Ah, it's that time of year again. Time to update and submit my yearly "How I walked on water" report to my management to see what kind of bonus I'll receive (if any). I imagine almost all medium and large businesses have some sort of employee rating system that defines - or, at least, suggests - how well the employee did the preceding year to help the company. I had to do it in the military every year, and I have to do it each year for my current company. While syntactically different, they are semantically the same.
For my current company, we have to write a summary in the 1st quarter of each year of what all we plan to do to help the company for the rest of the year. At the end of the calendar year, we then submit a follow-up to what we planned to do and basically tell management how we should be the next CEO. I understand the purpose of such a rating system (mainly to CYA of the corporation itself), but after having lived through so many of these things, they are to me essentially a huge waste.
Case in point: this past year.
Without devulging the details of my company's rating system, I'll just say that your management - after going through all the strenious work of reading your input, their own input, etc. - give you a 1-5 number with "5" being "your fired!" and "1" being "he/she really DOES walk on water". In my almost 10 years with this company, I have never gotten a "1" (or "5" or "4"). What I find not only in my company, but in other company's is a lot has to do with corporate politics and what is referred to as the "buddy system".
A rating of "3" in our system basically means you did what was expected - nothing more, nothing less. A "2" means you went above what was expected. I got a "2" a few times early on, but have since always gotten a "3", which I thought was needed in some years, but not last year. Last year, I really busted my chops and got things done - usually far ahead of schedule. In fact, I received not one, not two, but THREE commendations (a formal award a fellow employee can give someone) for helping out people outside my area. My reward? another "3" rating.
That really rubbed me raw, but what really angers me is that management doesn't even follow the mandated rating system the way they are supposed to. You see, you aren't rated against other people in your area, per se, but are rated against others at the same level as yourself. I think I mentioned that I work alongside people with Ph.D.'s and such. I am just about the only person at my level working in my organization (they have formal levels here, which begin at "6" - I am a "7" and most of the people I work with are "9's" and "10's" with a couple of "8's" in the mix). So, instead of rating me against other "6's", I feel - (and maybe I'm wrong) - that I am getting rated next to those people higher up. Of course, when I mention this to management, my assertions are met with denial.
Of course, I can always hope in lieu of a good bonus, I'll get a promotion! ..... Okay, you can quit laughing now.
But then that's the life of a corporate drone. Just another reason to get out of the "rat race".
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3 comments:
Wow, deja vu...I just had this conversation with my manager today. Our scale is Exceeds, Meets or Does not Meets. I too find myself competing for the exceeds rating against co-workers who are much more senior to me. The ironic thing about today is the conversation I had with my direct manager on how in 2007 I need to be more political and be noticed more by upper management. Not necessarily by my work, which by the way I exceeded all of the metrics in which I was measured, but by interacting more with upper management, because my manager can only suggest my rating but can't guarantee it will be that because it is made by the executive leadership team as a whole. In addition, what I have been trying to obtain from management is a direct measurable response on what it takes to achieve an exceeds rating in this corporation. In 3 years I have yet to receive a response. The even stranger part is that I received a promotion just 5 months ago, yet still only receive a meets. I guess all you can do is try to play the game and keep working hard, but it just motivates me even more when I think of the day that I can say good bye to the corporate world.
Craig - I can empathize, fully. In my company there is an unwritten rule that says when you are promoted you are automatically given a "3", at best (IOW, you have to prove yourself first in your new level before you can get a "2" or "1"). This happened to me a few years ago. Now, each time I get a "3", I hope it's because I will be getting promoted in the coming months, but it hasn't happened yet.
We have about 7 layers between the CEO and the grunts. I routinely interact with my 4th and 5th-line managers, but evidentally this isn't enough, either. I used to come in, do my job, and go home and not think about work until the next day I'm at work. I'd get a "3" rating during that time. I then said I'd get no where doing this, so I started working longer hours, doing more outside of my normal work hours, taking on more responsibility, etc. Yet, I still get "3" ratings. Makes me want to revert back to the old routine and free-up a lot of my time for REI.
Steve,
Wow, does that sound familiar! I worked my ass off for years trying to score a 4 (on our scale, it was 1 at best and 5 at worst) or better. I never had a shot, as it turned out. The boss man had his favorites (other ex-miliary men) from the git-go. They got the 4's and 5's and therefore got the promotions and raises each year. Meanwhile, I was the only one in my group with a degree at all--and, it was definitely applicable, being that it was a BS in Computer Science. I had just as many years of applied experience as anyone else. But, I got the smallest paycheck of anyone in my group--by anywhere from $10K to $25K each year. And, their salaries were all headed north while mine stayed the same year to year. Finally, I realized I could do next to nothing and get the same score, keep the same job, and concentrate on my real estate investing DURING MY JOB. It rubbed my coworkers the wrong way a little at first until they adjusted. But, I explained my situation to them quietly. And, a few of them even followed suit. Ironically, they still got the same 4's they always got, along with the raises and promotions. Hmmm, it makes me want to watch Office Space again.
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