Employee Performance Review 8

[bones206]

I work for a large engineering company and we recently had our annual performance review. I overheard two of the lead engineers talking about a "bell curve" imposed by corporate. Apparently corporate adjusted the performance ratings that the leads engineers gave to their subordinates, to fit some sort of company-wide curve. I don't have all the facts but I do know that our raises are somehow correlated with our performance ratings. I confronted my lead about this and he admitted that my final performance raiting was lower than what he had initially given me. He had to go back and change some of the scores to make my overall rating come out to the corporate-imposed rating.

Should I be upset? Is this normal practice for large companies? I've talked about it with other guys here and they don't seem to be upset.

 

[KENAT]

Should you be upset, probably, should you be surprised, no.

This is not uncommon in companies of all kinds of sizes.

No matter how well you try and structure it, these kind of things end up being a popularity contest most of the time. If your manager likes you he'll give you better ratings and fight to keep those ratings. If his manager likes him & so on up the chain then he's more likely to be able to get to keep those good ratings. Add in that HR/senior management have read the latest salary surveys and think pay should conform to the standard distribution/not be above mean for any classification etc. and there you go.

My last boss and current boss have been fairly open about this with me. I know for a fact at least one of my reviews got knocked down to 'satisfactory' from 'exceeds requirements' or something like that because my boss's boss told him to do it because too many people had too high a rating or something.

I also know I've received low pay raises on at least one occasion not because I wasn't performing but because there was a mix up in the admin when someone else in the department converted from temp to perm and they got a lower rate of pay, so almost all the pay raise money for the department subsequent year went to him. This despite him having been a cantankerous pita all year because he was disgruntled while I'd been fricking awesome;-).

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[rbulsara]

Take a step back and look at these things from outside. Performance reviews, bonuses, pay raises, etc. are just gimmicks designed to protect the "employer" against any accusations of being unfair or discriminatory. They are not designed to "reward" performances, regardless of how they are presented.

I would look at the net income plus benefits you take home at the end of the year and total benefits, however they are accounted for. If you believe you deserve better, asking for raises at current job is the least effective, not withstanding exceptions. Finding another job with higher pay and benefit package is a much better option, not only for monetary reasons but also for expanding your network and experience diversity.


Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[MikeHalloran]

Large companies tell their customers that they hire only the very best engineers, chosen by rigorous screening before, during, and after engineering school.

Then they adjust the engineers' compensation to fit a normal distribution, as if the engineers were chosen at random from the general population.

... as apparently their managers and HR weasels are.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[KENAT]

Yeah, our former over lords (my division's just been sold to new ones) had some slogan about "make 'corporation' a great place to work attracting the best talent" or something like that.

Then they also introduced a not so hush hush policy that no one was to be paid above the median rate for their job classification based on some industry survey.

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[bones206]

rbulsara,

It's not really that I am not looking to be rewarded for my performance. That's not my gripe. I always work hard regardless because respect from my peers is more important than recognition from some corporate suit.

What bothers me is that it appears that the hard workers are subsidizing the slackers. If my performance rating was chopped down, I could be getting the same rating as some guy who hides in his cubicle all year.

I feel like I am looking at this objectively. I would think that they would want to appear as though there are incentives for working hard, not just keeping a seat warm. If workers find out that everyone gets the same carrot, regardless of performance, then why chase the carrot?

 

[MacGyverS2000]

As Ken said, not surprising... I've fallen victim to it a few times in the past. I don't like being told I'm performing admirably only to be "thanked" with a raise that doesn't even cover the cost of living increase...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[KENAT]

"What bothers me is that it appears that the hard workers are subsidizing the slackers. If my performance rating was chopped down, I could be getting the same rating as some guy who hides in his cubicle all year."

One way or another, this happens to greater or lesser extent at most companies. Probably the only way to be sure you aren't subsidizing slackers is set up on your own.

While it's good to have an idea of the 'going rate', too closely comparing your self to your colleagues (assumed) pay etc. may just make you miserable.

Either you think you're making enough, or you think you aren't. In which case finding another position is typically your best bet.

They do want to appear like hard work is rewarded, just not enough to actually prioritize rewarding hard work over complying with 'industry norms', rewarding friends/buddies/brown nosers...

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[rbulsara]

bones:
Kenat essentially said it. If you are happy with what you are getting, you should be happy and not worry about others.

What you are observing is common. However, since you are not paying your co-workers, you have no right to say what they are getting paid is appropriate or not. You can only negotiate your salary/rewards, not others'. So either get over it or find another job, although do not expect much different environment or start your own firm.

And yes, the name of the game always is to maximize your gain, while minimizing your efforts. Perhaps, your colleagues are better at negotiations. At the same token, there are employers, who try to pay as little as they can get away with. The world is not fair all the time. As Kenat says, hard work, productivity or tangible items are not the only factors that decide what one is getting paid.

And than there are people, as you said will take "respect" in lieu of money, so all should even out in the end.

Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[OHIOMatt]

I used to work for a firm that rated each employee in each job category on an anual basis. The managers (I was one of them) sat in a conference room and discussed each employee and assigned a number ranking from 1 to 10 on a bunch of different categories.

At the end of the day, we had ranked every employee as above average to great. This was not realistic. Obviuosly, we had empoyees that were deserving of the rank, but out of kindness or whatever did not want to say that somebody was performing poorly.

The HR department was actually using this as a tool to educate the managers and to have us start holding people to a higher standard. It was also used as tool to focus training etc to help improve performance.

Your situation sounds similiar. This may force your manager to work with you on areas were you could improve your performance.

 

[bones206]

Thanks guys for your opinions. This is my second year as an engineer and in the corporate world, and I guess I'm still getting used to the BS.

 

[KENAT]

Ah, so you're still all bright & shiny then, and haven't been 'polished' to a rough finish like those of us that have been around even just a little longer.

Maybe now you start to empathize with why some crusty old engineers are the way they are.

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[MikeHalloran]

No one is born a cynic.

It takes decades of conditioning.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[KENAT]

Hmm, maybe I am a fast learner after all, at the age of 15 or 16 my school principal told me I was a cynic. I said thank-you, but then he said he didn't mean it as a compliment, odd.

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[slomobile]

Bones,
"If workers find out that everyone gets the same carrot, regardless of performance, then why chase the carrot?"

Sounds like you have hit the realization of the true end game of socialism.

 

[Ron]

Agree with Kenat....this is not unusual...common corporate bull$hi+. Get used to it or get out.

 

[GregLocock]

An interesting study is that if you offer someone $100 on the condition that someone else gets $100, or you offer them $200 and the other person gets $500, most people prefer the first option.

This is illogical, and a cause of great concern to economists, since any rational consumer would prefer the second option.

The lesson I draw from this is to think about what YOU get from your job, let everyone else worry about what they get.



Cheers

Greg Locock


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[bones206]

Thanks everyone for the spot on advice. However, MikeHalloran has two stars and I'm thinking we should take them back and divide them equally amongst ourselves...

 

[Jimwahhh]

Should you maybe dish out the stars based on a bell curve related to performance in this thread instead?

 

[MikeHalloran]

One of the oddities of the forum software is that if any message in a discussion gets a star, all other messages from the same author in the same discussion get the same star, so you can't tell which message triggered the accolade.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA