Saturday, February 21, 2009

Why BKC is Doomed and Who is to Blame

Originally posted on the BKC Teacher's Forum

Post:

Recruiting is a tricky business, we all know. But just for everyone's edification let's look at what has happened to Recruitment in the last couple of years. Certain individuals were running the whole shop to rack and ruin, then they leave, as staff are wont to do. They are replaced by far more competent people who LISTEN to others and have realistic ideas on how to treat colleagues. And so for all the year that they are at the helm BKC is a much happier place to work and people are more or less satisfied with their lot. Then, like the eternal bad penny certain of the bad crew wriggle back into positions of authority and the rot starts up once more. The cooler minds are sidelined, passions flare and now we have this daft 'crisis' action plan that is threatening to rip the heart out of our jolly little school.

Well done Recruitment, hats off to a job well done. Endless praise to the individual architect of this collective suicide.

Next Post

BKC is breaking the law. Even in Russia, that's not allowed, and there is no excuse for it. A contract is a contract. It doesn't matter if [some people] think some of the teachers or EMT 'deserve' this maltreatment, it is still maltreatment... I've been here for more than just a few years and I've seen some nasty shit go down, a lot worse than not getting a smile. If wanting to know why I am being subjected to illegal measures is ruffling feathers, then I'm going to do a lot more of it - plucking may be a better term. Am I so bad in wanting to know how much I'm working for? And why should I do my job better ( for less pay ) when certain admin people are woefully bad at theirs?! When in fact, they have a history of mismanagement and crap communication skills.

I think you [all] need to re-assess your postion and get wise to the reality. Or maybe you enjoy being walked all over?

Last Post

There is nothing that anybody could call management in BKC. And the poor unfortunate souls in Boro never deal with anything, certainly not face to face. Sneaky, underhand bully-boy tactics are much more favoured. And no I'm not happy - gee how did you tell? Guess what asshole - neither are most of your colleagues.

Friday, February 13, 2009

An Open Letter to BKC Recruitment

Originally Posted on BKC Teacher's Forum

An open letter to Recruitment

Dear ladies,

I think it is clear to all and sundry that the whole issue of salary rates and contracts has been mishandled. Handled with all the finesse of a sledgehammer, one might say. Why this was so, is open to debate. Some say it is a cultural difference, some say it is down to the nature of the personalities in charge, while others simply do not have a rational explanation for the sheer scale of the amateurism displayed. So, if I may, let me, in all humility, enlighten you as to how such a delicate matter should have been dealt with.

First of all, more open communication and transparency would have been a good thing. A very simple, yet effective approach would have involved setting up a meeting, a crisis meeting if you will, and then informing staff of measures that needed to be taken. Just by telling teachers that because of the economic situation, BKC is not in a position to pay full salaries as stipulated in the contract - this would have cleared the air and prevented a lot of anger. Admitting that this was an extraordinary situation requiring extraordinary responses would not be a surprise to anybody.

Then, you could have offered anyone who was not happy with this situation an early, amicable termination of their contract, with pro-rata benefits etc. This would have the double advantage of empowering staff to make their own informed decisions, and allowed BKC to reduce staff in an honest, transparent way.

Next, regarding terminations, this should have been done in a transparent way too, with the rationale clear to all involved, e.g. last in first out or whatever.

Most importantly of all, if there had been a uniform position taken by all members of recruitment, a single party line, then there may have been some trust fostered. But there wasn't.

Having failed to do anything seen as even remotely fair, you have incurred the wrath of usually easy-going staff. Nobody likes it when contracts are torn up without consultation, and without regard to the law. Nobody will stay in a company where there is a secret hit-list that unfairly victimizes some members. Nobody will work without knowing what their rate of pay is, and nobody trusts a company that issues mixed signals about basic information like said rates, e.g. Bonderov says 32, Tatyana says 30.

I think if you had done things the way described above, there would not be so much ill-will and seething resentment now in our school. But the damage has been done, and there is little chance of it being healed. As for me, I believe that this is of no interest to the personalities in charge, as they simply want to thin out the staff numbers at any cost. Fair enough, but it will cost you far more than you think. Already the bad press from a few years ago is repeating itself on external forums. Your reputation is taking a nosedive. Nobody trusts a word you say anymore.
 
>