Employee Review + Slander?
This is going to be a rant post... So I apologize in advance
I received my bonus review today at the end of the day... MD left it on an envelope on all of our desks I was in one of my Director's offices going over a project so I came back and found it..
here is a portion...
"For 2013 we basically endorse your goals that you have outlined in your self-evaluation, but 2012 was a mediocre year for developing your skills and your professional growth. After about 16 months in our group and our investment in putting you through the training program, quite frankly we expected more production and accuracy from you. The group has functioned very efficiently and profitably for dozens of years, and we need you to master the models and work products that have served us well"
Awesome right?
Modelling? I made all of my own models and templates and made standard templates for the group
Professional growth? This was my first full calendar year with the firm and I was the lead analyst on 25+ transactions translating to over $200 million issued. I also presented at client meetings/pitches on my own.
I showed it to the Sr. Analyst in my office and he told me I should stick around till the bonus is in my paycheck and then flip the bird and walk out. He said that after working with me on projects and seeing my work product that I should just sit there and watch porn all day till I find something new (or start an MSF this summer)
I had my annual review in Sept. and they said I was doing fine and that if anything they were happy to see where I was at because we had a Sr. Analyst leave and I was interacting more directly with them and basically took over all of his clients/projects... No mention of me being mediocre or a fuck up
A kicker is the fact we have a newly promoted project manager whose dad is an MD in our office... He fucked up 3 transactions that I can think of off hand this year. He left an account overdrawn by almost $1,000,000 for a week because he never gave an underwriter wiring instructions for a transfer. Not to mention his modelling is atrocious and his reward in 2012.. He got promoted from Sr. Analyst.. Nepotism much?
....
Needless to say if this is in my file at HR and is seen by prospective employers or really anyone it is going to destroy my credibility and could impact my career... Regardless of if its true, it will be me saying "Oh my MD is just an asshole" which is how believable?
What should I do?
Find out what's up. Don't ask WSO for advice, it's pretty clear there is something going on here so go ask politely.
I live alone... Don't really know anyone in the city I am living in and am the only person I know working in Finance... There are thousands on here, so any advice is awesome
We have 3 MDs .... One is like an ORIGINAL person who started the firm in the 70s, One is normal but is swamped(dude has twice as many clients as the other two) and doesn't get involved with this stuff, and the one who does the HR shit and the reviews
The one who does the reviews is a douche(All in my office agree) he will basically do whatever he wants and pretty much openly talks about EVERYONE behind their backs. He talks shit about me to the Sr. Analyst, about the other MDs to me, about the Sr. Analyst to the other MDs, etc. If someone rubbed him the wrong way the day before he writes the review or he isn't happy with you that day then it will be reflected in the review.... Not to mention he is non-confrontational so even if I do approach him he will merely blame the other MDs and say it wasn't him.
I am leaving at latest the end of May either to another job or to school.. Basically in order for me to approach him I need to be prepared to walk out of the office that day. The whole office is really two faced and childish so it is unlikely that I would be able to still be productive
-My options now are to write an email to HR and include both my Performance Review from September and this review and note the disparity -Wait till the 15th when the bonus is in hand and go confront my MD -Just ignore it and pretend nothing happened and when I leave in may just give them a letter on friday and don't show up monday
Don't worry about what future employers think because they will never know your reviews unless you tell them. If called as a reference, most employers will usually just give out dates of employment and titles because of a fear of being sued. There's no upside for them. To be safe, you can just give them HR's contact info if asked down the road. For this time, practically no employer will call a current employer because they know it will jeopardize your current job.
Also, am I understanding this correctly that this was all written and there was no meeting to go over this? If true, that's fucked up and very cowardly on their part.
Whether what they're saying is true or not....it's time to look for an exit soon.
I'd honestly bring it directly to whoever writes these things and ask if they'll sit down and give you some specifics on what they think is "wrong" with you. If it's really how you say, they're either going to tell you they set the envelope on the wrong desk or they'll tell you what the problem is, and unless the guy has Down Syndrome you'll be able to have an actual conversation about it from there.
Thanks. It has my name on the top so that option is out. I may try this... especially since I am working on 3-4 deals with him right now (which if I am mediocre why would he want me on his deals?)
I appreciate the reply though
I think this is the best solution. If he actually has any legitimate concerns about your performance it will show initiative to proactively seek guidance. If it's all bullshit, then at least you will force him to consider your value to the firm. Going in there with concrete examples and projects you can use to back up your performance is key.
