Hi, sorry if I ramble, I am really stressed at work and worried I'll end up just quitting which would cause financial disaster!
For background, my department has quarterly reviews, with one annual big review where promotions and bonuses are considered and discussed. The general movement is that you get promoted each year, this is not a normal promotion as people outside the industry would consider it, but it is levels and as long as you meet the tick boxes for that level you go up - this is until you reach quite high up when it takes longer to get promoted and each promotion has more weight. The promotion comes with a tiny payrise that after tax is quite arbitrary.
Promotions are decided based on your performance ONLY in your billable work. We do billable work (client related services) and non-billable (when you're not on a project, learning time, research, corporate social responsibility and CPD. You do a lot of research for partners often and the idea is this leads to either client acquisition in future or helps with current cases).
In an ideal world, the process of assigning billable work would go:
- case comes in, those high up decide how many of what level they need to work it and how long for.
- this gets communicated with the resource coordinator who finds the available people for the desired time at the desired level.
What actually happens:
- case comes in, those high up decide how many of what level they need.
- they discuss it amongst those slightly lower down. People pick who they like working with at the levels they need regardless of how much work that person has. This is usually based on relationship and friendship.
- despite that person maybe having billable work already, they take on extra work.
This means some people in the same level have loads to do, or like me, nothing to do. This immediately puts me at disadvantage for promotion as I have not much billable work and I am unable to show I meet the tick boxes for the level above.
I spoke to my friend in HR, she said that it's unfair but I'd have to prove the person was given the work because of friendship not because they're more skilled. To explain this, each level, let's say Level 4, should all have the same skills, which is why they are that level. People will say "we need a level 1 for the small tasks, a level 4 to manage them and then can we get a level 8 for help".
The department is not diverse, it is hugely male dominated (95%) as is the industry. I have noticed some 'laddish' friendship, so people that talk about football, or have built a rapport, will always get first refusal of projects. Often it will only trickle down if they're simply too busy.
I don't want to go to HR. I have a meeting with my coach today and want to express how I feel. How can I explain it? Am I just being difficult or is this actually unfair/unequal? I know there's a difference but I am not too sure on the process.
Thanks