Fighting the Forced Ranking of Employees?

Allen asks: "The company I work for has a forced ranking system for performance reviews. Employees are ranked from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, in a bell curve arrangement. Department managers are required to identify: 10% as 5s (excels), 20% as 4's (exceeds), 50% as 3s (fully meets), 15% as 2s (partially meets), and 5% as 1s (requires action). In an department of 100 employees, this means that 5 employees must be identified and labeled as ones, and at least 20 employees as below average. The net result is every employee in the department is competing against their peers to increase (or maintain) their ranking. We're supposed to work together as a team, and support each other to get the product out the door, but the forced ranking system encourages us to instead stomp on each other, and stab each other in the back, in order to secure a higher ranking. That and, after working our collective rears off to get a new product out the door, several of us were given below average rankings that we believe are undeserved. How would you fight a forced ranking system at your job? I enjoy the technology I work on, and I enjoy working with my peers, but this forced ranking system is very demoralizing."

Comments

Re:Face Reality

[Kosgrove]

" Your working for a bunch of A$$H0LES running the company who care more about being sadistic to its employees rather than focus on customer satisfacation.

Start looking for a new job and when you get one, get revenge by quiting on the spot with out notice and leave them hanging dry."

I swear to god, you get the worst career advice on this site. No wonder everyone here always bitches about their jobs, or not being able to find a job, etc. You cannot have the arrogant attitude so many geeks have and expect to do well in the workplace.

It's a small world out there. NEVER leave a job without 2 weeks notice unless it's an emergency (or you're being sexually harasses, etc). That's your professional obligation, and if you ignore it, it may come back to bite you in the ass big-time. Never burn a bridge you don't have to, not matter how unfair, exploitative, or justplain lousy a former employer was.

Re:4 step process

[glimes]

You aren't burning bridges.

At this point, the bridges are *already* charred
hunks of ash held together by rusted nails.

Recognize that the corporation's personnel department
has placed your team on the far side of a chasm and
applied flame throwers to the trestle.

If this behavior is not corrected immediately by higher
level management, where "immediately" is "fast enough
that the question of retroactive pay adjustment never
has to come up" -- then the corporate management has
watched the bridge burn, probably roasting marshmellows,
and is refusing to build another.