Wtf is up with this "review" system. Why didn't you have a sit down meeting?
horrible management in my office... I only know a couple offices where its "legit" and the MDs sit and talk to their group and talk to them individually. I will probably go with this route, as I used several examples of several projects I was on and lead during the last year when i had to do a self-evaluation in december.
Though I do see a common agreement on this being the best option. I am employed on an "at will" basis, so if he gets defensive or feels he is cornered would he have legal grounds to fire me? It is a stupid question but with his personality I would definitely not rule it out
Don't burn down any bridges.
It is too soon for an MBA, and an MSF/MFin/MFE at this point in your career won't help yet.
Make sure you know who likes you here. In case you ever need references.
Then leave. Ideally for somewhere better. Give appropriate notice.
Why do you say the MSF won't help? I am non-target and sub 3.0 so I need something to get that off the resume so I can find a new opportunity
Non-target does hurt some, but with your situation right now, it's better to have a front office job with an unfair boss than to be a grad student. Also you've missed most of the recruiting deadlines.
There's a time and place for grad school. But not yet.
Hahahaha #winning
I appreciate everything
Go politely to the original founding MD and have a mature and candid conversation with him about everything you've mentioned. He FOUNDED the place, you think maybe he gives a shit about what its turning into? A two faced, nepotistic (sue me for making up words) fuck fest? If you're leaving anyway you have nothing to lose so no downside. Your upside? You could get satisfaction of taking all the assholes to the mat. You could get what you want (if you do) promotion, raise, etc... But most importantly, your doing something for someone else, that guy who founded the firm and letting him know, remember maturely and candidly, what his ship has become. Done the right way, he'll respect you and perhaps even be grateful for your perspective. Good luck.
The founder/head is the one whose kid works in our office and is just as bad as the MD writing the reviews haha... The guy has burned through like 6 associates(administrative/secretary position in my firm) in the last like 4 years. He may actually be worse. I spent 3 full working days on a 7 page power point for him that involved me changing titles to things he liked better.. then changing them back because he no longer liked them. Not to mention the number of trees we killed because he couldn't decide what colors he liked for our ven diagram(which ultimately he decided he didn't want to use at all)
"Needless to say if this is in my file at HR and is seen by prospective employers or really anyone it is going to destroy my credibility and could impact my career..."
Most employment references look like that "So-and-so worked here for X years, his final salary was $Y and his conduct was good." Anything more which is not positive and not justified by iron-clad evidence makes them vulnerable to being sued for libel/slander.
If they really put that crap into your review just to justify lowballing you on the bonus, there is 0.0001% chance they'd ever show it to an outsider asking for references. Hell, the same MD who wrote it may privately give you a good reference if asked by his/her friend about you.
If, on the other hand, this is a personal vendetta, then all bets are off - you may be dealing with an unstable person. Proceed with caution.
All evidence and interaction lean to the latter of the options... I was told by the Sr. Analyst that he writes these based on whether he likes you and how he feels about you at the time, regardless of performance or work ethic.
Dude, this sounds like some shitty family office where any non-family are treated like 2nd class humans. To them, you're the hired help, no different than the pool boy. Look for better opportunities, and never mind these people.
That is actually spot on for how we talk about the company internally... In the process!!! I just need something to bridge between Feb 15 and the start of MSF programs this summer/fall
sounds like bullshit man - if you decide to bounce on them give me a shout and i'll let you know what i have going on and see if you might be interested - rshaw at bradsbygroup.com
I was in the same situation, but in a different industry. I've had 2 years to reflect on it, so let me share some thoughts:
You need to leave your job at the current firm. If you are working harder than others and receiving less thanks for it, do you really think that is going to change, especially given the political climate in your current organization?
Don't burn bridges. If you don't proactively try to screw your current bosses over, then chances are that they won't practically screw you over either (think references or letters of recommendation).
If you have to address your review in a future interview, state that you didn't feel like you were being adequately rewarded for the work you put into your previous job, and the reason why the firm that is interviewing you should hire you is because you will bring a ton of hard work and experience to the table.
Do not make your previous job experiences personal! Chances are if you claim that you and your former firm "didn't see eye to eye" or "had differences in opinion on operational strategies and strategic goals", then the interviewing firm will believe you have long-term goals that are best suited for a growing business.
