Performance anxiety

WTF is up with “performance reviews” that require the employee to rate his/her performance before the manager does? Feels like the Struggle Sessions brought to you by those merry folk of the Cultural Revolution, where you’re meant to confess to crimes real or imaginary.

This was the result of our (now thankfully gone) HR director spending many thousands of dollars on consultants in an attempt to “professionalize” her department’s functions, and make it look like they add value. We were meant to meet with our managers at least quarterly to check in on our performance against goals. Guess how often that actually happened?

That’s right: exactly never.

So now I’m supposed to dredge up my last year’s goals and measure my performance against them. Then, I suppose, meet with my (now ex-) manager to go through them, and get his take. Deep joy. And then meet with my new manager to get my goals for 2018. Which is going to be a slice since 1)I’m only funded through June and 2)I still haven’t seen a job description.

Also, the instructions from HR say managers are to “provide the staff you supervise with the…review form” no later than 9 February. Guess when my ex-manager sent it to me.

That’s right: yesterday.