skysooner

I both love and hate these. On the one hand, I find out what they think of me, the end of the year bonus and the raise for the upcoming year. I also dread it, because I'm very hard on myself and constantly feel I could be doing a better job. I think they are going to expose me somehow. I had a pretty good feeling coming into it today, and I wasn't disappointed. 16% bonus, 5% raise, and a hearty congratulations and keep it up. This is in contrast to my review a few years ago (another company). The owner of the company called me in after 18 months and said, "I'm not sure what you do here exactly, but my son thinks you are doing a good job". Here is a 3% increase.

Any good or bad stories concerning this annual ritual?

Cynthetiq

as a manager, I hated doing them. They took a long time and we didn't have much choice in the matter but to pretty much give them the same across the board. If I wanted to super reward someone I had to penalize someone.

One time I had someone argue .25% over the principle of the point. We argued the point for 2 days, and in the end, I ended up terminating him for insubordination, because he took 2 whole days, not just a few hours, but 2 whole days of my time.

I don't like them because of some people expect to get raises and well so do those fuck offs that don't deserve them. Yet, you try to not give them a raise and HR steps in. All a matter of being a pain in the butt.

BTW.. congrats on a good raise and bonus.

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rockzilla

I'm the feel the same way about annual reviews, I usually do well on them, but I always worry that they'll pick apart all the little things I notice I'm doing wrong. I had one performance review scheduled just 2 weeks after I had gotten a promotion (and a hefty raise). I was reviewed under the critera of my new job, but it was taken into consideration that I had been at the job for so short a time. I got a very small, token raise that year too, no big deal, since I had just gotten my first cheque with the massive raise on it.

Rodney

I generally don't worry about them if my boss is a decent person, because I always do a good job and I always keep my boss in the loop on everything I'm doing. Whether they like it or not. But usually, they do, and if they have a problem with what I'm doing they find out early and tell me to fix it. I try to make managing me an easy job, and it's usually appreciated.

If my boss isn't a decent person, I don't expect a good review -- I've usually got one foot out the door anyway, so my attitude is, "yeah, whatever." Surprisingly, even the shitheads have sometimes given me good reviews.

herostar

we don't get them at the Outback Steakhouse, but we get bonuses based on our performance compared to the previous years and other franchises

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nirol

My boss hates doing them too. So he makes us write our own and email it to him. He then alters it and sends it to Human Resources.
I write a glowing review, then lock in all the entries with password protection. I turn it in at the last minute and take the rest of the day off, then turn off my phone.
Works great.

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'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
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clavus

Never had one when I was a peon. I don't give them now that I manage.

I always knew where I stood. And if you work for me, you have a pretty goddamn good idea of how I think you are doing.

I gues that's life in small companies.

We have no Christrmas bonus where I work now. That's fine with me. The only holiday-related bonus I believe in is for veterans on Veteran's Day.

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Averett

I had mine last year. Well, sort of. It was never finished. My old boss started it out, and my new boss was supposed to finish, but he never did...

We got our bonuses already so that was cool.

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sailor

I like that. A lot.

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viejo gringo

Man do I remeber them. Only had one bad review, and I got it over turned...

I, and my partner had just designed and built the first online paperless system for this large fortune 500 company....

I got a written letter of comindation in my folder, a promotion, 5% pay raise, and two weeks in the hospital with a stress related heart attack....

When I came back to work my supervisor started in on the pushing to get things done, again. I quietly told him that I was at top speed and it would get done when it got done......the next time he leaned on me I told him that I did not give a shit what he wanted and he could stick the job---etc.

So he wrote me up and was going to demote me...I went over his head and talked to his boss, and he agreed with me and gave him a direct order to rewrite it and get off of my back....

spent 38 years with that company and that was my only bad incident.

woody69

I used to agree with the philosophy that reviews were a waste of time and pointless. However, lately, I have wanted a review. For the last few years I have worked for a single company and have not had a review. If gets a bit un-nerving when layoffs come and you know there is no record of what you have delivered or accomplished over the last 12-24-36 months. Sometimes these reviews can help you. Especially in a company large enough that a manager 2 levels above doesn't even know your name.

skysooner

Generally I have hated them for many of the reasons stated above. The first review I had at this company, I got averages across the board (policy since I had only been on the job a few months). The second review was considered to be exceptional (but my average rating was 2.5 on a 1 (best) to 5 (worst) scale). They never used 1s or 5s and rarely gave 2s. My review was skewed a bit so that it could be rounded to a 3 but high enough so that my raise was better. It's all a game sometime. It makes me wonder if I really want to move into management (which is really my next step). This review was better. It actually gave me some pretty good feedback for once. They want me to be a bit more vocal in meetings with certain managers who don't know me as well as some of the others. I was also told I was "key" to the team, and they would hate to lose me.

Spyder_Venom

I have been working for my current company for four years - still haven't recived one.

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WannabeTFP

Hey man, a 16% bonus, I don't care what they'd say about me, that sounds pretty good!

highthief

For any managers who hate doing these things drop me a line at sgallimo@cch.ca - oddly enough, part of what I do is sell software that makes doing performance reviews, job descriptions, etc quite brainless, fast and easy.

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krwlz

My mother just got hers... 1500 dollar per year raise, and a 5 grand bonus.

Can't complain there.

skysooner

Yes, I was pretty happy about it. It was the best review and bonus I have ever had. I had some questions earlier this year about financial compensation at this company and whether it would be better to strike out on my own or go to a smaller company with a larger base pay, but this pretty much decided me on staying here. This was also the 2nd year I had to conduct a performance review on my assistant, and my manager thought it was pretty insightful. On the other hand, I got really nervous even talking to him about it even though it was a glowing review. I'm not sure how I will do if/when I am made a supervisor. I suppose it is something you partially train for and just learn by experience. They send us to all of these leadership classes that helps, but there is nothing like doing it to learn it.

saberyo

I work at a wonderful place(*) that changes the performance reviews every year. The reviews are _never_ used to determine raises(**) and the only bonus you get is in March when you realize that they've screwed up your withholdings and you owe the Feds $1200.

Guess that's better than no job at all.

If we actually did get bonuses or even raises based on job performance some folkes would be fired and the rest of us would make the place go broke.


*: I work for a state government at a large research university.

**: The only employees that have gotten raises in 2 years either wear suits or are retired.

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TANSTAAFL

japhyryder

I always look forward to giving and recieving a review, I haven't gotten on in almost two years, but the last one was a 12% raise. So, I know when I get one it will be a good one. On giving them like most companies you are only allowed so much money for labor, or you will be over budget (no matter how good your sales are, kinda dumb) I hate having to pick and choose who should get one if anyone gets one. Most of the time people have to quit before I can give someone a raise.

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laconic1

I remember a few years ago I walked into the managers office expecting to be begging for my job since I felt my performance had been well below my standards, and a lot of other people that I thought were doing better than me were coming out of the office gnashing their teeth and cursing about their poor reviews. Instead I got a 25% raise and a great job keep it up. Needless to say I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

cliv

I get to write my own objectives every year and them I write how I accomplished each one. My boss then picks key phrases out of the accomplishments to justify the rating he gives me. And instead of sitting down to discuss anything, we each just sign them when we have the chance. So, in reality, I do it all myself and as long as I don't piss off my boss, everything goes smoothly.