transatlantic meetings to the executive committee :
attached is a note that has been sent to our managers regarding off - site and team - building meetings . my impression is that our commendable efforts to build transatlantic synergies are resulting in too many get - togethers that require substantial travel . our challenge is that such gatherings are far more costly and time - consuming for us to attend than our houston colleagues might realize . often , participating in these meetings takes an entire week for enron europe employees ( especially if they are outside of texas ) . naturally , they may feel that this time of year ( prc time ) is exactly the wrong time from a career perspective to miss this kind of gathering .
these off - sites are sometimes scheduled at the end of a quarter , which compounds the difficulty ; worse still are the times they occur at the end of q 2 , since it also coincides and conflicts with the prc process .
i would appreciate your efforts to remind your managers to consider the travel time and costs ( both direct and indirect ) when inviting international employees to off - site meetings in the us . we appreciate the chance to be included in the broader enron initiatives and to share ideas across organizations , but we are really trying to reinforce the message about managing expenses .
thanks !
john sherriff
( letter sent to all enron europe vps and direct reports )
we still have issues regarding offsites and ' team building ' exercises . in particular , we have recently had examples of departments failing to inform other key work groups when workplace absences are pending .
in order to avoid misunderstandings , and to increase transparency , the following will apply with immediate effect :
any offsite or ' team building ' exercise which any group ( both commercial and non - commercial , and including john and myself ) intends to undertake must be communicated , in advance , to all department heads . issue to be identified include : all participants who will out of the office , total costs of the exercise ; and , where appropriate , work load coverage details .
john and i are very supportive of team building exercises but we much prefer that they be conducted in the evenings or at weekends . to the extent that is not possible , we must absolutely avoid quarter ends and ensure all work is appropriately covered .
trips to houston and especially resorts in the us are far more difficult to justify based on the substantial travel time and costs involved . so please pay particular attention to optimising our transatlantic travel .
please communicate this policy to your staff .
michael brown
transatlantic meetings
to the executive committee :
attached is a note that has been sent to our managers regarding off - site and team - building meetings . my impression is that our commendable efforts to build transatlantic synergies are resulting in too many get - togethers that require substantial travel . our challenge is that such gatherings are far more costly and time - consuming for us to attend than our houston colleagues might realize . often , participating in these meetings takes an entire week for enron europe employees ( especially if they are outside of texas ) . naturally , they may feel that this time of year ( prc time ) is exactly the wrong time from a career perspective to miss this kind of gathering .
these off - sites are sometimes scheduled at the end of a quarter , which compounds the difficulty ; worse still are the times they occur at the end of q 2 , since it also coincides and conflicts with the prc process .
i would appreciate your efforts to remind your managers to consider the travel time and costs ( both direct and indirect ) when inviting international employees to off - site meetings in the us . we appreciate the chance to be included in the broader enron initiatives and to share ideas across organizations , but we are really trying to reinforce the message about managing expenses .
thanks !
john sherriff
( letter sent to all enron europe vps and direct reports )
we still have issues regarding offsites and ' team building ' exercises . in particular , we have recently had examples of departments failing to inform other key work groups when workplace absences are pending .
in order to avoid misunderstandings , and to increase transparency , the following will apply with immediate effect :
any offsite or ' team building ' exercise which any group ( both commercial and non - commercial , and including john and myself ) intends to undertake must be communicated , in advance , to all department heads . issue to be identified include : all participants who will out of the office , total costs of the exercise ; and , where appropriate , work load coverage details .
john and i are very supportive of team building exercises but we much prefer that they be conducted in the evenings or at weekends . to the extent that is not possible , we must absolutely avoid quarter ends and ensure all work is appropriately covered .
trips to houston and especially resorts in the us are far more difficult to justify based on the substantial travel time and costs involved . so please pay particular attention to optimising our transatlantic travel .
please communicate this policy to your staff .
michael brown