Personnel changes at Faithlife
Today we laid off a number of team members here at Faithlife.
Faithlife is not in financial trouble.
Faithlife is still a profitable business. We intend to be here, supporting you, for many years to come.
But as in every business, things change. It's the job of the company's leadership to see, and hopefully even anticipate, changes in the marketplace and then to make changes in the business. That's what's happened here, only at a larger scale than happens in the normal day-to-day of business.
The simplest explanation of what we're doing is 'restructuring for sustainability.' We make digital goods; our largest expenses are payroll and royalties, so when we have to move any of the levers in the business, payroll is at the top of the list. There's almost no other lever to move.
This is an internal process, and I think in most businesses it's something you wouldn't even know about, but after some of the recent forum threads I thought it would be best to communicate this change pro-actively.
You should see little difference from the customer side, though there may be a particular staff member you know by name who is no longer with the company.
I don't want to get too deep into our specific circumstances -- and in a company our size they are complicated and interconnected -- but I can assure you that nothing has changed about our plan (and our ability) to profitably remain in business and to serve you for years to come.
The changes today are part of the ongoing process to ensure that.
-- Bob
Comments
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Thanks for the communication, Bob.
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Bob, thank you for pro-actively making this announcement on the forums. [:)]
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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Bob Pritchett said:
You should see little difference from the customer side, though there may be a particular staff member you know by name who is no longer with the company.
While I hope my salesman that I deal with is still with the company. If I email him and he is no longer will the email be forwarded on to someone else or will it be lost in limbo?
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Email to individuals should be automatically forwarded, and emails to general aliases should continue to be monitored.
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Bob Pritchett said:
Email to individuals should be automatically forwarded, and emails to general aliases should continue to be monitored.
Thank You
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Appreciate the update on FL's business decisions, Bob. My prayers to those laid off.
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Thank you so much for the communication, Bob. I appreciate you and the Faithlife team.
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Thanks Bob for the update. We do understand the economic climate we find ourselves in these days. Just a suggestion, I would like to see more leverage with the sales staff - special deals, discounts based on size of purchases, throw in a free book, etc. It is difficult being in sales at any time and particularly today. If we think we will get a better deal working with a rep we will probably call or email. He/she can then address our questions and suggest other purchases or options. Otherwise we will usually just order what we want through the website. Both the company and the customer benefits by good rapport between the customer and the sales rep.
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Thanks Bob- and if any consolation to your employees I feel their pain- laid off as well- and I, like them, am making financial decisions today that effect all aspects of life- including FL- so like you I'll be making cuts as well.
Praying for them and their families that doors open quickly and the Lord sustains them during this time, its never easy during times of transition.
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good luck.
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Bob Pritchett said:
Today we laid off a number of team members here at Faithlife.
I am sure you had to give up some good employees and it was a tough decision. I know our prayers are for each who had to leave. We are grateful for their contributions.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Thanks so much for the communication Bob. You didn't have to do this but your transparency is appreciated. Even though it must be difficult for the family impacted by this it is good to hear that Faithlife is doing well and that you are positioning the company for long-term sustainability.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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That happened to me once and turned out to be the move that galvanized me on to even better things.
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Bob Pritchett said:
Today we laid off a number of team members here at Faithlife.
A few (laid-off employees) for the whole (Company/customers). I trusted they were duly warned and letters of references are prepared for each upon request. What a way to start a new year (2016)? I guess no time, is a good time, to be laid-off. Mainly, at the end of the day, bills have to be paid.
I will resist the temptation to ask for the details (how many, male/female, age, years with the company, title, etc.). However, I trust you had some principle guidelines to do, what you had to do. I wonder what are their chances of finding another job soon? Is there any chance that some could be recalled in the future? I hope each has The Logos Bible Software to use in between jobs (Hint: A parting gift, if they don’t have it). I feel their pain! Much prayers!
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If you work for any corporation regardless on what type it is,you run the risk of being laid off or the company going out. If you want to avoid that,start up your own business(although that has risks on its own)otherwise know that you could end up looking for another job.
Hope those who got laid off found other job or not in a financial jam where they can afford to take the time and look for one.
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On the other hand, I tried to someone who knew something about Verbum products and was told there was nobody around. I was looking for a knowledgeable sales rep to help with a Verbum purchase - no one was available and the sales rep I was speaking to told me knew nothing about that product line.
Blessings,
FloydPastor-Patrick.blogspot.com
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Thanks for the update and information. It is never fun to fire someone, and it is never fun to be fired. I am confident that all was done because it was necessary, and it was done in proper manner. I am praying for those who lost their employment, and I praying for Faith Life. Faith Life has been a blessing to me for years, and I trust its leadership.
