CHAPTER 1
The lunch had gone well right up to the time when Leslie's competitor and close friend started discussing "creative dismissal", a practice in vogue with Senior Management for getting rid of higher paid Branch Managers.
At that point Leslie lost his appetite. Brad, his lunch mate was only trying to forewarn him based on recent experiences his fellow Managers in the CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) had been put through.
It was a typical midweek lunch meeting between two Branch Managers of competing Financial Institutions on the one hand CIBC, a federally chartered Bank and on the other a provincially chartered Caisse Populaire which is basically a Credit Union with Members. Both companies compete for the same business and normally competitors don't associate with each other. But in this case, both Leslie and Brad had met long ago at Chamber of Commerce luncheon meetings. What had started out as casual conversation at the food counter had eventually became a friendship based on mutual respect.
On this particular day, they had met for lunch at a popular Eatery operated by none other than the Mayor of North Bay, Mr. Kevin Ghattas, one of Leslie's client's at the Caisse Populaire.
Mayor Ghattas came over to their table as soon as they arrived and said: "Well, well, the two worst Bank Managers in North Bay are gracing my humble restaurant."
I winked at my friend and said:" You know Kevin, us two guys are pretty popular in town. Pretty high profile. We're actually thinking one of us should challenge you in the next election for that prestigious Mayor's job of yours...."
We saw him lose his composure for a nanosecond and then we all started to laugh at the same time.
"You guys, go and eat and leave me alone.... Hahaha! ..."
After we sat down with our plates filled to overflowing, Brad all of a sudden got serious. He said: "I like you Les, but I think I want to bring you up to speed on some information I received recently. You're kind of on a roll right now aren't you?"
"Where are you going with this?" I said ...
"Well, we all know you can be a hero today and the asshole of the Bank tomorrow, right?"
I said: "Well, yes to a certain extent, but if you cover your ass and work hard and get the results, why worry?"
Brad said: "I've got a buddy down in Toronto, works in a Branch on University Avenue. Always got great results, for over twenty years. Last year, he had been in the Bank in one capacity or another for 24 years and he didn't quite make his targets in volume and profit for his last fiscal year. First time in those twenty years at that Branch."
He continued: "One morning he showed up for work a half hour late, he'd stopped at a client's business to get some paperwork signed. When he got to the Branch the Head Office suits were sitting in his office. He wasn't ready for the trip they laid on him. They have this down to a science these HR goons. They blindside you saying you are not performing up to our expectations or the Bank has decided in our restructuring phase now in progress that your Managerial Level is not required in this market or we are prepared to offer you a desk job in Vancouver Head Office in the Credit Department (the only position currently open with your background or training) or we can offer you this exit package."
"So he freaked. You can imagine the thoughts exploding in his brain at this point. You know? What about my 15 year old daughter in high school, getting ready for college? How do I explain this to my wife Eleanor, we never ever thought my job wasn't safe? How do I explain this to my parents, her parents, my Bank customers?
So they slide this piece of crap offer to buy him out for X dollars if he just leaves quietly. At first glance it appears generous, but it is far short of what he should really receive based on years of service, profitability he made for the Bank and its shareholders. But he's so freaked out he grabs the pen and signs it. At that point he was screwed. He could have negotiated at least double if not triple their original offer if he'd refused to sign their deal and got a decent Labour Relations Lawyer."
At this point I started to find I'd lost my appetite.
"Why are you telling me all this?" I said.
"Because, Leslie, I'm almost in exactly the same situation as my buddy. Doing great now for close to twenty years. But after his deal, I am going to keep copies of all my PA's off site at home or in my safety deposit box. I'm also going to keep notes of every conversation I have with these Head Office HR dickheads. I don't trust any one of them."
I said: "Well I don't know. Last month the Mayor wrote a letter to our Ontario Senior Vice-President and said to him don't ever transfer Swartman out of North Bay. We love this guy, we want him to be the Manager of that Caisse Populaire Branch until he's ready to retire.
The VP wrote him back and said the usual stuff, we are very pleased you are happy with our man on the job. Then he said we will keep him there into his Golden Years ... I can show you the memo, man."
"Doesn't mean dick-all" said Brad.
"What do you mean by that?"
"C'mon Les. These VP's come and go every couple of years. His promises or undertakings aren't grandfathered into his replacement!
Get a grip! If you can't see the benefit of what I'm saying, for God's sake at least start copying your PA's and letters like that from your VP and squirreling them off site. Anything that says you're doing a good job, stuff in the newspaper, your participation in the Chamber of Commerce, anything that is positive stuff."
"OK ,OK". I said. "Maybe you're right. A little covering your ass doesn't hurt even if you're on a roll considering your chum's story.
Maybe next year will be a flop, who knows?"
"Exactly man...."
We wrapped up our meeting and I went back to the Branch with the first time in a long time a really uneasy feeling in my gut. I would start to watch for the signs of "Creative Dismissal". This is when the Head office honchos paint a target on your back and decide to make your life miserable to the extent that you will quit and spare them the need to "package you off". I knew all about it. I had done it with non-performing employees myself. There were no Unions in the Bank so they couldn't complain to their shop steward and we had a graduated system to eliminate substandard performers.
Little did I know the events to unfold in the next decade or so that made my lunch with Brad from the CIBC the best one hour I ever spent with a "friendly competitor."
CHAPTER 2
Back in the Branch I was thinking a lot about the conversation I'd had and the fact that Unions were taboo in the Canadian Banking System. I recalled a conversation I had on this very subject with a buddy of mine in Ottawa that worked at a Branch of BMO (Bank of Montreal) in Ottawa: It went something like this:
"Marcel, has there ever been a branch try to Unionize in BMO?
Marcel said: "Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Down in the town of Bon Appetite, Quebec. "There was this Assistant Accountant in that Branch. He thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. Only he was only OK, not the big deal he thought he was. Anyway, he keeps getting passed over for the promotion to Accountant job. After a couple years he gets upset about his lack of promotions and started talking to a Union rep in town who puts the bug in his ear to get the Branch...
