tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post113229980185289941..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Stack Ranking Has an Expiration DateWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1142612663972069962006-03-17T08:24:00.000-08:002006-03-17T08:24:00.000-08:00Microsoft's review system is flawed, and most empo...Microsoft's review system is flawed, and most empoyees are afraid to say anything about it because they fear retaliation in the form of a low review score. <BR/><BR/>Here is a true to life example. Employee A knows what his review score will be, becuase he and his manager, Mamager A, discuss weekly how he is tracking. <BR/><BR/>At review time, Employee A's manager is demoted, because he stood up to his own manager on some issue. <BR/><BR/>Employee A is assigned to a different manager, Manager B. Manager B tells employee A that he should not expect a high review score, because Manager B has not observed his performance during the past year. Employee A counters with "because you didn't see it, doesn't mean I didn't do it. Go talk to my last manager".<BR/><BR/>Manager B gives Employee A a lower rating, and convinces Employee A that it was his own fault. Employee A later learns from Manager A that initially his score was what they were in agreement on throughout the year. Further Manager B swapped Employee A's score with Employee B. <BR/><BR/>Here's where it gets interesting. After receiving a great review and bonus, Employee B decides he needs a break and takes advantage of the company's policy to take a 6 month leave of abscence.<BR/><BR/>Employee A inherits Employee B's work and learns that Employee B has not been doing his job at all. When Employee B returns from his leave of abscence 6 months later he resigns. <BR/><BR/>Over the next three years, Employee A is denied promotions, and Manager B continues to reward and promote his employees that he takes vacations with, go out drinking with after work, etc... who can't do the job. <BR/><BR/>Manager B is eventually found out and demoted to individual contributor, and moves on to a new job at a lower compensation level. <BR/><BR/>Employee A is now in a situation where he hasn't been promoted eventhough he has recieved consistent review scores that warrant a promotion. <BR/><BR/>Employee A gets RIF'd, which allows him to look for work in the company, but no manager will hire him, because eventhough he has good review scores and the respect of his peers and customers, he hasn't been promoted in three years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1136091953715887452005-12-31T21:05:00.000-08:002005-12-31T21:05:00.000-08:00Mini:I am not sure if you saw the the January 2006...Mini:<BR/><BR/>I am not sure if you saw the the January 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review, but there is an bit in there about evidence-based management. The part you might find interesting is the bit on stack ranking. <BR/><BR/>The authors, Pfeffer and Sutton note:<BR/><BR/>If [they] had reviewed the best evidence, they would have also found that in work that requires cooperation...performance suffers when there is a big spread between the worst- and best-paid people, even though giving the lions share of rewards is a hallmark of forced-ranking systems. <BR/><BR/>The article goes on to provide cite a couple of studies that found problems with forced ranking. (See pages 63-74 of the January 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1134864927756884392005-12-17T16:15:00.000-08:002005-12-17T16:15:00.000-08:00Maybe everybody is too scared not to go?==I would ...Maybe everybody is too scared not to go?<BR/><BR/>==<BR/><BR/>I would argue there are simply not enough choices in seattle. The collusion factor to the other tech companies (amazon for example) is relatively high. You would be surprised how many couples have a spouse at each company and share "oh employee X is a bad person at our company"<BR/><BR/>Toss in "relocation" and what are your choices.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1134626384704852112005-12-14T21:59:00.000-08:002005-12-14T21:59:00.000-08:00I have 3-4 hours of meetings a day which seem tota...<I>I have 3-4 hours of meetings a day which seem totally useless to overall productivity.</I><BR/><BR/>I worked at Microsoft for over a decade and hardly ever went to meetings.<BR/><BR/>I did get all my work done but I also never got promoted even with above average review scores. No visibility?<BR/><BR/>Maybe everybody is too scared not to go?<BR/><BR/>Meetings would be more productive if they were held around a camp fire in a cave where you could scratch pictures on the cave walls showing your prowess with the keyboard and spear to convince everyone why you should be come chief.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1134297607026050852005-12-11T02:40:00.000-08:002005-12-11T02:40:00.000-08:00there is a belief that better focus/attention in m...there is a belief that better focus/attention in meetings will make things better vs. simply reducing the # of meetings and making theones that are requird actually useful.<BR/><BR/>I have 3-4 hours of meetings a day which seem totally useless to overall productivity.<BR/><BR/>on toolbox there is a utility to calculate how much time is lost in meetings ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1134059744600855112005-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:002005-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00How about this? My IBM reddened office has just ba...How about this? My IBM reddened office has just banned laptops in meetings!!!? WTF?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1133423140620250852005-11-30T23:45:00.000-08:002005-11-30T23:45:00.000-08:00Comments seem moderated again.Maybe someone was ri...Comments seem moderated again.