"In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church," John Wesley0 -
Thanks Bob for reassuring
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I don't think anyone has posted this yet: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article53186915.html.
Mac Pro (late 2013) OS 12.6.2
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Very tough call to make. Thanks for the update.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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fgh said:
I don't think anyone has posted this yet: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article53186915.html.
Thanks for sharing....
The latest change is part of a plan for entering new growth areas that require a different business model, Pritchett said. This includes more subscription services to access a wide range of resources and information through tools like LogosCloud.com and ProclaimOnline.com. This business model means different capital and cash flow requirements, he said.
This seems rather ominous to me but will hope for the best and a still strong traditional Verbum / Logos development.-Dan0 -
Dan Francis said:
Pritchett said. This includes more subscription services to access a wide range of resources and information through tools like LogosCloud.com and ProclaimOnline.com. This business model means different capital and cash flow requirements, he said.
This seems rather ominous to me
Have I heard this before? More subscription services tools like LogosCloud.com and ProclaimOnline.com, does this sound like something I suggested last year sometimes about renting it all out or do a combination of ownership and rental? Check the threads and set me straight.
Better yet, Bob can define "more subscription services" in more detailed and concise language than I can at this point. I am in no way imposing upon the prerogatives of a CEO. Time is a revealer of truth and the removal of the string, "to let the cat out of the bag."
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Dan Francis said:
This seems rather ominous to me
Ominous? Makes me want to cue up some organ-in-a-castle music... :-)
Software businesses are moving to SaaS models, and I do see more of that in our future. It's not a threat to our current product lines, but our growth areas (Proclaim, Proclaim Pro Media, Logos Cloud, and even new things like Faithlife TV) will probably all be primarily subscription models. That takes more cash up front, and slows revenue down, but ultimately works out over time -- if people value the service.
Don't worry, though -- we (still!) don't want to do anything to mess with the wonderful relationship we have with existing customers who like the 'I bought it, it's mine' transaction model.
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Bob Pritchett said:
Don't worry, though -- we (still!) don't want to do anything to mess with the wonderful relationship we have with existing customers who like the 'I bought it, it's mine' transaction model.
That's me.
I think it's great that Faithlife is offering different subscription based services. I'm just the type of person who just prefers to own my resources.
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I too appreciate the possibilities that the subscription opens up to bring the resources in a more affordable way to others.... I like you am one who prefers an ownership model... foreboding would likely have been a better word, as it is only mild apprehension.
-Dan
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Dan Francis said:
I like you am one who prefers an ownership model... foreboding would likely have been a better word, as it is only mild apprehension.
Let's go back to basics: Bob's job is to make revenues exceed expenses. Lots of people give FL lots of money in return for ownership of FL-produced resources. The buy-it-and-own-it model will stick around as long as it keeps bringing in revenues meaningfully in excess of expenses.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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This whole thread needs a dislike button.
First Rusty, then Mark, now Dave. Seems like as soon as I pick a new sales person they quit or are fired.
Maybe thats a sign I need to reign in my spending for a while
Maybe in a couple years I'll consider a new BP.L2 lvl4 (...) WORDsearch, all the way through L10,
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SineNomine said:Dan Francis said:
I like you am one who prefers an ownership model... foreboding would likely have been a better word, as it is only mild apprehension.
Let's go back to basics: Bob's job is to make revenues exceed expenses. Lots of people give FL lots of money in return for ownership of FL-produced resources. The buy-it-and-own-it model will stick around as long as it keeps bringing in revenues meaningfully in excess of expenses.
Let's hope so. I think the discomfort that some of us have expressed comes from the fact that Bob is talking about shifting FaithLife's focus to a product model that's different from the one we've bought into and have a personal preference for. There's nothing wrong with a business making a decision like that, but it does present certain risks on both sides. From the customer perspective, that over time we'll find that FaithLife's products are no longer a good fit for us. From the business' side, that losses in their existing customer base will not be fully offset by gains in customers who prefer the new model.
Can a corporation successfully operate two models at the same time? Sure. But some of the statements have struck me, at least, as suggesting that Bob may be viewing the ownership model more as a legacy product that has to be supported, but really isn't where the future of his business lies. If that's not the case, then perhaps some reassurance on that point might be helpful.
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Hi Bob,
Will these changes slow down or impact the development of non-English editions of Logos and non-English resources such as Chinese? (In other words, is Philip Peng and his team still here?)
Thanks,
Peter
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