F...Work Reviews

I'm in healthcare, a business where it's tough to justify big raises. HR tells us every year that raises will be 3% for the best, 2% for the crappy, and 0% for the near-fireable.

So because 3% is so low in the first place, I give all my employees the highest grades possible under the mindset that 3% really is just a cost of living increase.

I only dole out the promotion beyond the 3% when someone's skill set has grown enough to satisfy the next highest job description.

But yeah, writing your own reviews seems retarded. We write all of them for our employees.

Sounds familiar. Always funny when you see what the jackasses at the top make in salary and bonuses, and then they try to justify with a straight face about giving out BS 3% raises to the folks at the bottom.

1% is an extra $500/year on a $50k salary...I dunno about you, but I would love an extra $500 if I can point out 1 or 2 things I did during the year to boost my salary.

Then again, I don't write mine. There is standard form the company uses, and anything above or below average must be justified. In the employee comments section, I always make sure to point out those extra things that weren't included.


I agree if there is a chance to increase it by 1% but most companies run like s10 said pretty much if you are doing your job you get a flat % increase regardless of how colorful your review is.

That it is why it always shocks me that some folks have to fight every line of their review. It is more like they can't take constructive criticism vs. actually wanting that extra 1%.

I agree if there is a chance to increase it by 1% but most companies run like s10 said pretty much if you are doing your job you get a flat % increase regardless of how colorful your review is.

That it is why it always shocks me that some folks have to fight every line of their review. It is more like they can't take constructive criticism vs. actually wanting that extra 1%.

And in the end isn't it pointless to fight it? The manager signs off on the review, what the employee thinks of themself doesn't really matter, it's what the manager thinks that matters.

I guess fighting it conveys that you see it differently than the manager does, and then the two of you can try to bridge the gap to understand each other better. But fighting it won't get you a better review.

Ultimately a manager would much rather have someone that listens to the review and considers ways to improve. Fighting about it is silly, just take the feedback and use it to get better. If someone comes back to me and says "hey last year you gave me a review asking me to improve on X Y Z and I've done that, here are some examples, so how bout it?" I'm more inclined to give that perfect review then the next year.

They also use those reviews to document any issues and when they need to fire you they have a file to back them up.

State employee. Haven't had a raise in 3 years...{whimper}...

Bah...I work for a non-profit. Don't complain! :D