Bad Annual Review

S

Stringbean

Active Member
For those HR people out there, or anyone else, I need some advice. I got a poor performance review today. Therefore, I did not get a raise or a bonus.

I was never given a warning before my review that my work was poor. I think they should have given me some warning so I would have a chance to rectify the situation. The review was given with HR in the room. I have contacted an HR person further up but dont know if I have any real recourse.

What do you guys think?
 
I do not work for HR, but I am management and perform annual reviews regularly. I do not ever give poor performance ratings without previous verbal or written coachings or warnings. Interestingly, I've noticed that when I have given a poor review the employee generally claims I never coached them and they had no idea their work was substandard.

If I do give a person a poor annual review, I am required to follow it up within 6 months with another review so they do have a chance to rectify the situation.

As for procedures, it really depends on your company's policies. I do hope you have another opportunity to prove yourself.

Good luck.
Robin
 
I would tend to think that if you were doing that poorly to warrant a bad review and NO raise/bonus (as opposed to just a little LESS of a raise/bonus) that yes, a supervisor would have or should have brought the problem(s) to your attention. If you were not "warned" or reprimanded in any way for poor work prior to this review then I would think the outcome of the review is bogus. I think if I were you, I would bring it to the attention of HR too...explain to them that your boss never said anything to you, etc...Let us know what happens! Best of luck! :)
 
> I think if I were you, I would bring it
>to the attention of HR too...explain to them that your boss
>never said anything to you, etc...Let us know what happens!
>Best of luck! :)

As a boss, I can always back up every single poor review I gave...and my gut feeling is this boss probably can as well. Poor reviews require a lot more paperwork and proof so they don't get overturned. I just don't see fighting the review as helping in the long wrong especially since you haven't proven your value to anyone. "Take it as a learning experience" and move on. We've all been shot down in life....we just need to pick ourselves up and brush ourselves off. A better more productive route would be to ask your boss how you could be a better worker. Find ways to work more efficiently or productively. My best workers were always the ones who learned from their mistakes and did better.

JMO,
Robin
 
I understand what you are saying Robin but I think this poor gal is truly baffled at what she did or didn't do to deserve this review. Should she speak to her boss about it instead? I just think she needs to find out WHY she was given such a poor review since she seems to be in the dark about it. :)
 
>I understand what you are saying Robin but I think this poor
>gal is truly baffled at what she did or didn't do to deserve
>this review. Should she speak to her boss about it instead?
>I just think she needs to find out WHY she was given such a
>poor review since she seems to be in the dark about it. :)


I agree..talking to the boss and is always a good first step:)

Robin
 
It is very important to do whatever is necessary to find out EXACTLY what is viewed as substandard about your work. Then, you can do what is necessary to do better.

I agree with Robin, that some people learn so well from their past "mistakes" that they become the best workers. My DH was told early in his career that he was passed over for a promotion because he didn't follow up on projects as well as the co-worker who got the promotion. To this day, several decades later, he is the King of follow-up and has had a very successful career! It's all about learning what you can do to improve, so don't be discouraged! :D

-Nancy
 
I agree with all of you who say talk to the boss - this is an opportunity to look at the review as a way to improve your work habits and performance. In addition, you can ask yourself some honest questions about how you use your time at work - whether you spend a lot of time talking when you could be working; whether you spend too much time on the internet (if you have access at work, that is); whether you make sloppy mistakes because you want to hurry through tasks when you have personal things you'd rather be doing, etc. Mind you, these are just suggestions and not accusations on my part. Try to judge your performance on the job as if YOU were your boss.

Be very open to whatever your boss says, and try not to be defensive. This is a time for learning from your mistakes and moving on in a positive way.
Just Do It! :)
 
Honeybunch, you just described my secretary. :( She also uses about 1% of her brainpower on the job. Very annoying. x(
-Nancy
 
This might be your cue to start looking for a new gig. Why? If management is so incompetent as to write you a negative review without setting clear expectations and goals, offering you guidance when you got off course or steps for correction, etc you will not grow in this environment. It is obvious you care about your work. You might want to find an employer to who can help foster you growth, not set you up for failure by blindsiding you with an unfair review.
 
Take a step back for a minute and analyze what you were told about your performance. Did they inform you what was "poor" about your work? Are they correct? Did they make recommendations for improvement? Are these things that you are able to do?

I know it is hard to hear that you are not doing well in your position, esp. with no notice that there was an issue. Unfortunately, some companies do not evaluate until it is "review time." Try to look past that for a moment and see this as a positive way to improve going forward.

Depending on your state, and its laws, as well as your company policies, you should have the opportunity to respond to your evaluation in writing. If you were not told that you can, I suggest finding out.

Good luck!
 
"I just don't see fighting the review as helping in the long wrong especially since you haven't proven your value to anyone. "Take it as a learning experience" and move on."

I don't agree with this. Reviews follow you within a company. In my position, we MUST give verbal, then written warnings. All warnings must be documented. When you go for a promotion or transfer within the company, the review is the first impression your new boss/supervisor will have of you. When reviews are given in my company, the employee has an opportunity to agree by signing or request a special meeting to discuss the review with management. Even if you leave, your supervisor/manager will probably not give you a good recommendation.

I would still speak with the HR department to find out what recourse you have in receiving an unsatisfactory review without prior knowledge that your work wasn't up to par.
 
You mention that HR was in the room. Are they usually there for reviews? If that's not normal, then I would guess something more than a review was going on... Did they tell you why the review was poor, in specific detail, and did any of it sound like something you may have heard before? Sometimes managers think they've communicated performance concerns, but they did it in a conversational or casual way and the employee didn't realize that it was something serious.

