Arrowhead anxiety: Turnover off the field causes concern

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Secrecy, intimidation, fear and a watchful eye have become hallmarks of working for the Chiefs, say some current and former employees.

BY KENT BABB THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Todd Haley walked into the public relations office at Chiefs headquarters on a Thursday in early December. Four days before he was fired as the team’s coach, he wanted to talk about what life was like inside this organization. But he didn’t know who else might be listening.

continued...

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14...nover-off.html

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This article goes into a lot of detail on the changes that came into effect with the Pioli regime. Sounds like a shitty ass place to work now.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by unlurking

Of course than can, technically, but it is ILLEGAL.

Voice recordings are illegal without a MINIMUM one party consent in the conversation. This is why all those nanny cam spy products are camera only. It is illegal to record a conversation where none of the participants are aware they are being recorded.

EDIT:
Obviously one way to get around this would be to inform all employees AND visitors (in case two are talking without an informed employee present) that there are listening devices scattered around the facility. If all employees and guests had been made aware of this fact, this would have been news years ago.

It's built into every PBX in the world. So it's simple. As for being legal, yes it is. It's an HR issue, and read the fine print, they can do it. The only time you have to announce third party participation is in lieu of policy and being informed. So, post HR notification, any and all internal calls can be monitored unannounced for quality reasons. Much like email, it's been litigated to death... Now if you didn't tell them, or you monitor a non-corporate asset, you have issues. Maybe they're that dumb, but I doubt it.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

Yeah, in the year 2011, it's great to conduct your business like it's medieval times.

What a pile of shit Scott Pioli is. Clark Hunt is a bigger one for allowing his organization to run like this.

I hope Lamar Hunt haunts Clark.

Hate to break it to you, but this is how the large corporations of now operate. Clark Hunt was schooled by Goldman Sachs.

Decades of loyalty earning employees near-impunity with middling results is Lamar Hunt's generation. Not Clark's.

[O.city]

We all wanted things to change when Peterson was the GM.

Clean house, change the environment, bring in new blood we all wanted.

Now it has happened and we all bitch. Pioli is taking it over the edge to far of course, but this franchise needed a good cleansing. 40 plus years of mediocrity really stains things.

I think it's bullshit going to the extent that they are about stupid shit, when they should be more focused on putting a winning product on the field. I think they have done a good job building up that product and keeping good young talent around, they are just a few pieces away.

We on Cp tend to be overly critical and demanding. Which is why I love this place so much. I consider most on here to be some of the most die hard Chiefs fans. However some times I think we don't really look at the whole picture objectively.

I could care less how the things are run at Arrowhead if they put a championship product on the field. I think if we get the three superstars back from injury next year we are close to doing that.

IMO we are a few pieces away from being legit contenders. This article could be the piece that makes those incharge realize that it's time to be bold.

Sorry for the rambling, just my .02 cents.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Oh, give me a break. On most accusations there is a counter-quote from a current Associate who defends the practice. And in most cases, the Associate basically confirms that the story is true, and then spins it in a positive light. Of course the piece is skewed toward the negative, but to suggest that this is a biased piece of journalism is a huge discredit to the piece. That is absolute baloney to say he's "stirring up shit." This is a very well, mostly balanced piece. Give it more credit than that.

Most media outlets try to sensationalize pieces by offering one story, misrepresenting quotes, or by offering a ton about the cons and less about the pros. Babb did none of that. He has direct quotes. He pulled from supposedly 2 dozen "disgruntled" sources, 8 current associates (that appears to be Pioli's doing and, by the way, Pioli was given a fair chance to respond). There are no baseless accusations--every accusation appeared to have been posed to Donovan and the HR person, etc... and addressed. And the pros vs. cons is somewhere around 60%/40%, which is pretty well balanced for a journalist piece.

I think the fact that you're trying to discredit the piece goes to show your bias toward the organization, more than anything.

Good post.

[splatbass]

Originally Posted by Fritz88

How much money is spent on coffee?

Boy I'd hate to work in a place like that.
Posted via Mobile Device

I've never worked any place where the employer supplied coffee. Every office I've worked in had a coffee club where employees got together and bought coffee and everything needed to make it. Pioli being worried about the cost of coffee amazes me because they buy the coffee, not because he thinks they spend too much on it.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Hate to break it to you, but this is how the large corporations of now operate. Clark Hunt was schooled by Goldman Sachs.

Decades of loyalty earning employees near-impunity with middling results is Lamar Hunt's generation. Not Clark's.

If this is all Clark's MO, Pioli should be fired before long.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by O.city

We all wanted things to change when Peterson was the GM.

Clean house, change the environment, bring in new blood we all wanted.

Now it has happened and we all bitch. Pioli is taking it over the edge to far of course, but this franchise needed a good cleansing. 40 plus years of mediocrity really stains things.

I think it's bullshit going to the extent that they are about stupid shit, when they should be more focused on putting a winning product on the field. I think they have done a good job building up that product and keeping good young talent around, they are just a few pieces away.

We on Cp tend to be overly critical and demanding. Which is why I love this place so much. I consider most on here to be some of the most die hard Chiefs fans. However some times I think we don't really look at the whole picture objectively.

I could care less how the things are run at Arrowhead if they put a championship product on the field. I think if we get the three superstars back from injury next year we are close to doing that.

IMO we are a few pieces away from being legit contenders. This article could be the piece that makes those incharge realize that it's time to be bold.

Sorry for the rambling, just my .02 cents.

Fully agree. And I think in the end, most of this is for the better. Details and accountability are a good thing.

