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AFAIK, they haven't said Raleigh would have any layoffs, though there was some mention that the layoff total would include when they "expected 800 in the Raleigh HQ but only had ~620".
layoffs would be because of sales, not because the developers were in open offices, and they need to convert and lose 20-30 people for the extra sqft.
Whenever a real estate agent forms opinions about what creates successful software releases, their theories are sure to involve square footage...perhaps the curtains and carpet could be involved too?
Noisy, distraction-plagued environments affect both quality of software and timeliness of releases in Every.Single.Case I've ever witnessed. An environment that wasn't designed for concentration and focus led to problems delivering quality on time, and my opinion is shared by almost every developer I've ever worked with, or has been employed by me. This is one reason I like my developers to work from home, so they are not subject to environmental conditions they cannot control, and if they are dealing with distractions it can be dealt with in a way that works best for them.
So yes, poor design of working environment has a direct negative impact on sales, thus a software company's ability to survive. Salespeople exiting the company would be the first symptom of something like this. I'm not saying its the only reason for the layoffs, but I can guarantee you if they have developers working in open environments, its a huge contributor to the sales problem.
In a software company, everyones job kind of revolves around the obstacles (or enablers) the development teams face. Everyone's job, including the CEO is dependent on removing obstacles to producing good software, and if that isn't happening, developers are usually the last to go and sales folks are the first.
YES! The same is true for anyone whose tasks include writing anything (such as instructional designers or tech writers). I was once placed in a spot that allowed me head-on eye contact with anyone entering or leaving the building. I felt like a receptionist. Dozens of people greeted me all day. It was nuts. After using objects (books, plants, anything) to build a "wall" on the desk between me and them, I was moved and sat in a classroom. Sharing space with an ongoing class was less distracting!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubelru
Whenever a real estate agent forms opinions about what creates successful software releases, their theories are sure to involve square footage...perhaps the curtains and carpet could be involved too?
Noisy, distraction-plagued environments affect both quality of software and timeliness of releases in Every.Single.Case I've ever witnessed. An environment that wasn't designed for concentration and focus led to problems delivering quality on time, and my opinion is shared by almost every developer I've ever worked with, or has been employed by me. This is one reason I like my developers to work from home, so they are not subject to environmental conditions they cannot control, and if they are dealing with distractions it can be dealt with in a way that works best for them.
So yes, poor design of working environment has a direct negative impact on sales a software company's ability to survive. Salespeople exiting the company would be the first symptom of something like this. I'm not saying its the only reason for the layoffs, but I can guarantee you if they have developers working in open environments, its a huge contributor to the sales problem.
In a software company, everyones job kind of revolves around the obstacles (or enablers) the development teams face. Everyone's job, including the CEO is dependent on removing obstacles to producing good software, and if that isn't happening, developers are usually the last to go and sales folks are the first.
I feel sorry for the folks laid off by Citrix. That said, I was once employed by Nortel which had 13,500 employees and onsite contractors in or near RTP at the high water mark in 1999. Today that number is zero. Some of us retired, some found jobs with comparable pay in the Triangle, some left the Triangle, some took jobs in the Triangle with lower pay (some willingly, some not), and some left the job market altogether. In any event RTP and the Triangle survived.
CapitalBlvd is correct that for people who were making $75K per year or more, the employment insurance program in NC provides only about half the benefits that it did six years ago.
As for NC being a right-to-work state, we could debate that endlessly.
My friend who works in Citrix sales said a bunch of people got laid off yesterday.
It's more than sales that got affected. Marketing and other departments were hit as well, about 100 total. From the sketchy things I've heard, a lot of the cutbacks seemed to be based on seniority or rather lack thereof. Seeing that number being escorted out the door has got to be demoralizing for those left behind there, not that those let go aren't affected either, of course.
Given how Citrix shed off its GoTo sector a couple of years ago with no regrets, this is not encouraging to say the least.
Unemployment insurance can be altered especially considering 2020 will be a census / redistricting year. Conservatives drew maps in 2010 to the present that allowed them to enact a conservative wish list of legislation - lowering UI being among them. I highly doubt UI is big on the reasons to move one way or the other. This area will keep growing barring a huge altering event.
Unemployment insurance can be altered especially considering 2020 will be a census / redistricting year. Conservatives drew maps in 2010 to the present that allowed them to enact a conservative wish list of legislation - lowering UI being among them. I highly doubt UI is big on the reasons to move one way or the other. This area will keep growing barring a huge altering event.
