Issues." No surprise, the outfit I retired from had "Upper Management Issues" as well. We showed up with a poor rating on Glassdoor too, but myself and the guys who looked at the report said, "Well, it's not THAT bad!", so just how reliable Glassdoor is may be open to question. MAY be, I wouldn't know for certain. The question that probably can't be answered is, if there's upper management issues all over the place, just how do we fix them, if it's even possible?
No surprise, the outfit I retired from had "Upper Management Issues" as well. We showed up with a poor rating on Glassdoor too, but myself and the guys who looked at the report said, "Well, it's not THAT bad!", so just how reliable Glassdoor is may be open to question. MAY be, I wouldn't know for certain.
The question that probably can't be answered is, if there's upper management issues all over the place, just how do we fix them, if it's even possible?
The real common thread is that 'Upper Management' continue to reward and compensate themselves at the expense of the balance of the workforce.
The rising tide lifts all boats theory is no longer applicable in most corporations these days. Senior Management raises their own compensation and benefits while doing their best to reduce compensation to the work force in both employment numbers as well as employee pay and benefits.
Much like the failed "trickle down" economic theory.
And of course there's the other wrinkle as far as management is concerned, "Like hires like."
But to be fair, that can apply to any enterprise or organization.
Flintlock76The common thread here seems to be "Upper Management Issues." No surprise, the outfit I retired from had "Upper Management Issues" as well. We showed up with a poor rating on Glassdoor too, but myself and the guys who looked at the report said, "Well, it's not THAT bad!", so just how reliable Glassdoor is may be open to question. MAY be, I wouldn't know for certain. The question that probably can't be answered is, if there's upper management issues all over the place, just how do we fix them, if it's even possible?
Well-run businesses work hard to provide a good workplace with good relations, decent pay, safety, receptivity to feedback (if they're really smart, they get it from both customers AND employees), and good working conditions where people aren't treated as 'assets'. I've always been inclined to dun senior leadership when things begin to go belly up. Someone has stopped listening. There's indifference.
A new-comer injected into a Senior VP position is expected to learn quickly and to begin to propose changes and to implement others. If the company wants to retain motivated people, it needs to do some things that may not be pleasant for all, or welcome. But those left behind might decide that they were heard and that they have a future there.
The common thread here seems to be "Upper Management Issues."
Looks like UP was 'only'the third worst company according to Glassdoor.
3. Union Pacific> Glassdoor rating: 2.4/5> Employees who would recommend working at company: 26%> Employees: 42,000> Industry: Transportation> Headquarters: Omaha, NE
Union Pacific, a railroad company that operates in 23 states in the western U.S., is the only transportation company to rank on this list. According to Glassdoor reviews, dissatisfaction often stems from a lack of work-life balance, long hours on call, and a rigid structure based on seniority. Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz has held the top job for over four years and has a dismal 13% employee approval rating on Glassdoor.
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