The problem becomes... if this continues and that this mass paranoia is true, then we're going to lose a lot of good people and really struggle to bring good people in. And talent is everything.

[DaWolf]

Originally Posted by Omega

If this is all Clark's MO, Pioli should be fired before long.

Oh yeah, and that's the way it should be. Accountability. Focus on your job, and do it well. If Pioli doesn't deliver results, you get rid of him.

I keep hearing people out there say stuff like "Lamar would be rolling over in his grave." Well after years of Peterson and before that Jack Steadman, I could care less...

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

It's built into every PBX in the world. So it's simple. As for being legal, yes it is. It's an HR issue, and read the fine print, they can do it. The only time you have to announce third party participation is in lieu of policy and being informed. So, post HR notification, any and all internal calls can be monitored unannounced for quality reasons. Much like email, it's been litigated to death... Now if you didn't tell them, or you monitor a non-corporate asset, you have issues. Maybe they're that dumb, but I doubt it.

Which was exactly my point. Employees "suspected" and "feared" they were being monitored. The Chiefs "denied" that they were recording phone calls.

Now, do you really think there were "bugs" in the hallways and conference rooms and that the team monitored phone conversations?

[O.city]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Fully agree. And I think in the end, most of this is for the better. Details and accountability are a good thing.

The problem becomes... if this continues and that this mass paranoia is true, then we're going to lose a lot of good people and really struggle to bring good people in. And talent is everything.

Very much so.

I think some of this is disgruntled ex workers and some of it is probably true.

Like you, I think the best thing about this is that there is gonna be alot of questions asked and accountability.

It could be possible that in 2 years we look back and laugh at this as we are preparing to play in teh AFC CHampionship. Or looking for a new GM.

[Direckshun]

I don't know who said it earlier in this thread, but basically Clark Hunt has structured this organization to abide by the rules and restrictions of a Fortune 500 company.

I do not work for a Fortune 500 company, but I work for a company that is in the same field as many of the companies that are.

It's highly routine for employees to be disciplined or spoken with about Facebook posts and texting former employees. The entire workplace has security cameras, and management routinely reviews the cameras and irregularly disciplines employees for not doing their jobs if/when they believe that's the case. Inane disciplines like the candy wrapper happen, for good reason (and sometimes not-so-good). Everybody below a certain rung of power is completely kept in the dark. Any instances where a superior gets wind of someone below them shopping around for new jobs is met with a face-to-face meeting with that employee. Most forms of discipline occur with a reminder that your job is not etched in stone, but written in sand if you continue your current practices. Pervasive fear of getting fired is common.

Etc.

It sounds restrictive, and it is. But there are some good reasons for the company to operate that way (for instance, the Chiefs is probably spy-proof). Some of the reasons are just paranoia and power-tripping, which is of course the nature of the game.

I believe every word of the article.

The truth is, we want our good ol' Kansas City Chiefs to be run like a mom-and-pop store. In some ways, like PR and employee satisfaction, that's certainly preferable. But the way the Chiefs run their show now is similar to a lot of large corporations who do this routinely for competitive advantage.

Combine Clark's management style with Pioli's Patriot Way and this is what you get. It's logical that there's going to be a shit ton of turnover and people put in really shitty situations because for decades, the Chiefs were run completely differently.

I'm not excusing it, just explaining it.

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Hate to break it to you, but this is how the large corporations of now operate. Clark Hunt was schooled by Goldman Sachs.

Decades of loyalty earning employees near-impunity with middling results is Lamar Hunt's generation. Not Clark's.

You can conduct your business like a business while still having respect for people.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I don't know who said it earlier in this thread, but basically Clark Hunt has structured this organization to abide by the rules and restrictions of a Fortune 500 company.

I do not work for a Fortune 500 company, but I work for a company that is in the same field as many of the companies that are.

It's highly routine for employees to be disciplined or spoken with about Facebook posts and texting former employees. The entire workplace has security cameras, and management routinely reviews the cameras and irregularly disciplines employees for not doing their jobs if/when they believe that's the case. Inane disciplines like the candy wrapper happen, for good reason (and sometimes not-so-good). Everybody below a certain rung of power is completely kept in the dark. Any instances where a superior gets wind of someone below them shopping around for new jobs is met with a face-to-face meeting with that employee. Most forms of discipline occur with a reminder that your job is not etched in stone, but written in sand if you continue your current practices. Pervasive fear of getting fired is common.

Etc.

It sounds restrictive, and it is. But there are some good reasons for the company to operate that way (for instance, the Chiefs is probably spy-proof). Some of the reasons are just paranoia and power-tripping, which is of course the nature of the game.

I believe every word of the article.

The truth is, we want our good ol' Kansas City Chiefs to be run like a mom-and-pop store. In some ways, like PR and employee satisfaction, that's certainly preferable. But the way the Chiefs run their show now is similar to a lot of large corporations who do this routinely for competitive advantage.

Combine Clark's management style with Pioli's Patriot Way and this is what you get. It's logical that there's going to be a shit ton of turnover and people put in really shitty situations because for decades, the Chiefs were run completely differently.

I'm not excusing it, just explaining it.

Spot on, Direckshun.

[DRU]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Media outlets try to sensationalize pieces by offering one story, misrepresenting quotes, or by offering a ton about the cons and less about the pros.

That's a direct quote that would lead one to believe you agree with my opinion on this whole thing. See how easy that was?

[The Bad Guy]

You also can't preach accountability to the ticket office manager, but then give the quarterback a constant pass because of one good stretch he had in 2010 against inferior opponents.

If this was consistent, and heads rolled for poor performance on the field, I'd be behind this.

It doesn't happen that way with this team, at all.