I received by feedback today, manager said they went in with thinking 'VG' with a case to argue for 'E', BUT, the way things "shook out", I received "G".
Anyone with any insight as to how you go from arguing 'E' for your employee and landing at 'G'? It was the best year I've ever turned in, and it's the worst ranking I've ever received. F this company.
It is a true story.
My boss was also a minority and very matter of fact about how racism was the major factor in who was at the top of the list.
He said all the people listed above me were chosen as high potential and the ranking had to be manipulated to support the planned progression of those people along their management approved trajectory.
True, it was extremely stupid of my boss to tell me the truth and show me the list.
Can I potentially see rankings juggled slightly to avoid the look of racial discrimination? Sure.
Do I for a second believe the guy who says his boss told him he was ranked low because he was white? Eff off. Then he pretends he’s shocked that his boss is apparently fired for showing him a list of minorities that were ranked higher than him? Jeebus that guy should be fired. Dude, if this actually happened, your boss is a raging racist, and what does that say about you that you’re oblivious to that??
Stop claiming minorities receive special treatment in the ranking and you won’t have to see your precious threads “turn racial.” Keep our name out your mouth.
I suspect the OP is no longer reading these responses.
Leave it EM knob-turners to go racial on any topic.
Don't mess with....
@2yho+1hJWxnX0
You have no clue what you’re talking about. Go to any Geoscience department in the US and find out how many minorities and what kind of minorities they have and you will see how small the numbers are. Ten to twenty years ago the number was even much smaller, not to mention thirty years ago. With such a basis it was extremely difficult to get good quality graduates.
Gifting a person RG points based on race instead of performance should absolutely be against EM policy.
Before you get so upset, read that again.
I did not mention any particular race. Any race should not be a basis for any ranking moves up or down.
Shame on HR for systematic discrimination.
That's true!
We need diversity at the top!
I actually think the company, in recent years, is doing a better job spotting unconscious biases in ranking sessions. I’ve been many years with the company, and I’ve seen the company recently make some real attempts at reviewing ranking ‘clusters’ that may point to unfair or unconsciously unfair treatment.
The thought process of poster @3qyu is not unique and it is why certain measures have to be taken to prevent lawsuits.
@3tkv - I would venture to say a better explanation as to why XOM leadership is less diverse is because in 1990 the US was ~80% white, in 2000 it was about about 70%, in 2010 about 65%, and now it’s less than 60%. Couple that with historically not hiring outside candidates (only graduating students) and only promoting within and your senior leadership demographics is likely to reflect the demographics of the US based on a 20-30 year lag.
My boss at the start of the pandemic didn’t complete or close out my performance assessment for the year. (He also put in minimal efforts for others who report to him as well). The only way I figure he keeps moving up is that he is sponsored. Since he doesn’t stay in 1 position for more than 2 years, mistakes are swept under the rug or left for the poor soul who has to follow.
Last response has no relation with reality.
@3tkv. You are spot on in regard to cultural fit. The O&G industry is generally a poor fit for all people who see it as strictly a corporate office job with roles, positions and advancement mainly based in the home office with nice offices, fashion show attire and meetings with management visibility allowing one to hop skip and jump their way up the corporate ladder day one. The hard work, away from home and long hours necessary for advancement is at the work sites for many years before the cushy life sets in. The Company expects this understanding to become clear in the first five years of employment on a no regret take it or leave it basis. Many of all creeds, genders and backgrounds choose to leave early because of this and the ones left become real O&G people. Forcing diversity into the senior ranks without it is wrong for business. None of it has anything to do with the Democrat Party, except for making noise about misguided expectations for minorities.
Since this thread has taken a different turn down the minority and biases path, I am curious…. Does the fact that there isn’t as much diversity here have more to do with the fact that the Democrat party is actively targeting those who identify in these groups and generally speaking an oil and gas company isn’t the Democrats’ golden child? Just wondering if it is more of a cultural fit (on the averages) issue and less of a targeted attack on race/gender/orientation.