Whenever a real estate agent forms opinions about what creates successful software releases, their theories are sure to involve square footage...perhaps the curtains and carpet could be involved too?
Noisy, distraction-plagued environments affect both quality of software and timeliness of releases in Every.Single.Case I've ever witnessed. An environment that wasn't designed for concentration and focus led to problems delivering quality on time, and my opinion is shared by almost every developer I've ever worked with, or has been employed by me. This is one reason I like my developers to work from home, so they are not subject to environmental conditions they cannot control, and if they are dealing with distractions it can be dealt with in a way that works best for them.
So yes, poor design of working environment has a direct negative impact on sales, thus a software company's ability to survive. Salespeople exiting the company would be the first symptom of something like this. I'm not saying its the only reason for the layoffs, but I can guarantee you if they have developers working in open environments, its a huge contributor to the sales problem.
In a software company, everyones job kind of revolves around the obstacles (or enablers) the development teams face. Everyone's job, including the CEO is dependent on removing obstacles to producing good software, and if that isn't happening, developers are usually the last to go and sales folks are the first.
you misunderstood me, but I can see how my post could have been unclear.
I know that the sales people are/were in open office environments. I've seen quiet spaces for developers, though it's even more true that I wouldn't know the difference between a developer and a network admin.
They would be laying off sales people first. They wouldn't be laying off developers because changing from open office (say 20 people per 1,000 sqft) to individual spaces (say 10 people per 1,000 sqft) required them to reduce the developer workforce for the space allotted.
In other words, they wouldn't say "well, we had 20 developers in this open office, but when we convert the space it'll only hold 12. So, 8 developers get laid off."
you misunderstood me, but I can see how my post could have been unclear.
I know that the sales people are/were in open office environments. I've seen quiet spaces for developers, though it's even more true that I wouldn't know the difference between a developer and a network admin.
They would be laying off sales people first. They wouldn't be laying off developers because changing from open office (say 20 people per 1,000 sqft) to individual spaces (say 10 people per 1,000 sqft) required them to reduce the developer workforce for the space allotted.
In other words, they wouldn't say "well, we had 20 developers in this open office, but when we convert the space it'll only hold 12. So, 8 developers get laid off."
You're right, I misunderstood your earlier point, but I still think we're not quite on the same page with each other.
I was trying to convey that the open office plan could not have possibly contributed positively to the success of the company *if* they are putting folks with job roles that involve detail focus and concentration into open areas without cube walls.
This is because poor focus means poor quality, and poor quality means unsatisfied customers, and unsatisfied customers will eventually translate into less units (or software licenses) sold. That's independent of the actual sales pipeline strategy, whether it's actual people on the phone making sales or online-only sales that are driven by ad campaigns.
This is what I meant about sqft not having anything to do with it, I got the impression you thought I was asserting that the layoffs had something to do with the allocation of physical space and how many people could reasonably fit in a space of a particular size, and I wasn't. In fact, sales people are good candidates for remote work if they are mostly making phone calls all day or traveling. I do agree that maximizing use of space is usually related to the reasons an open office layout is chosen in the first place, just that people per foot doesn't matter as much as the lack of walls between those people to dampen noise and provide privacy for focused work.
I should also say that I have no idea if their developer spaces were open and cubicle-less, for all I know they might have had well-planned workspaces for developers. But per the pics in the thread referenced in my first post in this thread, it appeared to my eyes like one of those cases where HR had convinced the bean counters that they needed a redesigned "modern" work environment to attract younger workers (who are attracted to shiny things and not yet experienced enough to realize the perils of open office plans), or perhaps (and this is more related to your point) a decision was made based on maximizing use of space in a relatively expensive downtown office location.
It's gotten so bad, and so many open floor plans have been implemented in recent years, that I'm starting to wonder if we are headed for another dot-bomb sort of crash situation. Systemic trends like this that negatively impact the ability to produce quality product, particularly ones like this which seem to go unnoticed for so long, are extremely dangerous to a healthy economy. I've seen multiple companies (not necessarily locally) that seemed to be doing well start to head downhill within a few months of implementing open floor plans, all because they want a chic downtown location with expensive space to lure millennial and to keep an eye on them.
The ironic thing is, it has a fairly simple solution: install high-walled cubicles for focused job roles. But for those who already locked themselves into an expensive location, this could be problematic if not remedied before the symptoms start to appear.
By the time the employee starts complaining they aren't able to get anything done amidst the chaos, significant damage has already been done. The companies that wait to hear the squeak of the wheel before fixing this probably won't last.
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