At CL29 I was cruising - solid rankings, comfortable, life was good. Then I moved to CL30 and suddenly felt like a wart hog in the African savanna with every lion staring me down. Turns out, the grass on the other side isn’t greener - it just comes with more predators. Sometimes the “lower” CLs are the sweet spot. Enjoy them, every level is competitive, but to different degrees.
Just wanted to comment on this for all those yearning for the next CL…
@ve speak for yourself. I’m not in constant fear of the next layoff. I come here for info like this.
This discussion cracks me up. The vast majority of employees will never see CL27, never mind CL29 and CL30 and the salaries/RSUs that can come with them. Read the room...it's a layoff board.
CL 34 and 38 are common potentials. but "golden" people are the ones getting a CL 40 potential which is very rare. Remember they have lists of candidates for every executive position at least 3 deep. So 2/3 of people may not get to their potential. It is about giving you an ego boost without a salary boost (dangling a golden carrot) trying to keep you till you prove your performance. The wide CL 30 to 34 rank group means the high potential 34/33 managers are occupying the top two quintiles.. They need lower ranked 30/31 to occupy the bottom 2 quintiles. So a promotion to executive can wipe out your RSU (but you may get some increase in base that increases your 3 year average for lump sum. This wide 30 to 34 grouping is to protect salaries and egos of hipos. EM has too many executives and they must cut this cost especially as organization structure gets smaller and simplified.
95+% of people will never make it to CL30 anyway.
So, what's the fuss?
@m1 what are the shares of RSU for CL30 at different performance categories?
@kn It is true that salary won’t go down. However, a “feature” of the salary bands is the overlapping nature. The target salary for a top ranked CL29 is higher than a “good” and perhaps a “very Good” CL30. The same plays out up and down the CL’s. What this means is that the top ranked lower CL will continue to have some salary increases. The lower ranked person in the higher CL will have a salary that is over the target and get 0. At some point in time if the previously highly ranked person in a new rank group doesn’t move up to near where they were before, they will be paid less in salary than had they stayed at the lower CL and remained higher ranked. Again this plays out whenever a person jumps to a different ranking group. A good manager will be thinking about this when considering that person’s promotion.
When it comes to the exec ranking. The lower rank group for execs
is 30-34, five CL’s in width. It’s the widest group. That means there is intense competition. And that there is not a big step up in base salary or a base level of RSU to keep one even with the alternative of staying at a 29 makes it unfair to those that are the base of the forced ranking to allow the chosen ones to enjoy the fruits.
3000 share one time bonus upon CL30!!??? Didn’t happen for me. Did I get cheated?
You folks don’t know what you are talking about.
I don’t agree with the OP’s sentiment.
If you aren’t willing to take a chance or don’t have confidence you can be at least in Good category then ok be silent and coast at 29. But I don’t agree with those that question if it is worth it, or with VPs who try to make people feel ok that they are not promoted. It is step change in total compensation.
Your salary will not go down and most performance categories get cash bonus and more RSUs. So you can take your 400 shares and $0 cash bonus from Outstanding in 29 or get more in any CL30+ category except NI/NSI
The real issue is how subjective the system is and definitely not meritocracy when they promote / assess people based on their higher potential (eg POT38) than on proven performance (eg CL29s who have delivered in CL30 assignments).
@h4 why is 3000 shares?
I am at the india BSC, only one person is 30 and that person is typically foreigner and white....
@gk 3,000 shares at $110 per share is $330K. So a move from CL29 to 30 gives you a one off approx $330K, vested in 3 (50%) and 7 years (50%)? Got it
(I’m CL 26 and gonna end my career here, just busybodying)
@gg Except for the one time RSU bonus of 3,000 shares when you hit exec, that’s correct.
There is NOT a big salary bump from 29 to 30. It is the same % bump that disappointed you when you went from 25 to 26.
The RSU and bonus can be significant IF you are well ranked. Remember the bottom gets nothing. That’s right 0 RSU and bonus. And the ranking is distributed such that the 33-34 are generally at the top, those with a powerful sponsor and a rocket on their back are also at the top. Therefore it is everyone else at the bottom half. If you are there at the bottom half, you wish you were back to a 29. As new cannon fodder and high fliers are promoted in, you worry that this is your year for NI or NSI.
An old boss of mine once told me that the “normal” person has to be able to make it to 32 to come out ahead on the deal.
So those who comment here that a couple of years at a CL30 gets a million $ uptick in the retirement, don’t know what they are talking about.
If you stay the same RG, you make about 15 to 25% (depending on how well XOM stock performs) more in total comp (including RSU and any cash bonus. But if you drop in ranking, you could actually lower your compensation (lose your RSUs).
ball park what is the salary difference between a 29 and 30 both at mid-curve, all benefits included?
27 is the new ceiling for 97% of the company. If you're in your mid/late 30s and a Cl27 get ready to be there forever.
There are many CL-27's that would love to be CL-30's for the last two years of their career especially for the additional $1 million in retirement perks at the Executive Level.
Nobody is going anywhere anymore except for a few here and there.
For those who think a couple years at CL30 lets you reap some benefits…. Remember that the salary curves overlap. A high ranked 29 and a low ranked 30 probably have about the same pay. However, on the 30 band, you might be NI fodder. If life was suddenly easier on the north side of 30, we’d have more friendly executives and fewer early retirements.
CL 28/29 is the worst rank group by far. At 30 you get to reap some extra rewards for 2-3 years then GTFO.
@ak 30 won’t pad pension as salary is about the same just now RSUs
28/29 is very competitive, I can confirm. If they bump me to 30 to run me off I hope they at least let me get a year or two at the higher CL to pad my pension calc. I’m out in less than a handful of years anyway.
@OP come on... now tell us, how much are you paid at CL29 vs CL30?
The day I hear a CL30 whine here. Small violin for you?
Managers at CL 29 are the worst because they can cut off throats to progress their careers. If not HiPo they are dangerously insecure.
@OP Do you mind sharing if you are a potential 34 or 38? I’ve heard this is the case for the execs that may be high caliber employees, but aren’t considered HiPos (potential 38+)
I feel the same at CL 27.
Shift in messaging happens immediately because was always part of the grand plan. Is the game played by our Sr. Mgmt while many of those "promoted" to CL30 have or had no idea they're in line to be sacrificed. Promoted to CL30 to hold up bottom for chosen ones, many who fail miserably without consequence because protected by sponsor.
Unfortunately, same now applies to CL 28/29. If you are CL 27, don't rush to move up, 28/29 cutthroat with drastic reduction in executive potentials.
This is a very true statement