This pertains to my working at Friedkin for 9 years, 2 months in the GST division of information technology. Other departments may not apply to this observation.
In my 45+ year career with 11 companies (some contract, some regular employee), this department consistently takes the gold, silver & bronze for having the most back-stabbing, incompetent Machiavellian cut-throat kneejerk clueless moron management in the galaxy…and I’ve worked for some great management in other companies.
Alternatively, good & great people (with decades of tech experience & training) are systematically trashed regularly. One disposable CIO (now fired) was hired to “reorganize” the IT department & cut costs. EVERYBODY got a new manager every 6 months. Ridiculous! So he outsourced the company’s help desk to IBM which became the biggest blunder in the history of the company – add a few more colossal outsourcing blunders & finger pointing. ALL of which availed ZERO!
Turnover in the department is high. Good people flippantly trashed & disposed of to be replaced by foreign contractors. Many have quit. Some have “relocated” elsewhere within the company since working 60-80 hours a week was too stressful.
In 2006 I spent long hours, weekends & holidays to turn a beat up jalopy of a database department into a fine-tuned Ferrari. Few (if any) production problems relating to database issues. In those 9+ years I strived to get along with everyone, without malice to anybody. I would bend over backwards to service everyone with a smile even if it meant working on holidays & weekends. On call 24x7 because I had no backup.
I was assigned to a Passive Aggressive mentality manager (despised by everyone). Then, when my number came up, I was flippantly disposed & trashed like my former co-workers…to be replaced by a cheaper foreign contractor. What was their reason? They accused me of “prejudice” – to which they didn’t have a single piece of evidence nor could they produce ONE single witness or complaint.
My co-workers were stunned, saying “who was offended?” Nobody! This is the kind of lie, cheat, steal, stab-in-the back environment of this place.
One former director wrote a book and had a paragraph on how “disheartened” she was to see good people so systematically trashed (though she didn’t mention Friedkin by name). By now, you’ve read some trendy FACTS in this note – not opinions.
Obviously the human resources department will post some fake 5-star “testimonials” to recruit IT people.
With the UP-turn in the economy, there will be greater demand for IT professionals. As the saying goes: “good companies get BETTER & the bad companies will get WORSE” as people will leave the first opportunity they get.
Be forewarned, if you enter into this snake pit – it will be your own fault.
