Performance Reviews 4

[EngineerDave]

This is the first year I disagreed greatly with a performance review I received.

Specifically to tell what happened is that in November we received our performance review. Before we are reviewed we are supposed to rate ourselves in several areas. Then our direct supervisor rates us. However on top of it this year they made a change and had some of the lead executives also rate us. I was told during the interview that because of this everyones reviews are much lower than the previous year.

In any event, there was more of a disconnect than I expected. I do think I rated myself highly, but after this review, my result was already 20% lower than the previous year.

Then the top executive who hadn't weighed in yet, decided to further adjust the employees reviews. Presumably while under pressure to greatly limit raises.

So now my ranking by points is 30% lower than previous year.

Why this bugs me so much is that I've had to work longer and harder this year than ever as one coworker was suspended and off work for over 2 months for a reason that i believe most other companies would have fired him for.

I believe to no small degree having to cover for his work and my own at the same time is part of the reason for a lower effectiveness rating.

At first I wrote no major comments of disagreement, but after the top executive who has little direct contact with my work lowered the score yet again, I wrote a very polite letter stating what some of my disagreements were. I don't think it will have any effect other than making me feel better for stating how I feel about it and how the review process lacks accurate metrics.

Have you ever disagreed with your review? This is the only time I can think of that I've had major issues with one.

 

[ivymike]

yeah, but never enough to quit over it. I always use the feedback portion to write something cheesy about appreciating the opportunities, etc. It's the pay raises (or lack thereof) that usually end up pushing me out the door (not that there have been many occasions).

 

[ScottyUK]

Oh yes, I have massively disagreed with one and had issues with certain aspects of at least one other. I think they're difficult for the appraiser to keep objective, plus if you happen to have a personality clash with one person in the decision process the whole process is open to all sorts of distortion. In my case the guy who I clashed with was neither a direct manager nor from my discipline, so f_ck knows why he was involved in reviewing my performance. I'm sure he had a lot of objective input.

Is it worth disagreeing in public? Depends how you look at it I suppose:

Will disagreeing change anything? Yes, but not in any positive way.
Will you feel better for an hour or two for venting off? Almost certainly.
Will it change a system that is open the kind of corruption that would make a politician blush? Not a chance, save your breath.

Who knows, maybe there is a company where this system is fairly implemented. I just ain't experienced it yet!


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jmw]

If it doesn't affect salary and promotion, as management always tell you, what does it matter?
If it does, as we most of us may believe, then it does matter.
Of the two options, which is the one that it most profits you to adopt?


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[ivymike]

hmm.. at my current office they specifically describe how the perf rev's impact salary and promotions. (if you get _x_, you'll get y%, etc)

 

[EngineerDave]

I guess in this case I almost don't care about the money. I just care about the final stamp on a year where I busted my ass and received such a mediocre result.

I take responsibility for it though and will make some changes for the coming year. No will be a part of my vocabulary though as part of the problem has been my lack of assertiveness, which has led me to take on too much work at times.

 

[GregLocock]

Sit down with your manager. Go through the list. Make a recovery plan.

It is quite possible to work very hard and yet make no impression on those in positions of power. It is also surprisingly easy to dent the egos of those in positions of power. Neither will improve your rating.




Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[ScottyUK]

EngineerDave,

The appraisal I had the big problem with was in circumstances not dissimilar to yours: I'd taken on an impossible workload, worked a lot of extra hours just trying to keep things above water, and eventually I fell short on a few targets. The targets I missed were politically sensitive but ultimately valueless and I let them fall to save a couple of jobs which did matter. The appraisal focussed on the couple of things that weren't done, not how much had been achieved and what had been given up to achieve it.

Take a deep breath and count to ten before saying or doing anything. You might be better off swallowing the bitter pill and gently changing how you do things next year given the current economic climate.


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jmw]

I got clobbered at one appraisal for a project that "failed".
It failed because management didn't have any two brain cells that were compatible with each other; the product was exactly right but they had imposed a stupid price. Client rejected their stupid price (cost x 5).
They chose to believe the client had rejected the product.

That hit me hard when pay review came around.
Three years and three business managers later I got to dig the project out again (I get bloody minded some times), visited the client who then signed on the dotted line and the product then became an industry leader (at cost x 2.5).

Client referred to them as the silly years.

Of course, the moment the client signed (and was followed by the rest of the industry) it looked like the impossible targets I had been set would result in them now having to pay me a big bonus... they went for restructuring instead.

You know, It is nice to be right.

It is nice to so thoroughly understand what the client really needs and what the market needs (a new market to me which involved much research and question asking) that Ican deliver a product that displaces the competition in a conservative market where were new manufacturers can usually just peer through the windows, where the competitor has enjoyed 90-95% market share for over 40 years.

It is nice to gain the respect of some very professional engineers in the market.

It is nice to know that you have been responsible for that.

BUT how much nicer to have earned the right salary for those dark years and to have been paid the b***dy bonuses when all of a sudden they have orders coming out of their ears. This isn't an either or option, I could have had all the satisfaction and all the rewards... couldn't I?

Some appraisals you can't argue with because management minds are closed. Doesn't matter what they determines pay and rewards, ultimately it comes down to what management think. If you have good managers and do your work well then all can be fine but good honest managers with integrity and some basic understanding of the real world seem so few.


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[SomptingGuy]

I was kind of forced into management a few years ago and during that time I had to give appraisals as well as get them. Before the whole process started, there was a closed-door meeting where all the "scores" were decided. My task was to kill a couple of hours and then award the score. It cheapened my own appraisal somewhat.

