[altius]

These rules are ridiculus and infringe on person's rights! It seems the CEO/Sr Execs are prisoners of the companies they are supposed to run.

[Jeroen]

There are other Company rules that might not be so well known, but make a lot of sense or not depending on your perspective/values/beliefs.

Here's a few a picked up over the years from various companies

- Never have more then a few key employees travel together on any flight. I.e. spread the risk, in case of delays, accidents.
- Never book hotel rooms above 4th floor (Statistically speaking, in case of a fire, escaping from the the 4th floor is doable. Above the 4th floor you're doomed in case of a big fire!
- All company cars are to be equipped with first aid kits and fire extinguishers. In some European countries this might be law, but some companies enforce it on their own irrespective of local laws.
- After a flight spanning more than 6 hours time difference, a mandatory day of rest before going to internal and or customer meetings.

Probably more an American thing; but I know numerous companies who will simply not allow their CEO or other key personnel to fly commercially. They have to use the company jet. These sort of rules are set by the board of governors and directors. Loosing a CEO or CFO could have a massive impact on a company, just on the share price alone.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by altius

These rules are ridiculus and infringe on person's rights! It seems the CEO/Sr Execs are prisoners of the companies they are supposed to run.

Infringement of personal rights!?
It will be interesting to see if any CEO/Senior Exec. have really felt so and quit the job.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

There are other Company rules that might not be so well known, but make a lot of sense or not depending on your perspective/values/beliefs.

Here's a few a picked up over the years from various companies

- Never have more then a few key employees travel together on any flight. I.e. spread the risk, in case of delays, accidents.
- Never book hotel rooms above 4th floor (Statistically speaking, in case of a fire, escaping from the the 4th floor is doable. Above the 4th floor you're doomed in case of a big fire!
- All company cars are to be equipped with first aid kits and fire extinguishers. In some European countries this might be law, but some companies enforce it on their own irrespective of local laws.
- After a flight spanning more than 6 hours time difference, a mandatory day of rest before going to internal and or customer meetings.

My previous employer was pretty strict on the first and last points you mentioned.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Infringement of personal rights!?
It will be interesting to see if any CEO/Senior Exec. have really felt so and quit the job.

No it is not, or at least it should not be an infringement of personal rights. Its part of your contract, or it should be. You know what you're letting yourself into. You don't become CEO without understanding this sort of arrangements.

So you know what you're signing up for up front. Nobody is putting a gun to your head. You understand the total package up front. If not, you shouldn't be the CEO or key executive anyway. Not much use crying over spilled milk for these position. There are no safety nets, it's all up to you, period!

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

Hi,
Wondered about this for a long time. I mean not the restrictions, but the uncanny similarity across companies. Points to a common source. As others are saying, most probably the insurance companies.

Two other similarities which caught my attention.
a) Two companies who had nothing in common (except expat country heads), both chose the Safari. (This was of course before there was a profusion of vehicles to choose from in India. The country heads were not valuable enough for a Mercedes I guess!)
b) That the people concerned took the 'you will be sacked otherwise' at face value, and without rancour. (I don't think the 'Indian gene' can accept this.)

Regards
Sutripta

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

- Never have more then a few key employees travel together on any flight. I.e. spread the risk, in case of delays, accidents.

Any idea how sports teams travel? With multi mlillion dollars riding on them, even they should be following the same.
IIRC many years back an African country lost it's entire football team in an air crash.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Daewood

Any idea how sports teams travel? With multi mlillion dollars riding on them, even they should be following the same.
IIRC many years back an African country lost it's entire football team in an air crash.

Yes, not a very good practice. And there are actually a few more examples of sports team perishing in crashes. (And having to eat team members as I recall, to stay alive). So all the more important to spread the team out.

My team has to be participating in a meeting in a Rome in a few weeks. We're spreading ourselves out over four/five different flights. It does mean that some will be arriving late and other leaving late. So I tell them, book asap. you get a better price and you might get the slots that are the most convenient.

If you wait to long, ticket prices go up, and there are less flight available because there are already the maximum number of colleagues traveling on that flight.

