How IT specialists revolutionized construction
Back in pre-Covid times, I worked in the IT subsidiary of a large construction company. We developed an experimental system for managing the finishing of apartment buildings.
We assembled a strong team that worked for almost 2 years. It turned out that the owners of the parent company and the management of the subsidiary had different views on the future of the product (or rather, on the shares in it). Our management decided to leave the project and lured key employees to a new one. This is how the story of our own startup began.
From the very beginning we were promised that everything would be different in the new company. That we have a very cool team and this is our main value. That we will be our own masters, we will not have to serve the interests of one customer, we will analyze the experience of the previous system and “turn around” the construction site.
At first, the work really went briskly. The team was already well-coordinated and had expertise, everyone participated in product development. We launched a test of our system at the first sites. We were promised stable growth, a social package, and even a one-time salary increase. True, this happened after one of the leading developers came with an offer from another place.
But then something went wrong. With the beginning of the SVO, prices for building materials increased significantly, and the company’s management “humanly” came to us with a request: to temporarily cut salaries in half in order to cope with the uncertainty. They promised to return everything in the future. The team trusted and agreed.
After a month, some people were already thinking about quitting. My surprise was great when I learned that these people were returned to their previous salary level before others and without the knowledge of the team! The management quietly decided that they needed it most. Although everyone’s salary was restored after 2 months, the debt remained, and no repayment deadline was given to us.
Every month we had financial meetings where we looked at our main indicators (burn rate, retention and other startup buzzwords). The further they went, the more these meetings became like attempts to put a good face on a bad game.
In September, the founders, who had been telling us all summer that we would soon take over the market, came to us with the news: we would be laying off half of the team.
Moreover, they again wanted to do this quietly, talking to everyone one by one and without even fulfilling the minimum requirements of the Labor Code. They even brazenly tried to assure that they do everything in accordance with the code:
The dismissed colleagues then contacted the trade union and were able to achieve a legal reduction in payments. However, there were also those who decided to do nothing and simply left, agreeing to the “offer” of paying one salary instead of three. Tension grew among the rest of the team. Wages were not paid.
By November, the team formulated general demands: debt repayment and wage indexation. Developers who came after the start, but have worked for more than a year and have grown in skills, have never had their salaries increased at all.
We agreed to act collectively, because many already had experience communicating with their superiors individually and people realized that nothing could be achieved this way. Our CEO didn't like this very much. He was indignant that we piled on him with the whole crowd, but he prefers to talk “as equals.” True, for some reason such conversations were always in his favor. They even called us terrorists.
After we came with general requirements for the founders, parts of the team increased their salaries. They also promised to repay the debt, but they assured us that this had nothing to do with them, that we were waiting for new investments that were about to come.
After partially fulfilling our demands, part of the team lost their passion and decided that if they managed to achieve at least something, this was already a success. I don’t know if this tactic was intentional by the authorities, but it worked well. This is where the story of the collective struggle for our rights ended.
They finally returned the debt to us in February, even though we had been demanding it for almost a year. But the management's tricks didn't end there. Our sales weren’t going well, and investors weren’t showering us with gold either. We even had an internal meme, born after one of the financial meetings, where we were promised a “golden shower” from investors.
My patience ran out when we were offered to switch to working as individual entrepreneurs. It looked especially beautiful after the story with the cuts. At this point, I packed my things and left. And in the future, according to information from former colleagues, the company faced more layoffs and constant reworkings. So I think my decision was right.
conclusions
No matter how much they tell you that your business is one big family, that you have such a cool team and this is the main value, in fact, the main value for the founders is maintaining the business by any means and making a profit.
Do not willingly agree to infringement of your interests. The employer will never do this himself and will not appreciate your gesture.
You can only achieve something from management through collective action. One by one they will feed you breakfast, persuade you and tell you that the right moment has not yet come. It is important to maintain unity and not deviate from the intended plan, otherwise your weakness will definitely be taken advantage of.
