Derek walked into the building, surrounded by his best team members and his father. He knew they made an intimidating sight and he enjoyed the looks on the staff members faces as they walked down the hallway.
They approached security. That had been the first change he’d made. He always put in his own security team, immediately. He didn’t want the previous owners stepping foot back in the buildings after he took them over.
“Good morning, Mr. Titan, it’s good to see you,” the guard greeted them.
“Hello Tim, how are things going here?” he asked.
“Everything has been mellow the last few days. Mr. Freeman tried to come in the day after the take-over but was escorted out and hasn’t been back since,” the man reported.
“I’ve had new badges created and no one enters without one of them. All employees who are kept will receive their badge before they leave today. There will be a lot of people let go and I don’t need them sneaking back in and causing trouble. I also want several security personnel up on the twenty-fifth floor to escort people down as they’re let go. Today, unfortunately isn’t going to be a pleasant one.”
“No problem Mr. Titan, I will send them up right away,” he answered.
“Here’s your new badge and some for your men. Some workers will be in over the next few days setting up key pads for all the elevators and exits. Here’s the list of men who will be here doing the work. These men and only these men are allowed in. If their company tries to send over replacements call me and I’ll let you know if they’re approved or not,” he finished.
“Okay boss,” Tim replied, then set to work making phone calls.
Derek spent the first part of the morning exploring the huge building. The most time was spent down on the bottom floors, assessing the factory and its workers. They were eyeing him with trepidation and he knew his father was right; he needed to speak with them soon. The work was going slow and he noticed obvious mistakes being made. He knew a lot of that had to do with their lack of enthusiasm for underpaid work and part of it had to do with the fact they were so unsure of their futures.
He decided to call a meeting right away. It wasn’t the employees’ fault that the previous owner was a horrible man. Derek knew their attitudes would change, once they knew the changes he was making.
He spoke to his men, who went in search of the foreman on each floor. It only took about thirty minutes and he had all the factory workers assembled. He looked out at the massive crowd. There were about five-hundred faces looking up at him with fear. The job market was already terrible and all the people were in fear of joining the ranks of the unemployed.
He stood at the make-shift podium and grabbed the microphone. “My name is Derek Titan and I’m the new owner of this corporation. First, I want to assure you all we’re keeping this company open,” he started. He heard several people release the breaths they were holding. He also saw many in the crowd visibly relax.
“There will be some changes made but I think you’ll like what we have in mind. It will benefit every one of you. I’ve looked through the financial records and you’ve been woefully underpaid and not offered benefits. You’ll receive a ten percent wage increase and offered health insurance. By the end of the day you’ll receive paperwork showing the changes. You’ll have to go through a background check to continue working here but you’ll see things are going to be much better,” he continued talking.
He was now seeing smiles in the audience and some with their mouths gaped open. He had to fight his own smile from spreading across his face. He needed to appear confident and in charge. He couldn’t appear to be a friend. The boss had to be respected, not necessarily liked.
“If you work hard for me and meet production deadlines you'll be rewarded. I want to turn this company around, into what it should be. You make quality products here, so let’s be a quality company as well. I want investors to walk through these stations and see happy employee’s, doing an above quality job. The better you do, the more bonuses you'll get. We will be setting up some HR representatives down here in the offices and bringing each of you in over the next few days to sign paperwork. This is a new corporation and if you do choose to leave we'll offer you a severance package. If you have any questions, please wait until you’re called in so we can move things along quickly,” he finished.
“Please return to work and your foremen will be calling you in over the next few days. I need all the supervisors to please meet me over here,” he concluded.
He explained what they'd be doing in more detail to the supervisors, then made his way up to the executive offices. There weren’t many people around. He saw a few secretaries, who glanced wearily at him as he passed but not many others.