Everyone should try this. It gives you much better insight into the ranking process.
Rank your work group. Put people into the buckets. Meet the distribution. Pick your 8% to PIP. You have to meet the distribution.
Where did you put yourself? Are you surprised who you had to put into NI and NSI?
Sometimes I wonder if the terrible managers that met with me to perform real feedback once over a 10 year career are getting the rewards for their terrible performance, but most of the time, I'm happy I moved on. I've since done a Master's degree in a year, and gotten performance bonuses with a new company. Exxon just doesn't value certain skillsets. That's fine, but if you find yourself PIPed, bounce. Find where you are appreciated. You'll make more money, be happier, and you'll accomplish things you never could when you had to do a bunch of useless things that the corporation requires but that nobody cares happen until they don't, and then you shoulder the blame...
The problem is that the ranking system is corrupted by favoritism and office politics. Every has already discussed the issues around brown-nosers and so-called "high potentials" having protected status, but when rankings are distributed across a whole department, a lot can depend on which group you're in. For example, the 10-strong R&D group responsible for Mobil 1 all benefit from the halo effect of the product with which they're associated, even though there are really only 3 or 4 people who are actual formulators and 1 of these is the true lead person who directs the others.
The other people in the group are just involved with organizing specific blend studies and rig/engine tests for API specification and OEM requirements, or even just loading formulation details and other information into the product specification database (for the blend plants and marketing advisors). While their work is necessary and important, the staff working under direction or simply doing clerical work will all be ranked significantly higher than formulators with similar age and years of service who are independently formulating other lubricants (e.g. diesel engine, marine or especially industrial) .... just because they are associated with Mobil 1 and they must be the best because of this.
There is no way you can tell me that is fair or right.
I remember when they lied saying they would no longer do these rankings.
@3owx+1aYqqOU1 and HOLD THE HAND RAILS!
Don’t worry , there are hundreds of new hires coming into BTC this year to take up the slack
I had a supervisor who had us write the 2 minute speech they give to represent you. Had to be only two minutes and include development opportunities. Was pretty interesting exercise.
This is a very difficult exercise. Most supervisors and manager do their best. This is why you need to be very focused and deliver a quality PDS. Don’t expect your supervisor to do a good job if you didn’t spend the necessary effort on this.
I would also encourage you to put together a 1 pager your supervisor can use to represent you. He/she gets 2.5-3 minutes to represent you! Make sure it reflects the most important work you contributed.
@ gtk+1aYqqOU1
The rules de-motivate, but coaching reports is the core essence of a supervisor.
Microsoft ditched this terrible forced ranking years ago along with lots of other big companies that perform much better than us, yet our management desperately clings to it like it’s the key to our success.
I tried this when a colleague suggested doing it as part of providing my feedback on people. It made me think very differently about what it means to be in the NI and NSI buckets. To me it basically means you have some actual feedback on something they could work on. Everyone is doing their jobs. Some people just can improve how they get things done and how they behave.
I disagree. Point is many complain I shouldn’t have been PIPd but that is the system. If you don’t like it your only choice is to leave because EM has made it very clear they aren’t changing it. It isn’t like the ranking system is new.
I wouldn’t have a problem with “the system”, if the rules would apply equally.
Why isn’t DW PIL? Why despite all indications of his awful need for improvement, he instead racked a $75 million sweetened pay?
You can’t defend “the system” a turn a blind eye to the loopholes, inconsistencies, bias, and capriciousness.
We might be all engineers, but not all engineers are created equal.
This point is d-mb. Misses the whole point. The issue is with the ranking system itself and the unethical quotas to fire 8-10% of the technical work force to meet TNTS targets.
Stupid fu----g post. The ranking system doesn’t need defending. Poor manager boohoo 😢
As a supervisor even if I coach my entire team someone has to be NSI. I have to put 8% there.
The issue is the distribution % across the quints , whereas most employees should bell curve to average and let the true standout / poor performers be identified
If supervisors/managers take credit for coaching you, then ask why they coached you straight into the NI group this time.
In a sense it is crowdsourced. There were more than 20 managers in the session talking about it when I did ranking. Sessions started early in the morning and often went late into the night. It isn’t just the opinion of your supervisor. Everyone in the room talks about it and has to agree. The only way you can get screwed is if ONLY your supervisor knows you. Make sure others know about what you do and how you add value.
If you had asked how we did assessments it would have been disclosed. You know now, so you can choose to stay or go. You aren’t a slave.
This Valid but there is more behind the scene that comes with.
My boss told me that the CL group Raking I am at all his group is seeing with more basic job. Having said that he said no one from his group will be above good.
This is just one example, there are many more things that comes to the table during ranking.
Why this is not disclosure when I was hired???? Would have not came to work at Exxonmobil
How well does this thought exercise work when you have people along the spectrum of humble and delusional? You will have someone tell themselves that they are God’s gift to this company when they are really a poor performer. Other people will naturally rank themselves lower because they are humble (or pessimists), but will end up in a much higher rank.
Now think about how you are going to explain to the people in NI and NSI why they ended up there and if you did enough to coach them throughout the year.
We could all be coaching each other if we think the supervisors aren’t doing enough. Of course if you help someone improve that just means someone else who didn’t improve now gets to go down. It is a relative not absolute performance system.
I’ve often wondered what the result would be if we crowdsourced ranking. Post all the PDS’s and let the rank group members vote.
Everyone should be forced to do this thought exercise as part of annual ranking session training. Not as easy as it looks.