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.

 

[oldfieldguy]

The "proper" way for your manager to have handled that review would be to have called you in for "coaching" well ahead of a poor review.

Or otherwise he could have given you a passing review and to talk with you about realignment of your goals and priorities.

At least that's what we learned at one of those "Giving Good Feedback" training sessions from when I worked for a big electrical utility.

It sounds like you were blindsided, and I tend to believe that I'd be looking at some options elsewhere.

old field guy

 

[graybeach]

At my company we have a rating system that goes from 1 (outstanding) to 5 (poor). The geniuses in HR feel that there should be a bell curve of ratings. If one person gets a 2 they insist that someone else gets a 4 so, in my department, everyone gets a 3 which basically means average. This renders the whole thing pretty much meaningless. My boss tells me verbally how he appreciates my work, which does mean something to me.

It could be that your company's HR has started to subscribe to the same theories as mine, and that is why your rating is lower. What does your direct supervisor say? Have others' ratings been lowered?

 

[ScottyUK]

My ex-personnel dept had the idea of the bell curve distribution. They could not give me an answer when I asked why they were recruiting as many 4's and 5's as they were 1's and 2's.


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

 

[IRstuff]

It's not always the HR "wienies" that instigate such changes. One year, a new director decided on his own to come up with a "what have you done for me lately?" rule for rankings. As a result senior engineers were penalized on the grounds that their output should be proportional to their experience, and as such, all of the senior engineers got bupkis for ranking and raises, while the younger engineers got 10-15% raises, since their salary bases were lower.

Fortunately, he and the division both parted ways from me; he, because of a more lucrative and higher position, and the division, because it was moved elsewhere.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[aj12000]

At my last company, reviews were completely anonymous and were "peer" based. That meant that people were vicious and criticized personality rather than work quality. I did ok for the first 8 years, and then had a difficult year health wise, which required lots of medical visits. I made up all the time, but my wonderful anonymous peers didn't know that and I got nailed. My boss had nothing to say one way or the other - just that I need to work on my perception.

At that point I began planning my exit. I had a few "life" things I wanted to get out of the way first, but as soon as those were accomplished I found a better job. My boss was shocked - I had not let on that I had spent 2 years being pretty pissed off.

My new company does reviews based on supervisor's comments. No peer review. Not sure if that is good or bad, but I happen to have a good boss who values my work and bases my reviews on that.

That review still bothers me, even though my next 2 were good at that company. Then again, I tend to take things personally, so I have been working on that.

 

[calguy07]

wow, you guys actually have performance reviews!??!?!!

 

[EngineerDave]

Well hears the update. I retracted my comments. There was a hell of a lot of complaining going on. Several people got poor reviews and I just didn't want to be another complainer.

I had written a pretty tactful document but i was afraid that the first part could have been perceived as a rant by the manager who barelys knows me and knows little of the work we do.

Next year I'm going to focus on being timely. I.E. no chance at all to be dinged for things late. That's all I can do.

I absolutely will not volunteer to help out in any extra manner unless my work load lightens. I want to keep my job, but I want to keep my life too and not get screwed again. Depressing huh?

 

[EngineerDave]

I think I'm going to have to reconsider some things. I reread my post about the lazy co-worker from 2007.

This co-worker is the same one who was suspended this year. He has certainly made my life difficult and didnt help my performance this year at all since I had to cover for him.

 

[ScottyUK]

I think you're starting to see things from a more realistic angle. I hope making the changes makes it work for you, especially as you seem to enjoy working there overall. Don't drift back into the old way of doing things or you'll be in this position at the end of 2009. Happy New Year!


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

 

[EngineerDave]

Exactly! I've held a grudge with a co-worker for a whole year that just got worse as the year went on. He was actually suspended for two months which is almost unheard of for someone in a technical position but it was related to alcoholism.

I feel like my perfomance suffered because i have had to pick up his slack even during normal situations but even more so during his suspension. That was kind of the final straw for me that led to me writing a letter.

I later retracted the letter when I realized it was counterproductive. I need to do something to change the perception of my value around the department as well. Being angry won't do that.

 

[opmgr1]

Well said and if the need arise to pick up additional duties, evaluate the impact that it will have on your KPIs and discuss with your manager/ supervisor.

 

[cadsman]

DAve,
At least your reviews are not late,
my(our) last 2 reviews (annual and midyear)
Where both 6 months late being returned back to us after
the bosses comments are added, this gives us no time for improvement if needed.

 

[EngineerDave]

Actually they were late as well. First we had a review in November that should have taken place in October. Then the review was revised in late December. Just yesterday i found i didn't get a raise. To make it more interesting or perhaps in his mind to soften the blow he mentioned that 5 other people in our department of 20 didn't get a raise. Great to be in with a bunch of winners.

