Job Evaluation

[Spanky]

I feel quite safe now since I know that most of our military officers hold a "1" being a walk-on-water type. :

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Guys, for all the negatives of being a contractor, I do not have the stress that I lived with as a staff employee.

I consider formal reviews to be intensely demeaning. I think that feedback must be immediate to be useful, but then, it is not about feedback, is it? In my cynical eyes, they are just trying to document reasons for dismissal in the future. These days, all I want to know is, are you going to keep me or not? If there is work to do, I will do it. If no work, goodbye.

For many years now, I have found that I am a better engineer than any of my supervisors...and far more marketable. It bouys my spirit to know that I make 50% more than the guy in charge and I don't have to put up with politics. Both of these things gall the hell out of staff. Sorry. I pay for that by not working regularly and by working far from home, but I will live longer.

Ed in the North

[Jarhead*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! I was a junior officer "flying a desk" in a "career-broadening" assignment (another get-rid-of-them program the USAF came up with to encourage pilots to leave)

ReWahoo: Interesting story.

Were you previously a pilot that was re-assigned to a desk job? If so, I can understand your angst.

My youngest cousin was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam situation, and after we pulled out, and wrapped things up in the 70's, they re-assigned him in the same manner.
He had 14 years in the Army, and was a Warrent Officer. He was also a red-neck, and loved flying those "egg-beaters".

He sought my advice on what to do, as he was thinking about bailing out. I suggested he ride that desk until he had his 20 in, and then tell them to place it "where the moon don't shine."

He's a fly-fishing buddy of mine, now, and thankful he listened to my advice.

The fact that you "only" had 8 years invested, I would have probably did what you did, but I'm sure that was not an easy decision.

P.S. We are into our 5th. day in a row of rain,
(No golf), so thanks for getting me partially through another day with an interesting post.

Jarhead

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex-Jarhead Were you previously a pilot that was re-assigned to a desk job? If so, I can understand your angst.

Yes, but I had far less problem with the non-flying assignment than I did with the "we've got too many of you and we wish you would go the Hell away" mindset. I was the first of many of my flying buddies to leave and it was less than 18 months later that we were contacted asking if we would like to come back. It seems the "get rid of them" policy had been too successful and the result was a lack of experience in the cockpit and an increasing number of flying accidents.

I said no, but some of my friends accepted the offer and were paid a bonus to return. And in the inscrutable wisdom of our government, a couple of them were later given bonuses to leave again!

Like your cousin, I would have probably tried to stick it out to "get my 20" had I been where he was. But the thought of 12 more years was just more than I could hack. But it turned out OK.

Sorry about your lousy weather. Hope it improves before you or DW decide to take a few practice swings at each other.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! The system provided four levels of ratings, with a "1" being a walk-on-water type (what almost everyone got before the new system was implemented), and a "4" being a dead-from-the-neck-up type. Each officer was evaluated by his immediate superior, then the next level and finally at the Wing Commander. Each rating level had a quota (think funky shaped bell curve) that allowed a maximum of twenty-something percent "1's", forty-something percent "2's, and unlimited "3" or "4" ratings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! I was the first of many of my flying buddies to leave and it was less than 18 months later that we were contacted asking if we would like to come back. * It seems the "get rid of them" policy had been too successful and the result was a lack of experience in the cockpit and an increasing number of flying accidents.

The more things change... you've just described the Navy of the mid-1990s.

Under the earlier FITREP system, everyone had a 4.00 GPA and you had to use a microscope to distinguish among the superlatives in the comments section. Querying the database to find an outstanding officer (to relieve the dirtball who'd just run aground) would spew out 1000 or more names (no doubt including more dirtballs).

The system changed to a 5.0 scale with specific attributes for integer grades between 1.0 - 5.0. 5.00 GPAs had to be accompanied by the CO's letter to the admiral justifying a 5.00 FITREP... a couple of those letters from the same CO would earn a "knock it off" phone call. The promotion-recommendation quota system started an impressive number of fistfights at ranking boards but it's well worth the effort. A command's FITREPS can be automatically checked for format & quotas and they're automatically kicked back if they don't conform to the rules. A few of those kickbacks earns the CO another special quality-control phone call.

As computing power grows, the CO's reporting average is now tracked by the Bureau of Personnel, and it's available to just about any officer/sailor. The quality of your FITREP grades now depends on whether you're above your CO's average or below it. The "easy" graders and the "hard" graders can now be compared to see where someone falls under each.

The Navy is still suffering from the "'95 notch", referring to the sparse number of officers commissioned that year. A few years back their promotion board to O-3 was cancelled ("all qualified" were promoted, basically all those without felony convictions) and a couple years ago there was considerable debate about canceling their O-4 board. However Congress wanted to approve the board's results (as usual) so they "only" promoted something like 97% of them. I think their chances of command are about triple what it is today...

