Thread regarding Walmart layoffs

Wal-Mart pays enough for people to put up with this nonsense? Interesting.

Ranking is how you create a spiteful employee base. Good luck

It’s one thing to get rid of underperformers. It’s another when leadership has to pick folks to fire every year whether it’s deserved or not. Especially when, in some cases, people didn’t know they were in trouble until their head was on the block.

This whole thing is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Store associates have little to lose and won’t tolerate this treatment forever.

True points:

"A lack of accountability hurts organizations when they attempt to recruit and retain top talent. High performers are less likely to remain when they see bad or mediocre work tolerated. Those people will certainly warn off other talented recruits from ever setting foot inside the door."

"When organizations allow underperformers to exist without consequence, it drives people nuts."

https://www.lhh.com/us/en/our-knowledge/2017/are-you-protecting-a-poor-performer

Oh jeez, a ranking system that isn't based on your performance, but is based on something subjective, rather than objective? OMG, that's ridiculous, ha ha ha ha! I've seen some of the most likable people who walk around all day smiling, chatting, sipping coffee who do nothing but collect a paycheck. Is that what a company that hopes to win against Amazon wants? People who keep a job because they are good at organizing pot luck lunches? WOW!

Expect an exodus of your talent. Talented people with in-demand skills don't need that BS in their lives.

My understanding is that your ranking is a process that is completely separate from your eval and is done behind closed doors by leadership.

I don’t know that it has anything to do with what is in your eval. My impression has been that it is pretty subjective.

Is rank determined based on overall rating on the annual eval or is it just the competencies portion? Or is it being determined by something else altogether?

Yeah, there might be hope in areas where the organization has forced some bad eggs out. Maybe their bad news followers won't have a high level person protecting them now. It will be fun to see certain individuals have to actually perform like what's expected at a corporation. Would send a great message.

Forced ranking can be very subjective. The more your manager likes you, the more he’ll find ways to build you up. Why else do you think mediocre people are still with the company while good performers were let go.

So how are directors and sr. directors ranked? Coming from the outside have noticed some at this level are less than impressive. Mostly long time people who have never worked elsewhere. Sorry, but their skills and tech knowledge are bad.

Forced ranking.

Every department must have x number of people at the extremes of the rating system PIP for low performers and role model for high performers. Everybody else will be in solid performer.

Rating process goes from director level up the chain to senior director, VP, EVP and a constant negotiation for the extreme ranks.

This would imply that being a manager's pet will not help because non-meaningful impacts will be negotiated away during the process. It also means a single negative encounter with a member of leadership can doom any person during that negotiation process.

Since forced rankings were implemented mid year, people who are going to get PIP my not even be aware they are in danger

Exactly. Pets will stay. Regadless how well others out perform the favorites, their managers can always make them look better to keep them. I hope these high ranking execs can see through this.

This is the new Walmart culture.

sad yet true

To keep your rank up, do not help your teammates or let them take credit for your work.

I had heard about not helping teammates. That sort of goes against company culture though, doesn’t it?

I had also been warned about scoping out the team you want to go to if you’re trying for a new job. I was told because of the new rank and yank system to stay away from teams with lots of pets or where everyone is super good.

Is this really what we have gone to? This is depressing.

In some areas, the lower ranked and over paid have been laid off in the past few years. Hiring of lower cost workers continues. It seems to be about five percent of the workforce is pushed out each year. The non-performers are gone, except for some recently hired ones and manager pets.. If it happens this year, they will be pushing out good performers, which will hurt morale. To keep your rank up, do not help your teammates or let them take credit for your work.

No. But its performance based bonuses. That said it's not clear what good performance means. And it will mostly hedge on how much your manager likes you.