Jeroen

[KiloAlpha]

As some people mentioned in previous posts, the restrictions could have been placed by insurance companies, to lower the risk of payout.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpora...life_insurance for reference.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Something i quite liked, done by Vodafone:

Employees can lose their job if they are caught breaking the more serious rules (eg. DUI or lack of seat-belt when driving). This also extends beyond work hours!


cya
R

I for one, can say the Vodafone is pretty strict when it comes to employees obeying rules. My friend, who was working "on-site" in the Vodafone Hyderabad office, was asked to leave when he entered the campus in his bike without a helmet. They even went to the extent of denying him entrance thereafter, even after repeated requests from his company heads. Finally they had to move him to Chennai and replace him with another person in Hyderabad. It sounded real extreme to me, but then I was made to understand that Vodafone works that way.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by altius

These rules are ridiculus and infringe on person's rights! It seems the CEO/Sr Execs are prisoners of the companies they are supposed to run.

Well, unless you are in the hot seat, you won't be able to understand.

In our tiny company, we too have an unwritten rule. My business partner and I do not:

1) Fly together.
2) Drive long distance in car together.

The second rule gets relaxed in US roads since emergency medical services are much better and cars are much safer. It is a question of practicality. One of us have to survive in order for company to continue.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by jayded

It sounded real extreme to me, but then I was made to understand that Vodafone works that way.

One of my friends works in Vodafone Chennai and she just told me that this is how they work. Not just helmets, I was told if they are not wearing seatbelts when driving their own cars or when in a cab they can get fired !

Now that someone was relocated as he failed to wear the helmets it seems Vodafone means business! How I wish other companies followed it too, I still see so many on bangalore roads not wearing seatbelts

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

No it is not, or at least it should not be an infringement of personal rights. Its part of your contract, or it should be. You know what you're letting yourself into. You don't become CEO without understanding this sort of arrangements.

So you know what you're signing up for up front. Nobody is putting a gun to your head. You understand the total package up front. If not, you shouldn't be the CEO or key executive anyway. Not much use crying over spilled milk for these position. There are no safety nets, it's all up to you, period!
Jeroen

Exactly my point. They will be fully aware of the security net and the related restrictions when they accept the position. And I am sure majority of them will be appreciative of such measures taken by the organization. In the end, it’s a personal choice. I have an ex-colleague who refused a promotion (to a senior exec. level) because he did not like the idea of having a security cover following him in every country he visit (even for personal travel). But his case probably is more of an exception.

[SDP]

Some of the rules are just ridiculous. Why don't they just wrap their precious little executives in bubble-wrap and stick a 'Fragile' sticker on them?

On a more serious note, safety on road is everybody's concern and its nice to hear that companies care for their executives (for whatever reason). Would have preferred if many of these 'rules' would have been 'guidelines' though!

[braindead]

Originally Posted by SDP

Some of the rules are just ridiculous. Why don't they just wrap their precious little executives in bubble-wrap and stick a 'Fragile' sticker on them?

We are just talking cars and travel here.
I find some of the regulations too extreme, especially when we put them all together. I doubt they will be allowed to pop out for a chai and maska-pav if they feel like it.

Living in a cocoon like this is surely going to distort ones perspective of reality after a while. I am not sure its a good thing, especially when their decisions have such sweeping effects.

Dare I say living like this for a few years will breed narcissism?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by SDP

Some of the rules are just ridiculous. Why don't they just wrap their precious little executives in bubble-wrap and stick a 'Fragile' sticker on them?

I understand it is very difficult to appreciate these rules. For us, it happened when we were at the verge of winning a major contract a decade ago.

And the client said: I understand you are a very small company. But this is a major contract, lots of revenue rides on this. What happens if you get hit by a truck one day? Will your company continue to handle the contract or vanish into thin air?

That's when we made up the rule. Not only to assure the client, but to ensure company and the employee don't get left in the lurch. Any top executive who doesn't understand this, has no business being a top executive. They should always try to reduce risk, and also spread the risk. Never put it all in one basket.