Pay For Performance
Feb. 9th, 2007 04:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cryowizardEver heard of the term "Pay for performance"?
It sounds very nice -- you perform well, you get paid well. Right? Wrong. The subversion of the process, filled with empty rhethoric and bullshit, takes over. The end result, if you look at a wide enough organization, has very little to do with individual's actual performance. Ultimately, it's about who you know and who gets your back. Merit as such goes right out the fucking window.
I am positive I will not be covering new ground for most people here, but the particulars of subversion fascinate me, so I want to look at it a little closer.
The setup
It goes sorta like this. You and your manager define a set of goals for you at the beginning of the year. The goals span a wide spectrum and have a metric and a target attached to them so that your performance can be quantified and properly measured.
All the goals are entered into the p4p system so that the progress is transparent and can be tracked throughout the year.
Midyear, you have a review and update the p4p system with your progress. You also write a self-evaluation, expressing how you feel you are doing against the goals. You manager does the midyear review separately.
End of the year, when eoy compensation process starts, you have your final eoy review. You again do your self-evaluation, and you have a review with your manager, who, at the end of this tedious process, enters your "does not meet / meets/ exceeds" ratings based on your performance. You have a discussion and, after having agreed on the ratings, you acknowledge the review. This EOY review factors directly into your bonus.
Or that's how they sell it to people.
The reality
This year, the grand "compensation day" was February 3rd. This is the day when they give you a commitment letter with your bonus numbers, payable February 15th.
Now check this out: most of the EOY p4p reviews in my organization were completed last two weeks of January. My personal review was completed just a few days before bonus letters were given out. Now, my boss has mentioned several times in December that compensation process is ongoing, kinda raising eyebrows. Through my own channels, I now know that managers where asked to provide "ratings" of their team members in November, way before any of the EOY p4p reviews kicked off.
And, apparently, those ratings are what makes your money.
All you have to remember is three numbers: 20,70,10. 20% of people exceed expectations, 70% meet them and 10% do not meet. Apparently, these are the numbers the managers are supposed to fit their organizations into. A manager is asked to separate his crews into 20% of overachievers who will get the "exceeds", 70% of average folk who get a "meets" and the 10% losers who will get canned or next to nothing bonus attached to their "does not meets" ratings.
May I stress that the grading grid is immutable. In other words, you even theoretically can't have more than 20% of exceeds, no matter how well your crews perform over the course of the year. Why? Well, I guess we just can't pay a decent bonus to just every Joe Shmoe who goes a great job now can we.
Let me say this again: even if you have more than 20% of people who perform well, you can't give all of them a good rating anyway.
And here comes the subversion of the p4p process.
In order to fit the extra overachievers into the gray 70% mess, they will be denied the "exceeds" rating during their official p4p process using any means necessary, even if they stand on their head. The p4p mockery of a process will commence months after the deal is already sealed.
What, you have a problem with that?!
Go back to work, bitches!
It sounds very nice -- you perform well, you get paid well. Right? Wrong. The subversion of the process, filled with empty rhethoric and bullshit, takes over. The end result, if you look at a wide enough organization, has very little to do with individual's actual performance. Ultimately, it's about who you know and who gets your back. Merit as such goes right out the fucking window.
I am positive I will not be covering new ground for most people here, but the particulars of subversion fascinate me, so I want to look at it a little closer.
The setup
It goes sorta like this. You and your manager define a set of goals for you at the beginning of the year. The goals span a wide spectrum and have a metric and a target attached to them so that your performance can be quantified and properly measured.
All the goals are entered into the p4p system so that the progress is transparent and can be tracked throughout the year.
Midyear, you have a review and update the p4p system with your progress. You also write a self-evaluation, expressing how you feel you are doing against the goals. You manager does the midyear review separately.
End of the year, when eoy compensation process starts, you have your final eoy review. You again do your self-evaluation, and you have a review with your manager, who, at the end of this tedious process, enters your "does not meet / meets/ exceeds" ratings based on your performance. You have a discussion and, after having agreed on the ratings, you acknowledge the review. This EOY review factors directly into your bonus.
Or that's how they sell it to people.
The reality
This year, the grand "compensation day" was February 3rd. This is the day when they give you a commitment letter with your bonus numbers, payable February 15th.
Now check this out: most of the EOY p4p reviews in my organization were completed last two weeks of January. My personal review was completed just a few days before bonus letters were given out. Now, my boss has mentioned several times in December that compensation process is ongoing, kinda raising eyebrows. Through my own channels, I now know that managers where asked to provide "ratings" of their team members in November, way before any of the EOY p4p reviews kicked off.
And, apparently, those ratings are what makes your money.
All you have to remember is three numbers: 20,70,10. 20% of people exceed expectations, 70% meet them and 10% do not meet. Apparently, these are the numbers the managers are supposed to fit their organizations into. A manager is asked to separate his crews into 20% of overachievers who will get the "exceeds", 70% of average folk who get a "meets" and the 10% losers who will get canned or next to nothing bonus attached to their "does not meets" ratings.
May I stress that the grading grid is immutable. In other words, you even theoretically can't have more than 20% of exceeds, no matter how well your crews perform over the course of the year. Why? Well, I guess we just can't pay a decent bonus to just every Joe Shmoe who goes a great job now can we.
Let me say this again: even if you have more than 20% of people who perform well, you can't give all of them a good rating anyway.
And here comes the subversion of the p4p process.
In order to fit the extra overachievers into the gray 70% mess, they will be denied the "exceeds" rating during their official p4p process using any means necessary, even if they stand on their head. The p4p mockery of a process will commence months after the deal is already sealed.
What, you have a problem with that?!
Go back to work, bitches!
It seems like you are surprised by this
Date: 2007-02-09 10:40 pm (UTC)And finally: stop nagging and find yourself another job!!! :-)
AS
Re: It seems like you are surprised by this
Date: 2007-02-09 10:49 pm (UTC)But of course not. But you should have seen the sales pitches of the big bosses telling everyone that from now on that's the fucking process. Of course we chuckled and said "Yeah, right". I've been on Wall Street nine years now ;)
>> And finally: stop nagging and find yourself another job!!! :-)
All in good time, my kind Sir, all in good time. And why can't I fucking nag while looking for another job??
Re: It seems like you are surprised by this
Date: 2007-02-09 10:52 pm (UTC)Dude, this is exactly what they have been telling people! Literally! That and "oh, we ain't got no moniz..."
Because most of the moniz went to the people who know best the whe boss' anus is -- all as nature intended.