Do performance evaluations at work matter? Is so, how?

[Date_a_Snob]

[RebelinSteel]

It often depends on the organisation and if there are any real promotion prospects and any salary increases available.

for example an organisation has £100k available for salary increases, how does it decide who gets a £5k, £10k increase etc.

You have 8 people for £5k and rest on £10k.

For those 8 you need to have a good process to determine their performance and capabilities. You have 10 people who are available for a salary increase, how do you decide the 2 that will not get it?

For promotion, you always need to look at how they would work at the next level or ideally the next 2 levels, as they may need to stand in for a future boss (which would be 2 levels above pre promotion level).

Performance evaluations, assessments, appraisals carried out at 6 months and 12 months provide this information, why at 6 months, well you need to inform people they are not performing well or areas they need to improve, that way at 12 months, you can explain they did not get a salary increase as they failed to listen to what was required at 6 month review.

[osmanthus]

Corporations generally run on performance evaluations, and assess your claimed skills, prior to hiring an employee. This is an accurate and likely first-hand account of how such things work.

[RavVid]

They might be an HR idea that managers pay no attention to.

Or they may be an HR idea that will cost you your job.

In general anything from HR is scary. I failed to get a job because I didn't use the exact words HR thought were correct. I know another guy who got a job because he knew the HR words to use but was found to only be competent to refill the paper in printers.

If an HR person is sitting with your manager be careful.

[provokeesmokee]

Depends on your boss.

Mine help, because my boss is good at helping me understand how I can best help my team on a higher level. And he also has very normal and healthy expectations.

They also act as a way to keep him and his budget accountable, because I can put my paid training plans in and it's basically a written contract that he will be on the hook to reimburse me if he wants my performance to be good.

[purplepoppy]

I don't have them but a friend who's a manager make a good point. If people don't get what they think they deserve they don't work harder, they say fuck it what's the point and their performance drops. A lot rests on how well employees sell themselves rather than how well they perform and too many know how to work the system.

[Chazmatazz269]

Not really. Every decision that is supposedly made based on them was made BEFORE evaluation. That part is just a formality to excuse your bosses shitting on you and giving you more hurdles to clear so they never have to compensate you fairly.
Evaluations matter in only one way; if your company uses them, you will NEVER advance meaningfully. It’s time to find a job that actually appreciates its employees.

[osmanthus]

I'm not going to discount the fact that some companies behave this way. Nepotism may be at play. Sometimes, no matter how good the valuation is, there are numerous others who be doing just as good or else the position was already spoken for even if they said a position was vacant (which is true, at the time it could have been). Bosses don't mind employees competing against personal best and against others as it just means better results for them anyhow, that is, what employees are there to do (keep their job).

[Chazmatazz269]

Has the hypocrisy of that system occurred to you yet?

[osmanthus]

Yes. Bearing in mind, not all companies behave this way all or even some of the time but there no laws against companies behaving this way and in all cases, perhaps, aside from nepotism, it is legal.

Have you thought about working for yourself?

[Chazmatazz269]

No. I’m talking about companies pitting employees against each other because it’s “good for business”. All while trying to put their own rivals out of business, because competition isn’t so awesome after all! Ell oh ell!

[osmanthus]

Although it's not a good environment to be in, it is the case for some companies. There could be numerous reasons why management would permit and even promote or ignore this behavior and culture at work. As I stated previously, if the company is deriving some benefit from it, they likely won't stop unless there is some legal penalty or consequences from an audit or other.

[Anonymous]

Very much so, and excellent isn't always good. A place I used to worm a guy in my department had a 200+% production rate, mine was only 97%, but I learned my job, the jobs above and below me, and volunteered to step in for the jobs around me learning them as well... I wasn't GREAT at anything, but I could DO anything well enough to get by. I got promoted to a management position after being there 6 months, he's still at the entry level job after being there 5 years.

If you're too good at what you do, you're more valuable to the company if you stay in that one position, and getting paid the same as you started

[genericname85]

they are just numbers that business consultants use to make companies think they are "optimizing" their business when really they are just quantifying some shit to have a graph that has the numbers go up so they can be paid by siad company and after they leave, everything crashes, cause these numbers didn't mean shit.

[dustybiker2]

It keeps employees on track, prevents laziness. Also probably gives legal reason to fire a few people.

[Nikki1989]

It matters a lot where I work. It can be the difference between having a career or NOT.

[LiZiqiLiZiqi]

If you want a higher salary then it is important, if you don't want to make money then it is not important

[AviatorTom]

Yes, they work. A performance review determines whether you remain an employee, are eligible for promotion, or what kind of raise you get.

[mobiusforniner]

If you’re not looking forward to your performance evaluation, then I think you already know how you’re doing.

[bolverk]

I've only ever worked for one company that had "performance evaluations", they never had any real effect or changed anything in the way I worked.

[Friendlybro79]

Not when you write them for yourself instead of your boss doing it like they should and no one ever reads it or cares the extra work you do vs your colleagues.

[Agape93]

If you underperform, consistently, I'm gonna fire you.

[abc3643]

It can be the difference between being laid-off/fired or not. You bet they matter.

[bobby_bush_eater]

In the military they only mattered if you sucked.

I haven't had one yet at my new job but I get the feeling it's the same

[Booklover_90]

Yes. The feedback/constructive criticism can help you improve.

[Knightwatch27]

We need some kind of system to track efficiancy and to ensure employees do what they're hired to do well.

[Anonymous]

of course it matters so employers can keep hard working employees and fire the lazy employees

[stvigor]

Experience, speed, agility, ingenuity, problem solving, critical thinking, and promotional management skills for the dismount☆

[elaphe]

i would assume they do to an extent, otherwise why waste the time and resources?

[Anonymous]

Not really. They are mostly just a way to explain why they are only giving you a mediocre raise.

[laly520]

highly depends on the type of work

[jahaims]

That's often how they determine raises

[Bklynbadboy12]

Yes the do especially when it comes to your raise

[DishLady]

Yeah for promotions.

[jimmy2]

Yes it does it effect your pay and raises

[ApplePie409]

Not at all.

[thisAppIsGarbage]

Lol. No.