I don't know if you have any recourse for this review period - every company has its own policies on that, but I would be concerned about the future if this is the way reviews are handled. I work in HR consulting - not the same as day-today HRM, but my experience is that it's very difficult to fire someone who is doing everything they can to improve performance (i.e. complying with any and all corrective training plans, actively seeking ways to improve performance, etc.)

My advice is to do what you did - upchannel your concerns to find out what your current options are, but I would also try to arrange a sit-down with your boss to find out if you missed the warning signs, or if they just weren't given. If that's the case, you may want to consider asking for a periodic meeting (once a week, month, etc.) with your boss to discuss your performance and develop a plan to improve where they think you need to.

Hope you find your answers - this kind of thing can be very discouraging, especially if you have no clue that it's coming! Good luck!
 
I agree with Nancy that reviews such as this are a good way to figure out where you are going wrong and make the necessary modifications. (But only if they told you specifically what the problems are, in behavioral terms, and how to rectify them. If not, I would request this from the super in writing.) Generally you are allowed to comment on the review which would also be part of your record, so you might want to consider that, but only if you really have a case; I just read a review where the employee argued about everything her manager said, and to me that said the person wasn't open to feedback. (I wouldn't say that if she had only argued a point or two, but she argued EVERY point.) So you should be careful about how you word this. And I also agree that while reviews DO follow you around a company, most managers only pay attention to the last two reviews. So if you are attempting to make positive changes, this should be noted on your next review, and that will say a lot about your character.

Finally, reviews do not actually follow you outside a company. My understanding is, it's illegal to say anything beyond the dates the person was employed and the titles held. My company actually forbids being used as a personal reference as well.

Good luck, and I hope you work things out.
 
>I agree with Nancy that reviews such as this are a good way
>to figure out where you are going wrong and make the necessary
>modifications. (But only if they told you specifically what
>the problems are, in behavioral terms, and how to rectify
>them. If not, I would request this from the super in writing.)
>Generally you are allowed to comment on the review which would
>also be part of your record, so you might want to consider
>that, but only if you really have a case; I just read a review
>where the employee argued about everything her manager said,
>and to me that said the person wasn't open to feedback. (I
>wouldn't say that if she had only argued a point or two, but
>she argued EVERY point.) So you should be careful about how
>you word this. And I also agree that while reviews DO follow
>you around a company, most managers only pay attention to the
>last two reviews. So if you are attempting to make positive
>changes, this should be noted on your next review, and that
>will say a lot about your character.
>
>Finally, reviews do not actually follow you outside a company.
>My understanding is, it's illegal to say anything beyond the
>dates the person was employed and the titles held. My company
>actually forbids being used as a personal reference as well.
>
>Good luck, and I hope you work things out.

Actually, from what I have been reading lately, there is no law forbidding HR from saying anything they want, though many many many companies have a super strict policy about what they will say to other prospective employers, due to fears of a lawsuit.

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
This a textbook case of poor leadership. I work for a company that provides leadership training where many routinely ignore best practices--realy discouraging.
 
Original poster here:

I have already spoken with my boss because he is the one that gave me the bad review. It was him along with two other people and one was the HR manager. I argued my points and they said it was not going to be changed.

I have now put in a call to the HR Director. I do not think it is fair to punish me for something I did not know I was doing wrong. My reveiw last year was fine and I think it is funny how I can have such a drastic change in my job performance.

I am also going to ask for specifics. I want to know what, where, who, when, and what time. It is like I have been living in la la land all year long. I did not see this coming. Not at all.
 
>I have now put in a call to the HR Director. I do not think
>it is fair to punish me for something I did not know I was
>doing wrong. My reveiw last year was fine and I think it is
>funny how I can have such a drastic change in my job
>performance.
>
>I am also going to ask for specifics. I want to know what,
>where, who, when, and what time. It is like I have been
>living in la la land all year long. I did not see this
>coming. Not at all.
>

Good for you girl! Please let us know the outcome! I'm pullin' for ya!;)
 
>"I just don't see fighting the review as helping in the long
>wrong especially since you haven't proven your value to
>anyone. "Take it as a learning experience" and move on."
>
>I don't agree with this. Reviews follow you within a company.
> In my position, we MUST give verbal, then written warnings.
>All warnings must be documented. When you go for a promotion
>or transfer within the company, the review is the first
>impression your new boss/supervisor will have of you. When
>reviews are given in my company, the employee has an
>opportunity to agree by signing or request a special meeting
>to discuss the review with management. Even if you leave,
>your supervisor/manager will probably not give you a good
>recommendation.
>
>I would still speak with the HR department to find out what
>recourse you have in receiving an unsatisfactory review
>without prior knowledge that your work wasn't up to par.

My statement was taken out of context and if you read it in its entirety it can be fully understood.

She does "not want to be punished for doing something she did not know she was doing wrong." As I said before, I'm sure her boss has plenty of documentation of poor performance......a poor review always requires more paperwork than a good review especially in corporate sue happy America. I question the lack of prior knowledge (maybe her boss is not a good communicator so she doesn't remember)that the work was up to par. I absolutely do not question the sincerity of her statement that she had no idea her work was poor (sometimes people just don't realized they are being coached/warned). Because she did argue her points in front of 2 other people in the room besides her boss when this review took place.....it sounds like there was already is a lot of other support for this poor review and she appears to be in the minority. She should really ask herself a few questions..."Do I really want to cause more friction with my boss or do I want to learn from him????? If I contest this raise/bonus what will I really gain? If I haven't been doing the job correctly do I really deserve this bonus/raise?"

I really do wish her all the best and hope she can really look outside herself and use this as an opportunity to grown and learn. I am really plugging for her too.:)

Robin
 
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