Employees express concerns as Google plans tougher performance review system
Google employees are worried about the company's new performance review system that is set to begin next year. The new system is expected to result in lower ratings for many employees, which could ultimately lead to them losing their jobs. Now, in a letter obtained by The New York Times, Google workers in Switzerland have expressed their concerns about the system.
Why does this story matter?
Google employees are on the edge about the company's new evaluation process. Considering what has been going on in the tech industry, their concerns are not misplaced. The tech giant is yet to announce anything about laying off its employees to cut costs, but employees worry that the performance review system is just a front to inconspicuously cull the workforce.
Some managers were pressured to apply a quota: Google employees
In the letter to Google's vice president of human resources, five workers and employee representatives wrote that the new evaluation system could be used to reduce the workforce. "The number and spread of reports that reached us indicate that at least some managers were aggressively pressured to apply a quota," wrote the workers about the new performance review system.
New performance review system has 2 low-performing categories
Google Reviews and Development or GRAD is the cause of concern among employees. The new system has two categories for under-par performers. Per company estimates, 6% of full-time employees will fall into the low-performing category, making them vulnerable to corrective actions. Employees put on a 'performance improvement plan' will have 60 days to improve. They can also resign with a buyout package.
There is confusion regarding 'support check-in' meetings
The primary concern of the 15-person employee representation committee, ER-CH, was that managers may have to put a certain number of employees in low-performing categories to fulfill their quota. GRAD has a system of 'support check-in' meetings, where managers will notify employees about their low ratings. The signatories to the letter said that there was confusion about who qualified for a support check-in.
Google has denied the existence of a quota
Google has denied that there is a quota for support check-in meetings. However, the company has failed to negate the concerns surrounding the new performance review system. At its last all-hands meeting on December 8, there were several questions about support check-ins. Although Google has said that support check-ins are not solely associated with low-performance ratings, there is an undeniable relationship between the two.