Gosh I miss this stuff-- NOT.

[brewer12345]

Well, surprise, surprise, I just had my job evaluation/bonus "talk". I figured this would happen after the close of the year, but what do I know. Unlike my last eval in a corporate employer, this one consisted of me and the three partners sitting in an office talking about what I did well and (mostly) where I could improve. They were candid and didn't waste time with forms to be filled out, idiotic number grades, etc. I thought all of their suggestions were pretty well on the mark. I'm actually glad that they came up with the same things I did because it means that I will get help getting where I need to be. Overall, though, they were fairly positive (otherwise I'd be out the door).

The bonus was less than I had hoped, but within the range of my expectations considering the modest return we generated this year. About 50% of my base comp and enough to fund some home improvements, a nice vacation and still have a decent chunk to put away. The door is also wide open for next year, and I have a very good idea of where to invest my efforts.

I know this sort of thing is impossible in a larger company (people would get sued), but it was immeasurably more productive than anything I've ever had in a large company.

[SteveR]

Brewer,
Congratulations on the bonus. Private practice sure has a number of benefits over megacorp. Our bonus for the year will be maybe 12% of base.

Glad things are falling into place for you.

[KB]

It sounds like the change of job was the right move.

Congrats on the bonus.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KB It sounds like the change of job was the right move. Congrats on the bonus.*

Thanks. I think it is turning out to be a good move, but time will tell. I suspect that the limiting factor will be my wife' willingness to see me away for so many hours a day. But so far, so good.

[HFWR]

I'll be getting a large "bone-us"...

[Eagle43]

Got them for 40 years or so...*

[jug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue My question is how do I answer this questionnaire?* If I answer truthfully, I will be criticizing my supervisor in writing and he will most likely retaliate in my evaluation to justify his past actions.* On the other hand, if I ignore all his past actions, there will be no documentation of previous inequities and he could still attack/discredit me in my evaluation.* The official explanation for the employee questionnaire is that it provides “an opportunity for opening communication” between supervisor and employee during the evaluation process, but I feel like I am being set-up.* I have been considering two different approaches.* One approach would be to just focus on inequities which can be documented (salary and promotion) and not address anything anecdotal or subjective.* *The other approach would be to play it safe by answering the questionnaire with innocuous statements. *

Say nothing that will provoke retaliation and let them everything is just fine.* Companies/managers use these useless evaluations and questionaires with the intention of showing they have "good intentions"* But when the paperwork is put in, and bad things are said affecting certain people, be sure that the sharks teeth will appear, and retaliation is very possible.

In this insane world, those with good intentions and integrity are not rewarded.* Its those who play dirty who get the gold.

It's best to say nothing negative, and possibly even give praise where none is due, you have to think systematically, cause and effect.

jug

[Brat]

Quote:

possibly even give praise where none is due

I strongly disagree because undeserved praise can come back to bite you.* It is safe to recognize the manager's efforts so long as you keep to the concrete things you know (long hours, unexpected difficulties).

Were I you I would state something to the effect that you will make every effort to meet the manager's goals and support the corporate effort to (do whatever).*

[SteveR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat I strongly disagree because undeserved praise can come back to bite you.* It is safe to recognize the manager's efforts so long as you keep to the concrete things you know (long hours, unexpected difficulties). Were I you I would state something to the effect that you will make every effort to meet the manager's goals and support the corporate effort to (do whatever).*

I agree with Brat. The trick is to not puke all over the place when you do it and to make it appear to be a sincere satement of support for management and company misdirection goals. Management loves a suckup...the trick is to make it look real and to not be seen as a phoney.

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveR Our bonus for the year will be maybe 12% of base.

Our bonus, if exists, will be 0.3% because of a significant reduction in sales.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky Our bonus, if exists, will be 0.3% because of a significant reduction in sales.

Your company hands out bonuses for reducing sales?!?

[HFWR]

Last time I got a bonus (1998), I was downsized six months later...

No thanks... :P

Still, we may get profit sharing (another relatively rare occurance).

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Your company hands out bonuses for reducing sales?!?

In the past, our bonus was in the 15% to 20% range based on sales growth, project milestones, quality goals, and so on.

Since our sales number falls short of expectation, the projected bonus is 0.3% as opposed to 15% as planned (a year ago).

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

I agree with Brat. The trick is to not puke all over the place when you do it and to make it appear to be a sincere satement of support for management and company misdirection goals. Management loves a suckup...the trick is to make it look real and to not be seen as a phoney.

"Honesty is the key. If you can fake that, you've got it made." George Burns