Don't call out your MD in an interview, or your first few months on the next job. If you go to another job in the same industry, then your employers may have already formed opinions on your former boss. If he is a fuckup or an asshole, then there is a chance that your new firm will already hold these same beliefs. But DONT be the guy with the sob story about their former boss, because then the narrative will shift from your lackluster former boss to your inability to work well for superiors.
I'm not sorry this happened to you. I felt sorry for myself 2 years ago when I got thrown under the bus (and I couldn't leave my job immediately), but I felt so much stronger when I overcame the sense of sorrow wrapped around a poor report card. Remember, you didn't write your bonus check. If you feel that you have the talent to succeed in this industry, find someone who will value your talents, and go work for them. 2 years down the road, you'll won't be looking back at your current situation - unless you let it get the best of you.
Adding onto wannabeaballa's comment, don't quit before you have a new job. That should go without saying though.
Thanks, much appreciated. I don't feel sorry for myself... Merely stating the fact that its bullshit, unprofessional, unethical, etc. and also that it pisses me off. I am going to seek something short term so I can GTFO sooner than may/june which is what I have been planning for a while. Interesting take on the bridges though, I don't plan on trying to screw them over as that would be me lowering myself to their level, but I do want to leave at the opportune time to leave them hanging and wondering how my "mediocre" talents are missed.
For number 3. the asshole in me wants to just frankly say the guy was a douche bag and that is why I no longer work there, but I agree with the acting professional
Most definitely.... Awesome coincidence that I got a call from a recruiter yesterday during the day and got the review last night.. Just waiting to see what they are calling about (I left a voicemail at lunch today)
I have gotten more calls about jobs and openings when i haven't applied to an open position than when I was applying to everything I could find.
Interesting situation; I have a close friend that's in the same boat and he's wondering how to best handle his review. I agree that not burning a bridge is the best way to go though it's easier said than done.
I ended up talking to one of the MDs last night.. The only one I respect and tried to as professionally as possible express my feelings about the review and talk to him about how it was a "mediocre" year after I met all of my 2012 goals and they were giving me more responsibility...I had to give him the letter because he isn't the one who wrote it and let him read it
The guy actually stayed extremely professional and tried basically ignoring it, gave me some things to work on for the year.. Gave me some insight on how to more effectively deal with the other 2 and some ways to get some extra brownie points for in the future...
I called in sick today because lets face it, I didn't want to be in the office today. I just got an email from the MD that wrote the review saying we should get together next week and talk about the review. So I am assuming the MD I talked to went and talked to him last night/this morning and set him straight or at least told him he fucked up
You should probably assume the other MD told this MD most of what you said, but probably left out anything mean you said about the MD.
You need to be nice. You need to be understanding. You can't be angry.
Your goal is to get him to say that the firm had a mediocre year but you had as good a performance as any other analyst in your group, and that he's sorry he phrased the review the way he did and is going to change it. He'll also make sure he makes it up to you if you continue performing and 2013 is a good year.
That's probably the most you can get out of this.
Agreed on the fact the amount won't change. Honestly I was expecting them to dick me on the dollar amount so that is a non issue. Our office had a record setting year as did the firm as a whole.. we beat our revenue projections so it isn't that the firm had a mediocre year. I'll pm you with more specifics about my firm.. If i give anything else away some good googling will definitely figure out who I am or at least where I work
Do you think it is fair though to refuse to sign the review and send it to HR as it is currently written?
Ohhh... And as a follow up question.
I have to sign my review and return it to HR in order to receive my bonus... Is it fair to refuse to sign it until it is revised? As signing it is basically signing that I agree with it and am okay with it.
Regardless, don't make an issue of signing it. If someone (HR, a manager, whoever) tells you that you need to sign it right way, don't argue too much with them.
Quote of the day... "At least it said mediocre and not disastrous"
Come back with specific examples of times that you used the font that he changed it to in the prior pitch and then he changed it back.
"This is not a failure to get the job done; this is a failure to read your #*^%ing mind, which is constantly changing".
Got the recharge of Silver Bananas and they are burning a hole in my pocket... I just love the timing of the sitdown..
We did it this morning because I have 2 deals pricing simultaneously today and he wanted to get it out of the way before I got swamped... CHEERS to not performing up to par
Dust off your resume and start making contacts. This place is not in the cards long term. If you happen to find something that's exactly what you're looking for before school starts, you may not need to go back to school.
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