Every year we get pressured more and more to lower scores. We had to give a lot of 3's to employees that were 4 in the past.
HR says a 3 is a "good" score but we all know in reality it means you are getting a below the average raise and bonus. And the average has been absolutely disgraceful the last several years here.
I was given the pressure, frankly I didn’t care. I will go to bat for my employees, whereas many managers don’t. The simple response was, what other GLXX in your org is better? Therefore 4’s were easy and done without any pushback. 5’s slightly more explanation needed.
Does it really matter in the end? Other than keeping folks from the early cut lists… not a whole lot. Raises were minimal last year. I got nothing as a 5 last year given GL30+. Bonus was smaller than previous years, and they threw a few pretty restricted RSU’s at me. Rumors are this year will be worse. We shall see, let’s hope not.
No raises/bonus? Even for this company, that would be too evil. If that happens I can see sabotage instead of quiet quitting happening.
Unionize !
There is a pool of money allocated and it’s split up based on how someone feels. Ratings represent the pool so they can rationalize the expense on paper. You can knock the year out of the park, but if there’s no pool then there will no money for you. Your rating will be set to justify the lack of money.
Be real, even as a 5 last year I got a 3.5% raise (which once you factor in inflation is a paycut). There are no actual raises. Your rating just determines how much your pay cut actually is.
Yes. More and more calibration. It doesn't matter what managers put. They will get told to change ratings. Start working on narratives or changing conversations to make the lower score not look like a surprise. It's is pretty terrible.
New word on the street is no raises or bonuses for anyone in a level 28 or above, so ratings won't make much matter anyway. Maybe we need to organize and demand Witty resign. He has destroyed this company.
No COLA raise last year for my dept due to "freeze". But healthcare premiums went up by a lot so essentially it was a pay cut, before they RIFd me in July.
I received mostly 4's - no 3's. We were told that a 5 should be exceedingly rare. Glad to not have to deal with their nonsense anymore - horrible company.
Online you can pull the form online that clearly states ratings and even that a good percent should get 4 and 5s. Use it and push back - managers need to put in writing if they won’t let you follow , that’s the trick . The written tool isn’t used but they can hide behind it
I wouldn’t mind rating employees a 3 if they were still given at least cost of living raises. The reality is, managers are pressured to give 3s then are told that we need to keep higher performers happy by giving 3s 0-1% which is an absolute slap in the face to people working really hard and through no fault of their own forced to be a lower rank.
Get real! This is a layoff shop. Coming from an acquired company that used to be mildly generous with raises and bonuses, the new reality is a massive reduction in employee compensation as well as massive job insecurity. Bonuses? I’d save 20 percent of salary for the day you get rifed, which you will. This 20 percent saving rate is on top of all other savings/debt payoff and is the cost of working here. So, to “cover this layoff 20 percent” make sure your net compensation accounts for this else work elsewhere.
Remember, with Medicare risk adjustments, AI, and a goal of 70 % offshore and 30 percent onshore we all need to realize our heads can be on the chopping block any time.
Factor that into your decision to join this place or even whether to stay in this place. Play the numbers and if you get something better, take it.
Good luck and here’s life after UHG/Optum.
That was the most frustrating thing when I worked there. Telling me I couldn't have a lot of stellar employees when in fact I did. It's bull$#/] "just to make it work" giving good employees ratings that are less than they deserve. So glad I no longer have to deal with that ridiculousness
What Bonus? It has pretty much went from a 25-35% bonus to nothing with these acquisitions. It is no wonder that my co-workers are doing a second job or committing to hobbies during the work day.