To think this is totally inappropriate?!

[oxygenee]

I’m appealing the grading I got for my end of year performance. All done through the correct channels and following the process the company has in place.

I’ve been told by management that there will be consequences. What do I expect to get out of it even if I win. Strongly hinted that the head of department won’t like me because of it and should think about my long term future. They have robust evidence so I won’t win.

I couldn’t sleep last night I feel so drained by it.

Why are you appealing?

This sounds like bullying. Are you in a Trade Union?

Because I don’t think the grade they gave me was appropriate.

No union

I hope you are looking for another job
Sounds toxic

So is it your perception of the situation versus yours? Why do you think their perception is not correct compared with your perception of the situation?
What will a changed grade mean for you? Pay rise? Better reputation?
It is likely that you will be considered 'difficult' if you go through this process so I would be inclined to ensure that the pay off for you is worth it.

Do you know what the situation is with others?

I worked in a place where the CEO decided everyone should be given a grade lower than what the appraisers thought. He thought it would motivate people. Took about two weeks of HR getting queries from people panicking for him to realise what he'd done.

Three possibilities
-they're trying to engineer you out
-discrimination
-you're not as good as you think you are

All need to be proven/disproven. What evidence do you have?

Have they given you the evidence to support your grading?

Do the grades have a fixed distribution- ie can only a certain percentage of people get the higher grades? We have this and it’s really tough - nearly everyone is excellent, but we have to pick the top x%. It can be a pretty close thing and conversations are hard because basically the reasons are often “this person was excellent but this person was even more excellent and here’s why”. Nobody wants to be directly compared to their colleagues and they don’t always see the full picture. In no way is it perfect but it can be a hard one for people to argue against.

It doesn’t matter. There’s an advertised open process for anyone in the company to appeal their grade. Then it’s decided by someone independent who’s not connected to the department what the grade should be.

I think everyone should have that opportunity to use the process without any pressure or being made out to be difficult.

My appeal was accepted by HR and they don’t accept all of them as it has to meet certain criteria.

We use quartiles at work, and only a certain number of people can be in any one grade. It’s hard, but that’s where it’s up to small extra things people have done. It’s very hard to get an ‘exceeds expectations’ grade, yet that’s what almost everyone rates themselves as.

What is the outcome for you if your grade is improved? Not sure it’s something I would have bothered about, they don’t really mean all that much in real terms in my role. It’s also very hard to get a great grade unless you are up for promotion.

I'd start looking for a new job. Rightly or wrongly, the feedback you're getting about the impact of your appeal is telling you what you need to know about the culture.
If the changed grade won't impact a salary, bonus or job title then make sure it's not impacting your time/energy for job searching.

Honestly? I think it will damage your long term career more than whatever short term benefits this gives you and would start preparing to look outside the organisation. Not the way it should be but....

I think it shows they don't value you. By all means appeal, but also be looking for an exit. A bad annual review can be a short slip to a performance management plan which all too often leads to an employee being managed out. If you have been reviewed as meeting expectations but are appealing because you believe you should be 'exceptional', it will be harder to win as it is so subjective. It is worth thinking about patterns and whether there could be any element of discrimination but really you would need to show detriment - is the review linked to salary increase or bonus? I work for a TU and this is what I would generally advise, obviously I don't know your full circumstances.

Well you're free to think whatever you like but its naive to think it won't affect other people's impression of you, whether that's fair or otherwise. I was just cautioning you to have a sense check whether the potential benefits outweigh the potential negatives of going this route. Its unprofessional of them to tell you that's the way they will view you going through their own procedure, but it seems a realistic interpretation from them.

It does sound utterly toxic. They don't like that you are appealing something you feel is wrong (well done) so are turning to nefarious ways of bullying you into hopefully withdrawing your request - make sure you keep records if you have to take it to an employment tribunal.

But also, yeah - might a job somewhere else be a more appealing prospect?

I agree that everyone should be able to absolutely of a clearly advertised prices without fear of being judged.

But, I don't agree that it doesn't matter what the impact of the grade is and what you want the outcome to be. It's a formal process and requires time and engagement by various people so needs to be done for a reason and with some basis.

But do you disagree with your grade?