I'm totally focused on this year. I will make sure everything I do is on time that should at least raise my review 20% or so.

I will be really careful about volunteering for extra work.

 

[MikeHalloran]

From my perspective, your story plays like a Greek tragedy. Everybody knows, before they arrive in the theater, that the hero is going to get screwed. All the characters know it. Even the hero knows it, in his heart of hearts.

The entertainment is in watching him writhe, and try, heroically of course, and without result, to change his fate.

I don't find the art form particularly entertaining.
Too much like office politics in engineering.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[thegraduate]

EDave,

I hope things start looking up for you this year and you again find fulfillment in your work.

The company i work for do 'Achievement Plans' for technical staff at 6 month intervals. As a graduate i find these to be extremely important and valuable, however they are often carried out late and there is little guidance given. I find that when i do one, management agree that i have reached the point i aimed for previously, then when i outline what i wish to achieve for the next period they dont let move forward and i get the feeling there isnt alot of confidence in me.

I guess its like what i have read through most of these posts... management don't really care about your performance or paycheck. Just there own.

'the problem with society is not that we set our goals to high and miss them, but that we set them too low and achieve them' - unknown.

Other employeers have performance reviews - if someone is given three ratings >8/10 the supervisor must write a report on the person why they did so well, and the person should move up a tier level. If the person receives scores <2/10, the supervisor must write a report why they have not done so well.

This often means that high achievers wont get recognized as its to much effort to put them up a level and more work to write reports. People doing poorly will not be caught out as its too much effort to report on this. I had my first opportunity to carry out performance reviews on some of my immediate team members prior to Christmas and found it a very fulfilling experience to reward everyone with honest results (negative and positive) so they would all go home over the break and be amped up for an excellent 2009.

 

[EngineerDave]

Nice words from all. Enjoyed the post from thegraduate as well.

The way this review was conducted was a bit suspect. First one group rated us, then the direct supervisor rated us and finally the manager. So the first rating was then adjusted lower by both the supervisor and then the manager.

So that moved me from initially an effective rating to a less than effective rating by the time the manager finally adjusted it almost two months later! Let me add that this manager is not a technical person, has an office on a different floor and has little to no direct knowledge of our type of work, the quantity and the quality of it.

One thing this really has amped up is my competitive spirit though. Before I used to volunteer to help others without them asking. I rarely asked for help (this is a big mistake) as there were times when I was so overloaded i should have.

I am being extremely careful and very selfish with my time to make sure my own objectives are met first. It was stupid of me to work in any different manner, but I thought i was being an excellent team player.

 

[GregLocock]

Ah, good. You are now learning why your boss is paid far more than you, for an easier job. Basically, in a rational organisation where pay is linked to performance, employees would not share knowledge or take on any task outside of their KPIs. Since 'teamplayer' is not an objectively measurable characteristic, dump it.

Now, whiny managers might object to that. It is their job to figure out a better choice.

It does exist, if they weren't so lazy they would find out what it is.




Cheers

Greg Locock

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

 

[spongebob007]

You have to look out for your own best interests because no one else will. Don't volunteer to help out your co-workers with their work load unless yours is well under control. You also need to learn how to manage and prioritize your workload better. Unfortunately that means taking a selfish attitude. If you are working on two projects and one must be late, you need to make sure the project that has the highest visibility or the one that you will be rated on gets finished on time, even if you feel the other project is more important for the company. After all, why should you give a hoot what is in the best interest of the company? They certainly don't care what is in your best interest. Part of managing your work load is having good communication with your manager. Don't let dates slip. If you missed a deadline it is already too late. If you see that you will probably not make a deadline, or if you have too much of a workload, you need to let your manager know as soon as possible so that he can either: prioritize your workload, shift deadlines, or find someone else to help you out for a change.

I hate to say it, but unfortunately it sounds like you work for a company with terrible management, and no matter what you do to try and fix the perceived problem you will always end up the loser. Having managers that are one or two levels above your supervisor contributing to your review is a big red flag. How can you ever expect to get an objective review from someone who probably doesn't even know who you are? Most supervisors have no clue what their direct reports do, so how can you expect someone on the Director or VP level to have any clue? These guys are so far removed from the day to day operations of the company it isn't even funny.

 

[SlenderBeam]

I have had a quick flick through the comments.

What amazes me is that no one seems to mind actually being judged and stamped with a score.

A numbering system is a pathetic means for reviewing someone's performance - humans are not examination papers.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

A score is a score be it number, letter or word based. Engineers understand and relate to numbers.

A more important factor is whether it was a positive review. An even more important one is whether a significant raise or improvement in responsibilities/workload/conditions was forthcoming.