Which firms doesn’t have that re--rded bell curve and fire staff yearly performance rating that creates this sh-t toxic workplace culture at BNY?
Looking to fu-k off from this sh-t hole, much appreciate the advice.
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Just how is the Gaussian curve obsolete?
Would you go to a surgeon who fell into the lowest 10%?
Most all organizations use the Bell Curve. It didn’t start with Jack Welch nor, despite what is taught in the University of Phoenix curriculum, it wasn't designed for layoffs.
Warning, this requires Algebra and two dimensional graphing.
https://sites.duke.edu/dukeaccessiblesyllabus/files/2018/04/BellCurve_FendlerMuzaffar.pdf
Pretty much only failing companies don’t use forced rankings.
True that employees don’t like it but the best get well rewarded and the worst are pushed out. What’s not to like about it?
The Bell or (Normal) curve is a fact of statistics and dropping the lower 20% from the bottom has been working out really well here ever since we adopted it in 2000. I can’t name another Human Resources decision that has worked out so well.
Using the antiquated Bell Curve appraisal method is 100% on brand for BNYM.
See also: technology.
The bell curve is a bigger issue by being misused and abused by uninformed managers who don't know the people on their team who are truly their best assets. If they just listen to the loudest voices who complain and provide negative feedback it's easier to misuse the intent
Yikes! Even one Xer is a disaster.
No high performing, decent organisation still uses the bell curve. It is an out of date, subjective and vindictive process. BNYM is still in the dark ages as far as employee relations despite its platitudes and virtue signalling.
My area started pushing out solid people for alleged “10xers,” who they dramatically overpaid.
Here’s what they all had in common:
- underwhelming performance
- duplicitous behavior
- ability to commandeer resources and credit (at the expense of peers) at whim
- all gone within two years
In theory, dropping the "deadwood" and replacing them with "10x" performers would transform a lumbering, hyper-beaurocracy-hidebound bank into a Google-like "disruptor," except for a few facts: if you are apply the bell-curve at the team level, you are decimating already high performing teams; there is no such thing as a "10x" performer, and even if there were, you cannot possibly accrue them by paying even less than the industry lagging salaries you already pay your "deadwood." This is a plan to ensure your workforce is young, very subpar, and cheap, not brilliant and "agile."
Community Banks and Credit Unions.
Maybe some FinTechs too.
We no longer have employees with deep institutional knowledge to replace. The brain drain has already occurred over the last two years with the massive wave of boomers who self selected to leave rather than watch their life’s work get trashed by new incompetent drive by “Leaders”.
And yes, we all are well aware of gaps in institutional knowledge that only we have in out heads. Several teams which were fully retired we’re begged to come back, refused and then did so at triple their old rates.
That’s simply what happens in an organization where managers do not understand what their employees do let alone do it.
It sounds good in theory. Then you build a high performing team and find yourself having to let go someone whose performance is just fine. At bnym, I was forced to do just that. I was told I had the strongest teams in the division… yet would be forced to let someone go each year.
The weaker people on my teams were stronger than many of their peers. But my manager would say, “who are you going to give me? I need a name on this list.”
It also encourages managers to hang onto bad people instead of taking swift action. Many managers I knew would complain about numerous people on their teams being lousy but claim to their manager that everyone was great. So whenever they were forced to give a name, they always had a deserving one. And that meant their teams were weaker because they were carrying those weak people in the meantime.
It’s bad management. One rule that applies to everyone. And bad talent often exists on clumps under bad managers. So having every manager give equally to the ongoing “list” is wrongheaded.
@ofb, and we see where that got GE. We won't be far behind if we keep firing our employees with deep institutional knowledge to replace them with empty suits from wall street and cookie cutter "resources" from offshore.
Please, by all means don't hold back. Do tell us how you really feel!
Please rewrite with enough grammatical structure that we have a chance to understand your point.
My brother worked at GE Energy in Atlanta in the late 90s-early 2000s, when the bell curve was implemented. Yes, Welch increased profits like no other, but he left a trail of hate there - even good performers hated him, unless you were part of executive management.
GE started cutting too much to appease Wall Street and instilled a culture of fear, backstabbing instead of productivity, and on top of that full offshore was rampant. My brother told me the adoption of Six Sigma was pushed down from the top too hard that even projects to assess defects in bathroom stalls was considered a valid 6 Sigma project so everyone would be certified as Green Belt.
@zzz. Agreed! And vacation donations! No one needs more than 2 weeks. Any more than that is just a waste. Donate that time to folks that are mentally unable to handle stress.
Holidays should be worked also.
Welch is a personal hero of mine. That man created an atmosphere to drive profits high and cut away the slackers from a firm. I personally think we should be in office five times a week, with the occasional weekend in office day. There is plenty of work to be done and an all hands approach must be utilized. Sorry, no more pajamas and Netflix at this company!
I always loved the bell curve ranking because I work really hard and the rewards mostly followed and grew. It’s a beautiful thing for all engaged employees.
Always nice to read a post from a knowledgable and well informed employee.
Thanks for the post… you stand out here and it’s like a breath of fresh air.
I would say any large/public company has some sort of bell curve - it all started with Jack Welch at GE and many companies use that (remove the bottom 10%). And many companies just blindly followed that.
The bell curve is not a bad way to weed out bad performers - the problem is managers not being clear about your performance during the year and orders coming from the top to cut X% of people. No way to avoid any of them.