Yearly job performance review vs pay raise

[qv09vvp]

Hi
I've got a lot of years in the work force. Four years ago I started at A greAt company. Yet every year I get the weirdest discussions around the performance reviews . Here it is in a nutshell. The performance review is merely a chance for mutual feedback and it has no bearing on the possible raise. Yet the performance reviews has to be completed before the raise discussion. I welcome your thoughts and arguments on either side. I'm having a hard time grasping this concept . Thanks for listening...

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Hi
I've got a lot of years in the work force. Four years ago I started at A greAt company. Yet every year I get the weirdest discussions around the performance reviews . Here it is in a nutshell. The performance review is merely a chance for mutual feedback and it has no bearing on the possible raise. Yet the performance reviews has to be completed before the raise discussion. I welcome your thoughts and arguments on either side. I'm having a hard time grasping this concept . Thanks for listening...

I’ve worked many places that had a set pay chart. There was always a review, but your pay was based entirely on the chart, not the review.

That said, those reviews were often called back into play when a promotion was a possibility.

 

[runwad]

Yep that's how it is where I work. They got rid of our department manager about 5 years ago and we in essence report to a VP who has no time to manage us, nor does he know what we do. I hate my reviews, they tend to be, how would you reorganize things, nothing about what I do or my performance. And then when its all said and done, I get told that a 2% raise is in the budget for all employee's so it has nothing to do with performance anyway, so why do we have to do the stupid review?

Oh and every year I have to bug the VP to do my review so I can get my raise. Usually I get it 6 mos late! Ticks me off, it's so unprofessional that I have to bug them to give me my review so I can get a COL raise.

 

[qv09vvp]

Um... So what incentive is there to be great if you get the same raise as average ?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Um... So what incentive is there to be great if you get the same raise as average ?

The previously mentioned promotion.

I was able to leapfrog over 24 people with more seniority to get one.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Um... So what incentive is there to be great if you get the same raise as average ?

If someone needs an incentive to be great they won't be even if given one.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

we have the yearly Performance Review.
It's pointless ( I suppose it's THEIR PAPER TRAIL)
The raise never reflects the PR

 

[ncc1701]

Worked at places that had the reviews but due to financial difficulties some years didn't have raises.Other years depending on your review you could get an extra percent or more increase.Not to mention promotions to another grade level.

 

[tvguy]

Reviews can be helpful if done by someone who has done your job, and observed you working. Mine was done by someone who works a different shift, and has never done my job.
COLA raises are set by corporate. I've been at top scale for more than 10 years so there is no money for merit/performance raises.

My wife's place is union, so there is no link there either between performance reviews and pay. They suspended reviews a few years back after they were used as evidence by former employees in wrongful termination lawsuits.

 

[CynBeth]

Hi
I've got a lot of years in the work force. Four years ago I started at A greAt company. Yet every year I get the weirdest discussions around the performance reviews . Here it is in a nutshell. The performance review is merely a chance for mutual feedback and it has no bearing on the possible raise. Yet the performance reviews has to be completed before the raise discussion. I welcome your thoughts and arguments on either side. I'm having a hard time grasping this concept . Thanks for listening...

Sounds like the company I work for.

 

[LYSE]

That is odd and it doesn't really sound like a great environment...what happens if you got a stellar review and then proceeded to ask for a bigger raise than what was offered?

 

[Hrhpd]

Pretty standard in industry these days.

I was just listening to a financial analyst the other day on the radio. He had an interesting perspective (not saying he is correct, just interesting) that regular pay raises are a thing of the past. Market will now determine pay and raises. If a company needs to keep their most valuable talent due to a tightening market for their skills, they will raise their pay. But to just give yearly raises for good performance to all employees is a thing of the past.

 

[gotomu212]

We do this where I work. It’s a little nuanced but the performance review is to discuss how you are doing in your job and to provide feedback on how things could work better or things that you’d like to focus on but can’t. It’s suppose to also be a forum for a bit of feedback to supervisors on what they can do to better support you. The whole thing is centered around what can we do to make the job position better and you function better in that job. It’s not measuring you against anyone just what’s working/not.

Then the raise conversation has to do with how much you and your work are worth to the company. Sure whether or not you are a good performer weighs into that, but it’s more about concrete deliverables and measurable results. “My position earns x amount in revenue” or “I saved the company this much in my department”. Comparing that to others or the industry and discussing why you are worth more. Raises aren’t exactly based on how great you are as much as how much your worth.

For us it helps to separate the discussion so the amount of the raise isn’t viewed as an absolute ratio to your performance and to allow for feedback even when raises aren’t possible. So when doing a review for our division’s admin assistant and one of our project managers for example-The admin is one of the best people here at her job but our PM brings in multi million dollar projects so both have very different worth to the company. So even though he isn’t quite as great at his job as her he’s eligible for a 8% raise and she’s eligible for 4%....so it just helps to have separate forums to handle the different types of conversation.

Your place may be totally different but maybe that helps??

 

[usnuzuloose]

I had to write my own review. I got ranked against other manager's. Like I know what other manager's do during their day. I would usually end up with a 1 percent raise. Whoopeee.....

OP to me this is why there are boss's over everyone to write the reviews. All you can do is be truthful. I know how you feel and it does suck....

 

[aprilchem]

That's how it works at my job. There is a performance review that theoretically ties to a merit pay raise, but in the 18 years I've worked at my institution (a college), there has never been money to actually give merit pay raises. So sometimes we get a COL increase (although it's never as much as the cost of living) and sometimes we don't get any increase. I'd say those two situations have been 50:50 for the last 18 years.

 

[china mom]

At my previous job (local government) your COLA was separate from your Merit increase. The COLA was based on what the cost of living increase was and the City's funds

Merit increases were based on your performance review. The numbers you received on your review determined the percentage of merit increase. Until you topped out, that is. Once you reached the top of your pay grade for your rank, no more merit increases.

Not sure how it works where I am now (except that it is tied to your evaluation). It might be a pass/fail situation.

 

[Ben E N]

As a teacher we get yearly reviews, but are locked into a union pay scale. I take those reviews very seriously, though, as they help determine who gets cut first in case of reduction in force. On top of that, it's just good to hear that I am good at my job. As was mentioned above, if you need a review "carrot" to care about doing a good job, perhaps your workplace isn't the best one for you. You should take pleasure in a good review by knowing you kick the most butt possible.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not sure what the point of reviews are at my employer. They're done annually, but there aren't raises (merit or otherwise) for non-union employees and that isn't expected to change in the foreseeable future, nor are there possibilities for advancement or reduction in force in my position. The only place I think reviews might come into play is if I were to apply for a position with another outlet under our corporate umbrella.

 

[Christine]

When I worked for a private contractor, we were limited to 3% raises per year. If you did you job and were a good employee, you could count on getting that. We were reviewed and if your review came up sub-par, you might not get the 3% but basically everyone was good so it was all set.

I currently work for the federal government and our agency no longer does the GS pay scale. It is pay for performance. Our reviews do indeed equate to money. You are basically compared and ranked to others in your organization and the higher you perform, the higher your raise.

 

[wvjules]

When I was a contractor for the DoD we had annual reviews but they didn't equate to pay increases. Pay was determined by the DOL wage labor category. Now I'm in public accounting where I get an annual review that is based on ongoing evaluations, but that is only a small piece of the puzzle that goes into determining compensation. Last year I had a merit increase, a market adjustment, and a promotion raise. I will not be promoted this year but I will still receive the merit increase based on performance, and a market adjustment. I really think that for most companies, the annual increases are predetermined and the evaluations are pretty much meaningless.