Yesterday, I went to a retirement office party. Nothing special – cake, bad punch, obligatory cane with tassel and horn.
The party was for a guy named Mike. Here was my exact conversation with Mike’s boss, a friend of mind:
Me: “What does Mike do?” (Me making small talk)
My Buddy: “I don’t know.” (Only half kidding)
Me: “Are you going to replace him?” (me trying to drum up business)
My Buddy: “Probably not.”
Me: “How long has he worked here?”
My Buddy: “33 years.”
Me: “33 years and you don’t need to replace him?”
My Buddy: “We had an intern last summer who did his job while he took an extended vacation to Europe – and did it better.”
Me: “How much do you pay him?
My Buddy: “$53K.”
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Me: “Seriously – what does he do?!” (Me now getting annoyed at all of this.)
My Buddy: “Mike got hired 33 years ago because his uncle was the General Manager. He hired Mike as a favor to Mike’s Mom. Mike is suppose to handle client problems.”
Me: “How does he do?”
My Buddy: “We don’t have client problems – ever. Our Account Managers take care of any problems that crop up, which are normally very minimal. Mike is the next level in case those don’t get resolved. I can’t remember the last time Mike had an actual conversation with a client.”
Me: “Do you realize you’ve paid Mike over a million dollars in his career here!”
My Buddy: “Yeah – I consider it the most expensive hire we ever made.”
Do you have a Mike working for you?
This was originally published on Tim Sackett’s blog, The Tim Sackett Project.
Maybe he has people skills? http://youtu.be/RAY27NU1Jog
LOL! The perpetual “keeping’ of poor employees. You’d think companies had money to burn.
An example demonstrating exactly why the concept of the passive candidate being the best of the best is so flawed. A complacent, unproductive “fixture” in the organization, adding minimal value, yet allowed to collect a paycheck for three decades +. From the outside, he probably looks loyal, dedicated and stable producer for having so much career longevity with the same employer. ~Kelly B @TalentTalks