Is anyone aware of an offically produced Cisco document detailing explanation as to why formal, written Performance Reviews are currently not a corporate Human Resource mandate?
If so, what is the title of the document and is it available online?
20 replies (most recent on top)
Use your heads. Enjoy the ride. Cruise. Do the minimum possible and build up your "side thing". Change your mindset from "working for the man". Does CR even know your name lol?
The problem with 9 block and stack ranking is that it is done behind closed doors at the Dir level, with ZERO feedback to the employees being rated.
While there are no formal performance reviews or tools, 9 block and stack ranking were still widely used when I left a couple of years ago.
HR are like NCO in the army. They are put there by the officer class to ensure that the troops turn out for parade every morning at dawn, and that there is no rebellion in the ranks. And if there is rebellion, to shoot the guilty. T
Whatever needs to be done to make that happen, as well as protect the officer class from the troops, that’s their job.
You have to accept the fact that HR at Cisco isn't there to take care of the employees. HR at Cisco is there to prevent Cisco from being sued. It's that simple.
As soon as you embrace that reality, you'll realize that everything that comes from HR at Cisco is just fake news meant to pacify the masses between the regular layoffs. That's all that Fran and her team are getting paid to do.
Applies to Silicon Valley.
These days if you are Cisco employee and looking for job outside you are considered a loser to begin with. Cisco is not known for talented employees anymore but more like a company where nepotism thrives in a dying company still alive on this past products.
My advice to you: Start your preparation with leetcode. Do it diligently for several months, then start applying to startups, FANG or several other companies. Your skills will be put to better use, you will have a great career path forward and most important you will see your compensation double at the least. E.g. a grade 12 Cisco engineer is lucky to hit 280K. In most FANG and other tier-1 companies any engineer with 15+ years experience starts with a TC of 600K+.
Do yourself a favor and GTFO.
@1czf+17tnMIHB I can't for the life of me get a set of current and future expectations / goals out of my manager. They have no idea what targets to set.
@1rdl as a grade 10 external hire it’d also be nice to:
- Have a documented Job description.
- Role and responsibilities laid out which have been considered and dovetail into the other functions around.
- Seems to me that everyone in my team partakes in a totally different set of tasks and activities.
Be helpful to know what the job is, what I should leave to others and how good I am at it. Without this basic thing only cronies get promoted.
Re: "... at the liberty of management..."
- so the masses should just not pursue any documented feedback whatsoever? Just accept that as there is no formal record of your performance, just spend your tenure hoping for the best... and accept a reality that you have no idea how you informally rate and rank against other peers?
- everyone should just bury their heads in the sand, go to work, pay their mortgages, send their kids to school... and just accept it all in blind faith?
- when documentation on performance is essentially no longer a requirement... people won't push themselves as hard as they should or can... heck why would anyone in their right mind. Kick back and try to enjoy the ride.
Why compete to do the best job you possibly can as with no written review of your performance, it doesn't matter if you challenge yourself or just get by?
No wonder people are on edge about ongoing LRs.
Same person ranting about performance reviews. Here are key notes for you as needed. Management can be your best friends or worse enemy.
With the people deal your employment is at the liberty of management.
Without the people deal your employment is at the liberty of management.
With the performance review your employment is at the liberty of management.
Without the performance review your employment is at the liberty of management.
Please accept this virtual lipstick for swine. Use as needed. Meanwhile if you feel you are smarter than management stop wasting your talents.
Does IPF measure performance though? I thought IPF was a method for managers to manipulate the bonus pool. Giving a high IPF to a Grade 4 for budgetary reasons.
I want to know how there's no performance review yet part of the bonus is your IPF...
The displaced valuable experience is not necessary. Through successful government lobbying efforts huawei is pretty much banned in our most profitable markets. Why pay for valuable experience when it's not necessary to generate revenue?
We eliminated most of our competition through sleazy government lobbying.
Fran never said it was about retaining millennials, Cisco’s “stickiness “ means they can play out a longer game. A millennial will cost 40% of the 20 year plus ER’s that have just walked. Keep them 3 years and even Chuck can do the math.
The real problem is that KK’s psychotic team don’t realise the value of the displaced experience. The bean counters just look at staff costs rather than value They bring.
Highly doubt Cisco cares about retaining millennials, we are just used for cheap labor in expensive locations. With constant layoffs and reorgs it's nearly impossible to grow with the company.
Have to look externally for raises/promotions.
The original reasons that Fran gave for the removal of performance reviews was 2 fold.
- It wasn’t really the way that the millennial generation were expected to be assessed, and it was a barrier to hiring top talent in that area. (Not sure how they appraise top talent with no appraisals?)
- Moving to a more regular cadence of checkins would give a more immediate feedback to employees to develop more rapidly.
Sounds good!however, removing appraisals caused 2 other things to happen.
- No paper trail for layoffs, everyones equal on competence so you can remove that as a factor in making a decision. That’s normally an advantage to older more experienced staff.
- Who do you promote if you don’t know who’s any good? You’re crony mates of course. You can’t move hobs or switch managers without goi g back to day zero. Nightmare.
This crazy situation is enough to sack the HR VP , or maybe we should just LR people based on how expensive their hair ut umis? It’ll be about as fair as the systems in place now.
It protects Cisco from lawsuits. If you know your going to have constant layoffs targeting higher paid high performance senior workers it makes perfect legal sense.
Why have performance reviews with constant layoffs? Think of all the public and stealth layoffs over the last 10 years.
Highly doubt it, ive asked and been given vague answers. I don't even your manager knows the true answer
Good question.
Not sure if it was the case in all theatres, but here in EMEA , until a few years ago, there was a documented "rating" that you received and was available in the HR tool.
Suspect they removed that, so as to remove any employee's ability to challenge a dismissal. If there is no ongoing documented appraisal or rating, as an employee you lose that as ammunition against dismissal for poor performance.