No More Stack Ranking at Microsoft

The topic of "stack ranking" came up around here recently, so I wanted to pass on some news in this area. Microsoft, one of the most notorious practitioners, has apparently decided to stop. It's not clear to me just what they're replacing it with, but whatever system they're trying out could hardly be more demoralizing than what it's replacing. Drawing raises and bonuses out of a bingo cage would be preferable - at least then people wouldn't be at each other's throats. Even if all members of a team performed well that year, the manager was required to designate a set percentage as underperformers — a practice that drew fire from employees. Many thought the system rewarded internal politicking, withholding of information and back-stabbing, rather than rewarding innovation or cooperation. That review system has been blamed by some for causing Microsoft to fall behind other tech companies in the past decade in key areas such as mobile computing. In an email to employees Tuesday, Lisa Brummel, Microsoft’s head of human resources, wrote that the new review process will now have “no more curve.” “We will continue to invest in a generous rewards budget, but there will no longer be a predetermined targeted distribution,” she wrote. “Managers and leaders will have flexibility to allocate rewards in the manner that best reflects the performance of their teams and individuals, as long as they stay within their compensation budget.” In addition, she wrote, there will...
Source: In the Pipeline - Category: Chemists Tags: Business and Markets Source Type: blogs