<BR/><BR/>Maybe someone was right :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1133327817767466672005-11-29T21:16:00.000-08:002005-11-29T21:16:00.000-08:00First, I would like to start by pointing out that ...First, I would like to start by pointing out that the MSFT HR is probably tasked with bringing in talent as opposed to hand-holding employees through the political mechanics of the organization. Had HR been truly responsible for anybody's career development, I am sure, there would have been more and louder voices to complain than what we seem to have now. Unfortunately, most employees at your typical organization perceive HR as the PC-police (as in "political-correctness"). Ideally, HR should be at least the fair and unbiased mediator between an en employee who feels stuck/cornered and the employee's supervisor. Problem with this is that HR is representing the point of view of the organization, which usually is associated with management.<BR/><BR/>Secondly, I'd like to comment a bit on Mrs. Shapiro's "Corporate Confidential." I think she is like your George Carlin type: says some truths bluntly, cuts through the fog of convention and such, but you would not want to have that type at the same dinner table as your teenage (or younger) children... Guys, if you make yourself in the image she's selling, don't wonder what the world has come to. I am really puzzled at the idea people value her 'insights' to the point she's a consultant for your company - that's what I call masochism.<BR/><BR/>Cheers, fCh.fChhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08007305273044171670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1133147146655806282005-11-27T19:05:00.000-08:002005-11-27T19:05:00.000-08:00Lisa - if you read this, you need to send out sat ...Lisa - if you read this, you need to send out sat surveys on HR.<BR/><BR/>I tried contacting my HR generalist 5 times over 4 weeks to get an answer and *never* recieved a reply. This is even after I copied his peers (with ongoing thread) and they suggested he follow up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1133084575419559402005-11-27T01:42:00.000-08:002005-11-27T01:42:00.000-08:00"How open is Lisa to getting feedback from employe..."How open is Lisa to getting feedback from employees who are not getting adequate support from their resident HR rep? "<BR/><BR/>If you feel you are not going to be heard, it is more than likely true you won't be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132988663270151872005-11-25T23:04:00.000-08:002005-11-25T23:04:00.000-08:00How open is Lisa to getting feedback from employee...How open is Lisa to getting feedback from employees who are not getting adequate support from their resident HR rep? <BR/><BR/>I know I have a few words for her in regards to the generalist from windows networking (whom was named previously by another soul who was setup to "succeed" by her).<BR/><BR/>Lisa if your reading ... your generalists are abusing the system. they are misrepresenting employees who were impacted by constructive dismissals from being re-employed but furthermore are threatening possible hiring managers from letting good employees back who want to come back.<BR/><BR/>(yes for those who want to respond with "why come back after getting screwed" well just let it go).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132988434049572092005-11-25T23:00:00.000-08:002005-11-25T23:00:00.000-08:00Lifecycle Jack glad your still around.Sorry to had...Lifecycle Jack glad your still around.<BR/><BR/>Sorry to had to witness what occuured with you bro.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132986872974891862005-11-25T22:34:00.000-08:002005-11-25T22:34:00.000-08:00LifeCycle jack ..You got screwed bro ..LifeCycle jack ..<BR/><BR/>You got screwed bro ..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132815632529902572005-11-23T23:00:00.000-08:002005-11-23T23:00:00.000-08:00By the way, one more thing:As a recruiter I hate b...By the way, one more thing:<BR/><BR/>As a recruiter I hate being referred to as HR. We are not core HR. We don't interact with them any more than you guys do, except if we have to fill their positions. When we do have to fill their positions, it is a living nightmare. They are the worst client group we have. They are unreasonably demanding and overstep their bounds on a regular basis, asking us to act as their secretaries and travel agents, and never trusting us to do our jobs.<BR/><BR/>The recruiters with whom I work are extremely competent. Again, they are just extremely overworked which makes it impossible to keep up with the volume. If it's a new hire for your team that we lose, make sure to raise a stink with the higher ups (like Lisa Brummel) to fund recruiting better. It will go much further than bitching at the recruiter in their 14th consecutive hour at work....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132814810067895702005-11-23T22:46:00.000-08:002005-11-23T22:46:00.000-08:00I really appreciate the people who recognize that ...I really appreciate the people who recognize that HR (or more specifically recruiting) is not really the source of the problems. We're just cogs in the machine, too. I have given notice to leave Microsoft after 4 years in the company, my last year and a half as a college recruiter. In my time in recruiting, I worked standard 60 hour weeks - didn't have the luxury of a ship cycle like you product group folks. Being this overworked, it's really hard to keep up with the high volume expected of us. As a result, a few people do fall through the cracks. If you want to see better candidate experience - advocate to the higher ups that they appropriately fund recruiting. It is notoriously understaffed because it doesn't directly make $$ for the company. Underinvesting in recruiting is underinvesting in the company's future.