Prior to my visit to the USA at the end of July, along with thousands of other Dorling Kindersley Family Learning Advisors, I received in the post one morning - totally unexpectedly - the termination of my Advisor contract as of 18th August.
The following morning the Daily Mail placed, in a bottom corner of the business pages, a small article concerning the fact that Pearson's had 'cut off an arm of Dorling Kindersley', leaving many housewives and part-time employees without a job.
The news from Pearson's was devastating enough, but the slight to the dedicated army of Advisors concerned has dogged me throughout my vacation until I felt obliged to express how strongly we, the DKFL Advisors, have been wronged by this throwaway statement, and by our treatment at the hands of the Pearson Group.
Since DKFL was formed in February 1992 people have been drawn to the opportunities it offered for all kinds of reasons. Yes, some were house-wives and part-timers, but many others were professional people who saw in the company the chance to build a career with a brighter future for their families.
The 'housewives and part-timers' joined to provide quality educational materials for their families while sharing their love of books with others and making varying amounts of profit to supplement and enhance their life-styles.
DKFL gave all its advisors a career to be proud of. It also gave opportunities for personal development and enhanced self-esteem. It gave us products to take pride in and, until 18th July, a company with a high reputation to support all our efforts and to provide a worthwhile mission - encouraging parents to become involved in the education of their children. DKFL won Direct Selling Awards in 1992, 96 and 98 for Best New Business, Innovation (twice) and Best Direct Seller. Many of these 'housewives and part-timers' recognised the career opportunities opening up before them with the support of a strong company and high quality products. So they joined the ever-increasing number of professional career people and began to grow their own network marketing businesses with great success. An ever-expanding number of team leaders with large networks were earning over £30,000 a year. Top Marketing Directors were earning substantially more.
Previous part-time employment, and in many cases, full time employment was renounced in favour of the career opportunity which appeared to offer far more rewards and long term security than could be found elsewhere in the modern insecure business environment. Not only this. It is hard to describe the feeling of team spirit among colleagues who felt that while protecting their own futures they were also providing their families with the chance to build their children's futures by helping to support their education while building their own home-based businesses. The emphasis in this business was on helping each other. Many forms of employment today provide 'cut-throat' roads to the top:- trample your colleagues to succeed. In this business you only succeeded by helping each other. In the belief that their futures were more secure than ever before, families committed their whole future to DKFL, taking out new mortgages and making other long term financial investments on the strength of it.
When Pearson's took over we naively believed that they would appreciate our expertise, our wide customer base, our dedication and commitment to the company. How wrong we were. Large organisations such as Pearson's do not achieve by considering the smaller people. They need to be ruthless to be so acquisitive. But why do they need to be acquisitive? Surely it must be just the drive to be all-powerful. I wonder if, in the end, the 'powers that be' can be truly comfortable with themselves? They have acquired so much already and yet need to destroy others to acquire more. Isn't there a time to give something back?
What the public need to be made aware of in the case of DKFL is that right until the end we were all totally unaware of impending disaster. Encouraged by the corporate team at Head Office, who were also totally unaware, we continued to plough ahead - meeting sales challenges and proudly encouraging others to join our rewarding business.
Right until the last day the Schools' Department at Head Office were working themselves into the ground to provide materials and guidelines with which we could give an improved and more professional service to schools. Only five days before my contract was terminated I received my new list of the 27 schools to which I was to provide a service, along with the newly prepared guidelines, and catalogues.
Were Pearson's completely unaware of the hours, weeks and months of commitment all the corporate staff had put into this venture?
Didn't it matter that all their efforts were to be wasted, because they were being paid anyway?
At the beginning of July I also received advertising materials to enhance displays of DK product at any events and shows I might attend throughout the Summer.
Were Pearson's really unaware that we were being provided with new tools to promote our businesses only 2-3 weeks before they closed us down?
To their great shame Pearson's also allowed DKFL to run a promotion encouraging others to join our business right up to the middle of June.
Did they not know that we were sponsoring hundreds of new advisors into the business in April/May/June?
Did they not know we were telling them of how reputable the company was and what long-term benefits it would provide?
Did they not know we were telling the eager new advisors how much stronger Pearson's would make our businesses?
I feel sure there has never been a band of workers in any company more dedicated to the success of both the company and of each other. Staff at Head Office and Advisors alike wept copiously when the news broke and their dedication and commitment were trashed.
Which would be Pearson's greater disgrace - knowing that we were misleading these new advisors and turning a blind eye to it, or being totally ignorant of what was happening in their own company?
Whatever the truth of the matter our loyal customers, the schools we served and most of all the new advisors whom we unwittingly misled, need to know the truth.