Minority, females, young, old, etc. are ranked poorly in the last cycle when they should not be. Performance assessments have nothing to do with real performance but rather with politics, eliminating one’s competition, and HR trying to make the numbers look right so they don’t end up with law suits.
The problem is that this company’s performance system is heavily subject to the implicit biases of the people sitting in the ranking session and therefore, it is entirely possible that HR has had to institute certain guardrails to prevent significant swaths of minorities from being placed at the bottom, which would rightly expose XOM to lawsuits. You can call it what you want, but the bottom line is if minorities were given some type of unfair advantage in ranking sessions, you would see visible changes in who occupies certain positions in this company. To the poster who thinks it’s due to a dearth of minorities in STEM majors, please have a seat. There are entire schools that exist with minority students who possess that exact background so spare me. Besides, does everyone need to have a STEM background to lead at this company? HR, Treasurers, Procurement?? We need engineers to do accounting? There is absolutely no way that in 2022, we should be seeing all white leadership teams at any level in this company and this includes whites with an accent. The company does not value diversity because if it did, it would be more intentional in this area and not just wait for it to happen organically. It won’t because people come to work with their biases in tact and they’re not really challenged here. The issue is beyond being fixed internally. Thankfully I have one more year and I’m retiring. If you’re a minority recent grad/experienced hire, do your research or save yourself the frustration and just decline the offer.
At this point I'm considering going to HR because the only knock I got on the feedback is directly due to a health disability I have and that my boss was made aware of. Doubt it'll do anything but it's fu---d.
OP, if you’re in the non-sponsored category, any year you don’t find yourself in NI is a great year. But you realize that even that will soon end; as the company contracts, the sponsored need fresh meat to compete against. Eventually even new hires will be ranked against “promising” young managers. There’s only one way, which is out, and only one question: on their terms or on yours?
Will people stop pretending that being a minority isn’t a huge advantage in at least most of the system?
In most places there are extremely few people part of a minority, especially where a scientific background is required, because there are very few graduates available. Any reasonably qualified minority employee in this type of field is GUARANTEED a high-flying career at EM, because they’re desperate to show some “diversity” in an otherwise monochromatic leadership.
I know a person who makes a huge fuss about being Native American (you wouldn’t be able to tell) and surprise, surprise, is headed to the very top.
This doesn’t mean that in lower places in lower qualified positions “regular” racism doesn’t exist. And by the way, if anybody imagines that racism is only about white vs. black, you’re dead wrong. Every group sticks together and nobody likes other groups getting shortcuts. Let’s get real, not PC.
Agree with @1gdb+1hJWxnX0. This company is notorious for the bait and switch, then squeeze everything out of you. Go elsewhere where you are valued and get rewarded for good work. Here, your job will be to elevate the careers of chosen ones.
Here is a huge datapoint for the racism statements below.
I had many direct reports in the same rank group. One direct report was a minority.
The final RG of the minority was 20 points higher than the other direct reports that were agreed in the ranking meeting to have outperformed the minority and therefore were above him on the list.
I called HR to ask if this was an error. I explained that one of my direct reports ended up 20 RG points above several others that were higher on the rank list.
The HR person said “Was the person a minority?” I said yes. HR explained that minorities were moved upward after rank meetings.
I did not describe the 20 point move person as a minority, HR jumped to that conclusion as their obvious answer for why an employee would have gained RG points and jumped others that were higher on rank list.
HR claimed that such moves of minorities were required to meet target distributions. This indicates racism built into the ranking system and well known by management.
I did not blame non whites for my bad ranking. That is how the department manager explained it to me. He showed me the list of minorities he was told to place at the top.
This seems to be systematic racism that EM is using to move minorities up the ladder to make up for past racism in the other direction.