<BR/><BR/>I'm sick of having to make the choice between work/life balance and giving candidates the experience they deserve. I can't in good conscience continue to work in this job.<BR/><BR/>I was an SDET for my first 3 years at Microsoft and I NEVER worked as hard as I work in recruiting. So please, be nice to the recruiters trying to help fill your positions. They are underpaid, underlevelled, and overworked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132807255671354172005-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:002005-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:00>GOOG $422.99 +6.52 / +1.57%Actually, I don't have...>GOOG $422.99 +6.52 / +1.57%<BR/><BR/>Actually, I don't have much trouble laughing at that, for quite obvious reasons.<BR/><BR/>Do let us know how your investment turned out in a couple of years, 'mmmkay?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132795689569365772005-11-23T17:28:00.000-08:002005-11-23T17:28:00.000-08:00My X-Box crashed on the first day too :-( The QA o...My X-Box crashed on the first day too :-( <BR/><BR/>The QA on this thing has obviously been appalling... what's more worrying is that it's held up as a shining example of a "cool" division to the rest of us working on core products whilst bleeding cash for years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132788402318613452005-11-23T15:26:00.000-08:002005-11-23T15:26:00.000-08:00>> Understand HR's role. An HR rep, in rank, is ab...>> Understand HR's role. An HR rep, in rank, is above an administrative assistant but below a marketing rep. They are not paid to think.<BR/><BR/>HR generalists named as "HR Managers" are ten - fourteen levels above the administrative assistants. Heck - they are even ranked above dev/pm/test leads and managers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132777639319332462005-11-23T12:27:00.000-08:002005-11-23T12:27:00.000-08:00I'm hoping Mini has already read this link I'm pos...I'm hoping Mini has already read this link I'm posting and is writing a comment on it - this is one of the most spot on things that can be said about any software company and not just MSFT:<BR/><BR/>http://codebetter.com/blogs/scott.bellware/archive/2005/11/21/134910.aspx<BR/><BR/>While this is a huge diatribe against the dev attitude in VS2005 (accurate as it is) I dont know how many other large companies actually have agile development implemented as a process... EDS definitely doesn't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132776924138454692005-11-23T12:15:00.000-08:002005-11-23T12:15:00.000-08:00There is more deadwood in HR land than anywhere el...There is more deadwood in HR land than anywhere else.<BR/><BR/>Understand HR's role. An HR rep, in rank, is above an administrative assistant but below a marketing rep. They are not paid to think. They are paid to serve process as handed down from above. That's it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132776323507437062005-11-23T12:05:00.000-08:002005-11-23T12:05:00.000-08:00Hmmm, you guys at MS are funny. laugh about this M...Hmmm, you guys at MS are funny. laugh about this <BR/><BR/>MSFT<BR/><BR/>$27.96 +0.05 / +0.18%<BR/>Nov 23 2:48pm ET †<BR/><BR/>GOOG<BR/><BR/>$422.99 +6.52 / +1.57%<BR/>Nov 23 2:49pm ET †Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132776151317526702005-11-23T12:02:00.000-08:002005-11-23T12:02:00.000-08:00aaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132774525988139822005-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:002005-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:00>> It is HR-bashing time again by the "below-bar p...>> It is HR-bashing time again by the "below-bar performance" crowd. HR is not to blame for your year after year poor reviews and review scores. Matter of fact, as an IC, if you are clicking on all cylinders when it comes to performance, you may never meet your HR generalist or even know who they are.<BR/><BR/><BR/>There is more deadwood in HR land than anywhere else. Add to that lack of accountability and lack of feedback at all levels - you have a poisonous mix. This group of beureaucrats are the one that need slimming the most.<BR/><BR/>HR group is the one that is maintaining/continuing the current stacking system - ask a manager who couldnt meet the curve and who s(he) heard from?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132771069794279812005-11-23T10:37:00.000-08:002005-11-23T10:37:00.000-08:00RIF exodus from the XBox groupCan someone explain ...<I>RIF exodus from the XBox group</I><BR/><BR/>Can someone explain what this was?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1132768079590211282005-11-23T09:47:00.000-08:002005-11-23T09:47:00.000-08:00Back to the original question:So that is the point...Back to the original question:<BR/><BR/><I>So that is the point(s) of the HBR article. While I'm not siding for rank/yank, I am pointing out that those "pro" now have ammunition that the "con" dont have. The "con" are left with rationale like "its not fair, nice, fun, blah, blah, blah." Well, markets (and labor markets are no different) are optimizing on efficiency, not equity. Need to get your debate cards ready for a strong "Con".</I><BR/><BR/>Given that the "ammunition" consists of a simulation with rules drawn up by the researchers, I can't say I'm too impressed. If there's anything empirical in there, it wasn't mentioned. It doesn't seem far-fetched to me that firing 10% of your workers every year has effects on recruiting, retention and performance that they don't take into account.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com