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Culture Crash

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1. Blame the ‘TaliBain’

2. Is It Still Intel Inside?
Intel’s track record of success over roughly 40 years has been attributed in part to its system of beliefs. Company officials say the Intel way continues to thrive—and point to a financial rebound in 2007 as well as product innovation. But two years ago, Intel came under fire from authors who claim the company’s culture has deteriorated. That point is echoed by some ex-employees who were laid off or left Intel during its major corporate overhaul of the past 20 months.

3. Restructuring 101
Despite decades of calls for leaders to act ‘strategically’ with respect to the workforce, most companies still lack consistent and logical methods for making the best choices during a restructuring. Experts say Intel has done some things right, but not everything.

4. Spurned by Intel, Leadership Experts Launch Their Own Firm
Two Intel training veterans found numerous business unit leaders in the company who were interested in their cross-cultural leadership evaluation tool, but couldn’t elicit the interest of top HR leadership.

Blame the ‘TaliBain’

Critics of Intel’s reorganization say a consultant’s unyielding benchmarks guided program and job cuts. The rigid adherence to rules earned the consultancy an unflattering nickname.
By Ed Frauenheim

ritics of Intel’s reorganization say the company relied too heavily on an outside consulting firm, which reportedly was Boston-based Bain & Co. And the degree to which Bain’s benchmark figures were treated as gospel in chopping people and programs led employees to jokingly call the company’s consultants the "TaliBain," critics say.

Richard Taylor, Intel vice president and co-leader of the firm’s human resources department, declined to comment on whether Intel hired Bain for the restructuring. But he rejects the idea that a consultant’s benchmarking numbers determined the restructuring decisions. Taylor, who was the leader of one of the five teams behind Intel’s overall restructuring, said company executives were careful to focus on overall efficiency, effectiveness and strategies in crafting the changes.

A Bain representative did not return calls seeking comment.

Intel over the past 20 months has revamped operations and shrunk itself. Done in the face of falling revenue and market share, the overhaul aims to make Intel more agile and to save the company billions of dollars. Intel announced 10,500 job cuts from the 102,500 employees it had in mid-2006. And thanks to attrition and other activities, including the sale of business units, the company said its headcount would likely get down to 86,000 by the end of 2007.

Intel’s HR costs have been trimmed by nearly 40 percent. Taylor describes the number of HR jobs cut as "significant," but declined to specify the number. He says Intel’s department went from being among the top one-third in expenses per employee to the middle of the pack, according to industry benchmarks.

Workforce Management Online, January 2008 -- Register Now!

Ed Frauenheim is a Workforce Management staff writer based in San Francisco. E-mail editors@workforce.com to comment.

Next Article: 2. Is It Still Intel Inside?
Intel’s track record of success over roughly 40 years has been attributed in part to its system of beliefs. Company officials say the Intel way continues to thrive—and point to a financial rebound in 2007 as well as product innovation. But two years ago, Intel came under fire from authors who claim the company’s culture has deteriorated. That point is echoed by some ex-employees who were laid off or left Intel during its major corporate overhaul of the past 20 months.

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