end of year performance rating system

Due to the new rating system I'm a bit confused...please help.
So, what's the true difference between an end of year performance rating of 3,4 or 5?
Generally speaking,it it possible for anyone to get a 4 or even 5, even if you are COE eligible ? Or,are those ratings basically unachieveable (especially 5). Is a 5 end of year rating similar to when someone gets promoted to career ladder 5?.... which we know seldom happens.

 

So as someone who was a manager who performed end of year reviews, and got unceremoniously laid of by AZ a few years ago, I'll tell you exactly what they mean. It's pretty much entirely a subjective exercise. Actual decent performance will get you a mid "3" rating (there are three levels of 3). If you really achieve great performance, you can honestly achieve a high 3 based purely on personal achievement and doing a great job.

4's and 5's are not really based on merit. There is a limited number each ratings pool is allowed to award, and they are given subjectively to the people with the most advocates in the room. Meaning the more people you kiss up to, the more people you make look good, the more people you have dirt on, the greater your chances of getting a 4 or 5. Realistically, 5 is unachievable. Or, to put it another way, if you are getting a 5 you already know you will be getting it. They are mostly awarded to the same pools of folks who rate each other each year. I've seen a 5 given out to someone, and the written summary of thier annual achievement was literally one sentence long. I am not kidding.

Another fun fact: many upper management roles are self evaluating. Yep, they decide their own rating, salary increase, bonus, RSU's, etc. I have been in the room watching Sr. Directors awarding themselves 4's and 5's. They practically waived it in front of us. It literally made me ill.

 

System means nothing. Have seen similar roles earn a 2 two years in a row & survive yet when lay offs came, a person doing similar job that earns a 3 gets whacked. Just because they weren't aligned to that specific TA or job title.

 

The only way to get a five is to bang your boss. It's going on all over the place. Pretty simple when you get right down to it! (no pun intended!!) All you have to do is look for strange behavior (like people from the West Coast spending a lot of time at the Home office in Wilmington. It's a dead give away!

 

From someone who knows the process, this post is factual false. I stopped reading at 'three levels of 3'. A 3 is a 3. There are no levels of numbers. Rating is highly performance based w very little subjectivity. Posts like the above piss me off to no end ... people come on here and post with such certainty and authority, and outright lie or don't know ... but people believe it because of the conviction with which something was written. If you're not in the top 20 percentile for COE, can you really expect to get a 4 or 5 performance rating?? Absolutely not

 

Top 5%, primary care respiratory. 4 rating, not been advised if won the COE trip.
Shouldn't a 5 rating be a no brainer for my male boss? Hmmmm, maybe I further investigate. I thought 4 was like the best. Stupid on my part to not know you could get a 5. Maybe women are only allowed up to a 4.

 

Hopefully you got restricted stock shares awarded with that 4...that is if they are being awarded during the enterprise years?!?

 

Heard that the breakdown was about top 3% were given a 5, next 7% a 4. Vast majority given 3s. Based almost entirely on COE ranking. Trying to take subjectivity out of it.

 

Last couple of sentences are true. BUT, there is a whole lot of subjectivity. As a manager for over a decade, I had a ton of people that "met" yet there were some that barely missed an "exceeds" (or a 4) vs. someone that was very lucky that their numbers were OK but their behaviors weren't so they too earned a "met" (3) but could have easily been a "partial" (2). So how did I make up the difference? Merit increases. Problem now is the pool is so small and if a high 3 is a little above MRP, I will get push back. And you wonder why the good ones leave.....

 

All the research shows that companies that doubt their leaders at all levels use the old school ratings of 1-5. You take the thinking and judgement out of everything. Top 5% get a 5. Force managers to place 10% into 1-2 ratings. 1 means you have less than 6 months 2 means you have a year to turn it around or blow your manager. About 15-20% get a 4 - you have to fight for that every year with the other good rep in your district. There are only two good reps in any district at any pharma company. The other 70% get a 3 and live to fight another day and thank their lucky stars (or skills at blowing others) that they did not get the one year notice of a 2 rating.

So there it is. And check all the HR literature that shows all the progressive companies have abandoned this system long ago.

 

Here's something to think about, if any managers are commenting, as I felt blindsided upon being given end of year rating. I finished year well-- documented & comfortably in top 5%. prob will go to COE, ranked highest in my region. Received a 4 rating. Was so discouraged 4 rating to the point I've decided to immediately look elsewhere, where rewarding performance will hopefully mean something. COE means squat to me. A pay raise and rating is month over month enjoyment!

 

Take it from someone who is on the outside looking in: COE might not mean much at AZ, but when job searching it will definitely be looked favorably upon. I totally agree with why you want to leave. Stay long enough to get the COE. Then leave. Dont be a fool.

 

Yep all the millennials and talented young adults have discussed pharma as a career and said no thank you. This is one of the reasons. It is just a bunch of 51 y/o ex-cheerleaders doing enough to get by - I am one of them and I flatter my douchebag DSM endlessly and let him see my tits and there it is - the key to success here.

 

U als sound like a bunch of DSMs and CBDs also

 

One thing we can ALL be in agreement upon: Any raise below the threshold of annual inflation isn't a raise. Its a cost of living increase. There are no raises with AZ, people! Are us mgrs gonna force year after year to make our reps believe that falsehood? We all
know that it's simply just enough to maybe hang on another year, not jump ship, so we don't have to go through the dreaded hiring process. We're losing good,tenured reps by the droves. And I don't blame them one bit. We all know..."here's you a bucket of money, now go spread it around to your reps"...AZ, quit giving us so much access and program money to give out. Reps don't want that, and besides (programs) don't do anything to the bottom line other than checking the proverbial box. Give us money so we can RETAIN quality people!!!! Just once, can we surprise them???

 

Retain quality people? Who would they be exactly? I can count on one hand the number of solid sales reps in my area. I keep thinking that if any of us owned this company we would fire at least 90% of the current sales force including management and start over.

 

Now here is a DSM that gets it!!!!

 

It is good to hear from someone who is honest and gets it. You must be a veteran who has seen the erosion of standards in our company. My current manager doesn't even have field sales experience. How the hell is she supposed to help me or even evaluate me.

 

My manager gave me a 3 rating and told me how much I'm appreciated. This after the numerous extra work I volunteered to do that certainly made my manager look good. I don't doubt that my manager gave others in the district a 3 as well, possibly higher, even if all they did was bare minimum job expectation. It's quite clear to me that my manager plays favorites. At least, I know now where I stand and the kind of person my manager is.

 

So what if you did extra work for your manager. Getting above a 3 depends on your COE ranking. And if you are not in the top 15%, maybe 20% of all the reps in the country, meaning about 180 or better in resp., you are not getting a 4 no matter how much your manager appreciated your work. And even if you did a lot more work than your other district members, wide range of getting a 3. There are only so many 4 and 5 ratings to give out.