My recent appraisal went like:

"Ok, shall we do this then?"
"Sure"
"How do you want to play it?"
"Quickly"

I honestly believe in appraisals for young graduates. But they lose their sparkle after the first dozen.

- Steve

 

[cry22]

Frankly.
If I had a review that is 30% lower than the previous year, there would be only two conclusions:
1. Either management thinks that I am not worth my paycheck.
2. Or, I do not fit in the place anymore, ragardless of my capabilities, they want me out one way or another.

Looks like "out is in the near future", better be on one's terms. Time to look for another job. Fast.

AND, it will be a better job where you can be happier with much more money to top it all.

Unfortunately, that's the only language most people understand, they do not realize what you're worth until you quit.

 

[EngineerDave]

Well the method of rating changed over the last year so that accounts for a good chunk of the change.

Finding another job isn't an option. Doing better is. I'm not sure if I should have written a response but it does allow for comments. I kind of felt it was better to at least let them know that "I suck but at least I care and I'm determined to do something about it" than "I suck and I don't even care to respond".

It was very disappointing. I will learn from this. A good portion of my issue with it is that I carry a much higher workload than at least one of my two other colleagues who is in this position. It was a drain to keep up and on top of things.

Looks like more Saturdays in at work for awhile.

 

[MikeHalloran]

The polite letter was your resignation; you just don't realize it yet.

Do better elsewhere.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[ScottyUK]

You're planning to spend even more time working there after a bad review? To take on even more work than you already have, knowing that the guys getting the good reviews are doing less work, to a higher standard? Follow their example and maintain your standards while doing less volume of work: if there's too much work for one guy then let your employer recruit more labour. There's no point working yourself into the ground trying to achieve the impossible. I've been there, made that mistake: it screws up your life outside of work eventually. Keep your weekends for you and those precious to you, otherwise you'll risk losing out in a much more important performance review: the one from your girlfriend, or wife, or family. Those ones sometimes can't be fixed.


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jmw]

Why do you have more work to do than others and for less reward and less recognition?

I think, from what is here, that the last advice is the best... start looking around.



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[opmgr1]

The easiest thing to do when an appraisal exercise go bad is to blame management. Before taking on additional duties, one must evaluate the impact that this will have on performance indicators and make this clear from day one by sitting with management and readjusting the targets to reflect the new situation. A lot of time one is so eager to be "recognised" by management that a situation is rushed into blindly and at the end of the review period the victim come out scorched at the other end. What you need to do is to recognise that you blunder by not having your targets readjusted and take this as a learning experience. As you said you need to include the word "No" in your vocabulary.

 

[EngineerDave]

Yes. I have never felt compelled to respond before in this manner.

Alot of people said they were unhappy with their reviews. Perhaps next year things will be better?

As far as new jobs, well the field i'm in is about as narrow as one can be in now. The only way to get a new one would require a geographical move.

There are some potential changes that have been discussed that may make all the difference. I performed a workstudy for my boss that helped us create a new position (by transferring a current employee into that role). As part of that new position however the justification is that this person would shoulder some of my overload. But to give you some insight, this person is a crony of the boss and had complained to get out of her current position and into this new position.

Unfortunately there has already been some backpedaling on this new individual shouldering some of my workload. It remains to be seen what will happen.

 

[mauricestoker]

About 25 years ago I was working for an energy consulting firm. I took a starting salary of 33% lower than my last job, in exchange for getting to write in a provision that I would receive a bonus of 5% net off all contracts I brought in individually. That was good motivation, and at the end of the year, I was scheduled to be the second highest paid employee, behind the company president. The comapny president said that I had underachieved, was getting a flat 5% raise, and no bonus. Energy was a very narrow business then. I explained that I had a signed contract, was not interested in his "bone us", and if he did not honor the contract the choice was his to either go to court, or to have me turn the contracts back in. I turned the contracts back in, the company laid off over a third of employees, and I moved geographically and financially.
Once you get "punked", management knows it can always punk you. Look for another job-you have no leverage in the current position, and if you take a kicking and keep on licking, you'll continue to get the same results. Look up the definition of insanity. If you do the same thing, and try harder, and expect different results, then the DSM IV may have a description of your condition.

 

[jmw]

EngineerDave,
Your last post suggests that things just got worse for you.

They have used this years review to "document" perceived poor performance, provided a solution (the management "crony" which they have then neutralised - by back-pedalling") and presumably they used that "solution" to increase the workload (surely they didn't just assign this damsel to take on some of your work? They'd have had to justify her assignment as delivering improved productivity and profit).

Now ask yourself what chance you have of delivering on the new improved targets?

You should then have some idea of what success you are likely to achieve against management expectations and you should be able to foresee the outcome of the next review even now.
You might ask if you are being set up (maybe not you alone) for the lead role in any "restructuring" management decide upon as they seek to improve profitability by cutting overheads (people) while still expecting the same or increased "delivery".

It sounds as if there are some serious management issues here.
You should now be asking yourself just how good your management is (actually this is supposed also to be part of the review process, though a somewhat whimsical one).

You have to ask if there is anyway you will receive a good review and advancement either in position or rewards.
If you can't see this happening then get out now, why go through another bad year with no light at the end of the tunnel?


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[EddyC]

If I received a poor review/poor raise, it would send a message that "we don't value you and/or we want to get rid of you". I wouldn't try to reason out why, as little of what goes on in this world is based on sound logic.