Dear Bob ...
A month or so ago you gave some advice to "Unhappy, with choices," who had been offered two alternatives: take a 20 percent pay cut or accept a severance package ("Choosing between a buyout and a salary cut," Advice Line, 3/1/2009).
My situation is just different enough that I need to ask your opinion about it. My company has been hit pretty hard by the downturn too. The CEO isn't asking anyone to take a pay cut. He has, however, cut the IT department pretty deeply (40 percent of the staff; we aren't the only department hit and I'm not complaining).
As part of the downsizing, he's asked me to change my status from full-time CIO to only three days per week. His thinking: If the department is only 60 percent of its former size, I should be able to manage it with only 60 percent of the effort.
This is, of course, nonsense. On the other hand, the company is making cuts everywhere, so I can't really complain, especially since he's included all my benefits in the new pay package.
My question isn't whether I should accept the offer. I'm going to, of course. My question is how I can enforce my three-days-per-week status so that I can take advantage of the other two days for better uses (for example, looking for full-time employment).
After all, with so much of the rest of the staff gone and their work not going away, it's going to be just sitting there, staring at me until I do it myself.
Any thoughts on how to handle this?
- Just as unhappy, without choices
Dear Unhappier ...
There's an old saying: Sometimes, when we ask for advice, we're really looking for an accomplice. I'm pretty sure that's the case here, because you know everything you need to do without asking me.
If it makes you feel better, I agree with you.
So that nobody else reading this feels like I'm talking in code, though, the answer is that you need to carefully and thoroughly recalibrate the CEO's expectations. Take the time to put your thinking down in written form to paint a complete picture of the 40 percent of the work that isn't going to happen. Even better would be to provide three versions of what it will look like.
Best would be a balance-sheet-like format, where you start with the responsibilities of the departed employees. For every responsibility, explain whether you decided to eliminate it or reassign it, and if so, to whom. Remaining staff who received any reassigned responsibilities then will eliminate some of their own so that the books balance.
Walk the CEO through the solution or alternatives so that it's all clear and businesslike.
And, include yourself: what it is you'll stop doing because you have 16 fewer hours each week to do it.
If the CEO complains, insisting everyone needs to pitch in and work longer hours, decide the extent to which he is being fair and make adjustments accordingly -- for the full-time exempt employees, that is. For yourself, too, in that if you're going to ask exempt employees to work a few extra hours, you should be prepared to do the same: on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Your days off remain your days off. Use them productively.
- Bob
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Download now »I hope the CEO has a plan for finding a new CIO. This CIO is obviously, by the nature of the question, very thoughtful and I'm sure capable.
Which means that the CIO will be successful in the search for a new, better, full time job. This will leave the CEO with the need to do 100% of the work the CIO was doing instead of getting the benefit of paying the CIO 60% of their salary for doing 100% of the work. From what I read in the letter this is clearly part of the intention of this new cost saving idea.
Your advice on keeping the "days off" days off is absolutely spot on.
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