What if you boss had told you that you were the top performer but could not be given top ranking due to politics and racism? What if your boss told you that even if you performed the best next year that you would receive the same ranking for the same political reasons? Then you went to HR and filed a racism complaint, then an executive fired your boss for being honest and sent a verbal message to you to withdraw the complaint or your career is over?
Do not ever believe the system is not rigged.
Never ever believe that there is an open door policy about reporting violations within EM.
Stop blaming non-whites for your mediocre ranking. Any supervisor telling you your whiteness is a handicap is a coward. Take your complaints to the all white leadership teams that dominate this relic of a company.
How many barrels of subsidized capture are you worth?
I'm pretty tired of asking that question as I doodle during endless meetings.
I, myself, am way above a 'G'.
If they don't see it, I know another place will.
Great to see Wayne Tracker back in the mix
Immediate boss has some input, and then everything is bounced 2-3 levels up the line for final decisions. Sponsors rescue their favorites, managers talk about old baggage for people that is totally unrelated to recent contributions in order to provide some reason to throw them to the bottom, etc. Few in the room know you unless you have been around a while with some exposure to senior management.
Often one negative comment from anyone sinks you unless someone else speaks up to save you, which seldom happens. Disagreements are worked out on the sidelines. Usually involves I'll support X if you will support Y, and then I am ok with cutting Z. Fill the buckets and they get lunch.
Then HR and Legal run the disparate impact analyses and recommend necessary adjustments to get everything bullet proof in terms of diversity, discrimination, etc. A few tweaks are made and it's done.
Everyone has plausible deniability if they all keep quiet, which they do. You might be surprised at who sc--w*ed you. May be someone getting back at you for something that happened ages ago, not necessarily anyone in your direct line of reporting.
That's how EM bakes the cake.
Op, I don’t have anything to add, but I understand your frustration. The XOM evaluation system only benefits the Corporation. It’s built to dangle carrots just long enough to squeeze the best efforts and then it drops you like a lead weight. It applies to new hires, experienced hires and all others. Don’t feel insecure to think you can’t do better externally; if you’re at XOM, you have/had amazing talent. Harness that and find a place that will value you. Monetary value is only one part; don’t let this company impact your mental health. Good luck and be safe!
Your boss lied to you, plain and simple.
My boss explained that my ranking was completely due to politics and racism. Said there was no way for me to improve my ranking, even if I was top performer again, ever because I was white and not chosen politically.
I went to HR to complain because I had been told “open door policy”. I got in big trouble for complaining, threatened me until I wrote a retraction of my complaint.
My boss was forced to retire immediately for telling me the truth.
Lots of surprises in Annandale, the ranking pool is shrinking weekly folks. So sad. Eventually you will become NSI, lots of work to to in PA …..
Sad to say - but that entire spiel was completely scripted.
Maybe not word for word.
There is a small amount of improvisation allowed.
Yesterday’s excellent is tomorrow’s very good, and so on. Death, taxes, and eventually getting NSI….those are certainties in life for Exxon employees unless you quit or retire on your own terms.
Just move on. EM ain’t worth our time anymore.
Haha. Get a grip OP d bag. You're boss f n lied to you. It's all BS. He/she will get a pay on the back if you whine a bit , but, accept it. That's how it works. Read the trend, you're going D...o..w...n.......
This company punishes people who work hard and rewards people for being mediocre.
This happens because mgmt help each other and rank down. Leave the company.
Buckle up. Higher rates will discourage retirements, who in the past are automatically ranked NSI. “Assessments” (Lol) will be brutal next year.
Losers blaming others rather than owning their own mediocer performance.......
Yes I too was VG. I performed well and brought new inovative testing online. I know it is the chosen ones who are outstanding or excellent. The game is rigged. The scary thing is if I did not do as much work I would be ranked in the bottom. They still expect more of me. My expectations are raised every year. I think this is the way they will force us out.
Looks like you dropped the ball for not performing better. You got the ranking you deserved. How is that you boss’ fault?