performance review rating scale rant

[Anonymous]

We have a new rating scale, 1-4. 1: needs work; 2: meets expectations 3: exceeds expectations 4: sets new standard

I have several members of my team who have done truly exemplary work and gone above and beyond during this dumpster fire of a year. They are rated in 10 different areas (there's also a written narrative). I gave them a mix of 3s and 4s--in some cases they did set a new standard, innovating in all these ways to achieve our goals despite a lot of covid/remote/no travel obstacles. I was just told by my supervisor that no one is getting 4s, that's for "splitting the atom."

My question: what's the point of a 4 point rating scale if you can almost never ever achieve the top score? to me, it sends the message to employees that no matter how hard they work, its never good enough.

rant over.

[Anonymous]

You cannot rate everyone the same
You have to spread out the results
And
It is very revealing. It speaks a lot about your insecurities. Do not expect loyalty from your team after this. Their opinion on you is formed based on unsubstantiated claims, observations

[Anonymous]

I would push back. Stand up for your team.

[Anonymous]

While I agree with reserving a 4 for "splitting the atom"- it should be a STRAIGHT 4. A mix of 3's and 4's is perfectly good and should still be happening in a very strong organization. In a good year, I typically get 3,3,4,4 for a cumulative 3.5. Once I got a straight 4 and truly I had gone way above and beyond. It was the first straight 4 my boss had ever given in 30 years.

[Anonymous]

Hmm. Seems like perhaps you're both going over the top. I wouldn't take him literally that you can't put ANY fours, but that you're using them too liberally. If "splitting the atom" is the kind of standard they're looking at, and you have 10 team members each rated in 10 areas (so you're giving out 100 total scores) you shouldn't be giving out 25 fours! I would dial it back - where were the areas where your shining stars REALLY shined? If you've got three exemplary people, and one uneven person (yeah, so AWESOME work, but also some 1s/2s) maybe the uneven person gets one 4, two exemplary people get one 4 each, and your absolute best person gets two 4s.

Your boss is telling you that 4s should really mean something BIG - that's a standard you can work with.

[Anonymous]

These scales are always all BS. People want to reward who they want to reward; they just want you to put down a number that justifies how they want to divide up raises/bonuses. Usually that means pretty much everyone “meets” or “exceeds” expectations.

[Anonymous]

We have a similar 5 point system. I flat out tell my team that I don't have the ability to grant people a 5 - it's only a small percentage of employees and people higher up than me are the ones who can grant them. While this is mostly true, it's really more about managing their expectations. If someone had a truly exceptional year, I would put the gloves on and get in the ring for them, but sadly it's not something I can do for everyone every year.

[Anonymous]

OP here, to clarify no one is getting all fours. Most are getting 3s, with a couple of 2s. I am speaking about two team members in particulatrwho have gone way above and beyond. In their ratings I gave them a mixture of 3s and 4s, not all 4s. I was told that I cannot award any 4s. What's the point then? do I now have to downgrade other strong but not exceptional employees to 2s and 3s in order to boost the top performers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, to clarify no one is getting all fours. Most are getting 3s, with a couple of 2s. I am speaking about two team members in particulatrwho have gone way above and beyond. In their ratings I gave them a mixture of 3s and 4s, not all 4s. I was told that I cannot award any 4s. What's the point then? do I now have to downgrade other strong but not exceptional employees to 2s and 3s in order to boost the top performers?

Do your top performers even care? I’m a top performer and don’t gaf what rating I get. I know how much they appreciate and value me. Nothing monetarily is tied to ratings. And even then I am not particularly motivated by money either. I enjoy doing a good job and working at an excellent place

[Anonymous]

Sounds like they want to avoid giving people a reason to ask for a raise? Dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, to clarify no one is getting all fours. Most are getting 3s, with a couple of 2s. I am speaking about two team members in particulatrwho have gone way above and beyond. In their ratings I gave them a mixture of 3s and 4s, not all 4s. I was told that I cannot award any 4s. What's the point then? do I now have to downgrade other strong but not exceptional employees to 2s and 3s in order to boost the top performers?

NO. You need to push back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a similar 5 point system. I flat out tell my team that I don't have the ability to grant people a 5 - it's only a small percentage of employees and people higher up than me are the ones who can grant them. While this is mostly true, it's really more about managing their expectations. If someone had a truly exceptional year, I would put the gloves on and get in the ring for them, but sadly it's not something I can do for everyone every year.

I would do that, but then I spend a lot of time with hr defending grievances

[Anonymous]

It depends on what the consequences of getting 4s would be. Can someone get 3s across the board and receive a bonus? If so, tell your team you're not allowed to give 4s and then just give 3s as deserved. Do not downgrade the others.

If 4s lead to bonuses, promotions, or other tangibles, then you need to push back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These scales are always all BS. People want to reward who they want to reward; they just want you to put down a number that justifies how they want to divide up raises/bonuses. Usually that means pretty much everyone “meets” or “exceeds” expectations.

Not surprisingly, people leave jobs they love because salary is not keeping up with inflation
If those ratings determine your salary increase, then you cannot stay

[Anonymous]

i got all 4s this year. i got close to 3 last year when i thought i did exceptionally well. i knew i outperformed/overachieved this year but was still surprised based on how i was rated a year ago. point is it's all relative not absolute.