I got my annual review. Exceeds Expectations, which is the not the highest rank my company has, but is the highest grade ever given unless you cure cancer or something. The review was about as glowing as it could be - “She exceeded in so many ways this year by building relationships, strengthening relationships and volunteering for projects that were not on her radar, as she often does. She has always been a sought-out expert for analysis and reports, and she is expanding her expertise and collaborating very well with many teams throughout Specialty. I am proud of her work ethic and her accomplishments. She is a warm human being who loves her work and strives to help other improve where she can assist. She loves to share her knowledge and is a good teacher. She helps to give others confidence when teaching them a new skill”
Plus my raise is about 3 times the usual one. I don’t know how they managed that one.
Okay, brag over. I just had to tell someone, since we really can’t tell other employees what we’re getting.
Congrats! I’m jealous that you get to work for people that’ll reward competence and hard work.
I spent decades working for bosses who would praise you as you saved their butts and brought in new clients all year long… only to usher you into your annual review and insult you.
After a litany of lines like “Your time sheets say you’re working longer than upper management is during deadlines. A lot more than you have to. But, we think you’re exaggerating those times…” Then they’d show their motivation: “So, no raise for you.”
Congratulations! My last review was very similar, with “Exceeds Expectations” and a host of attaboys from my managers regarding a high dollar contract I helped not only complete, but get the followon contract from the customer. It was the most glowing praise I’ve ever gotten in my working life.
And when it got 2 levels up, a senior department manager downgraded it to average because I had not attended the minimum of 5 after-work social events. You know, those events which happened while I was at a flight test range in the hinterlands ensuring the system worked. Along with this he killed my (recommended) raise.
Please note I said “last review” as it happened shortly before I turned in my retirement papers a year ago.
(Note: this was one of several incidents that convinced me it was time.)
It’s nice to have your efforts recognized, isn’t it? I spent far too many years getting generic reviews by bosses who were just trying to get them done. I think I finally got a couple of real, honest-to-goodness reviews from the last boss before I retired, and they led to a couple of bonuses, which was nice.
We must work for the same company. I once heard there was a guy who walked on water and got the highest rating.
It is nice to be recognized (and get a big raise) for a job well done, but it’s ridiculous to have a category that is not attainable.
In theory we have five performance categories, but in reality there are only 2 1/2.
1 - God
2 - Top 5-10% performers
3 - Virtually everyone
4 - On the verge of being fired
5 - already fired.
I don’t understand why an organization would want to implicitly state that the overwhelming majority of its employees are just OK.
I think we’ve got a tiara around here you can have…
~VOW
(Seriously. Congratulations. Make copies of the review, keep at least one in a safe place. If management and/or ownership changes, attach the copy of the review to your resume when you go job hunting.)
pullin - We only see our reviews after they’ve been signed off on by the VP and HR, so it’s golden.
My company is very transparent that 75% will be Meets Expectations, 10% on either side, with the remaining 5% being God or Fired. I actually did get God one year.
VOW - I keep PDFs of all my reviews, just in case. As well as an updated resume, because you never know.
