Performance appraisal

[Jinx1906]

I have returned to work after taking 5 years out when our children were born and have been back at work in my current job for 2 years now.

I accept that after having been away for such a long time it is difficult to pick up where I was when I gave up work a few years ago.

However, the place where I work now seems to have a habit of offering opportunities to develop and promotions only to male employees and people under the age of 30. I'm not to only one who is complaining about this. The company invites younger employees for training courses and when more experienced senior staff leave there is no opportunity for people who work for them to progress. Only a few months ago one of our managers ( very capable and experienced ) left the company. My direct boss (female) who would have been the natural successor in terms of experience, as she used to do this job during his holidays, absence etc was however passed over for a younger male model from a different department who has no experience in what we do whatsoever. In a way it is perhaps none of my business but my gripe is that if my direct boss would have gotten promoted I would have had an opportunity to perhaps take on some of her old role and improve my earning prospects.

The management in our company is well aware that I would like an opportunity to progress. Both my previous appraisals were glowing. They have not been able to fault the quality of my work or the volume that I produce. It has also been recognised that I just get on with my work without much help of senior colleagues and that I have done a work related course in my own time and paid for it myself ( while the company paid for the under 30's to do the course, pay for the exam fee and get a day leave to attend the exam which I did not get ).

My sick record is OK apart from having been of with a doctors certificate for 10 days this year. (chickenpox)

Despite the fact management is aware of my desire to move on to perhaps a different section department all together, when there are opportunities to move to a different section I don't even get an opportunity to discuss a possible move. They simply chose someone else. I have never been given a reason as to why I'm not being considered, apart from that they are happy with what I'm doing in terms of quality and volume.

We have our yearly appraisal coming up in the next few weeks, and I would like to document the above without shooting myself in the foot. I believe my employers are making my life rather difficult. Am I being unreasonable. Some of my colleagues say they think management is simply not interested in woman over 30. I think they way have a point, it is however difficult to prove. If it wasn't for the recession I would have been long gone, but under the circumstances I feel that I don't have much choice but to make the best of what I have. (A bit like the weather)

Any help and tips with regards to the upcoming performance appraisal would be greatly appreciated. I do not want to come across as emotional and all over the place. If anything I would like my views to be documented clearly and to the point.

Thank you.

Hi Jinx

I recommend this book, it is fantastic. It was written in the mid-80s and it's quite sad that so much of it is still relevant. Thee are sections on what to do when people don't want you to move on, when people don't promote women etc. Have a look through.
In case the link doesn't work, it's Strategies For Women At Work by Janice LaRouche.

www.amazon.co.uk/Strategies-Women-Work-Janice-Rouche/dp/0043011918/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285947452&sr=1-1

For management to "not be interested in women over 30" is short-sighted, ignorant, and more importantly, illegal. It's 2010 not Mad Men FFS.

There could also be some subtle thing that you are doing that means you are not taken seriously as someone who can perform at the next level. Doing your work perfectly and efficiently makes you a good employee for the level you're at, but it doesn't prove you will be good at the next level up. Is there anything the manager does that you don't do or haven't proved you can do? An example given in the book is a woman who is a very efficient administrator but can't get promoted, while her boss (who she thinks is lazy) uses his contacts to get funding. However efficient she was as an admin, she couldn't get promoted until she proved that she had some chance of getting funding herself. You say your company promotes people to manage sections where they have no experience, so I'm thinking perhaps there is something like this. Efficiency, quality and volume are not going to get you promoted, judging on past experience - you need to think of what will.

Have a read anyway. The book is so great at helping you think through what the problem could be. I live by it :)

Very best of luck!

I'm dealing with higher managements files in their absence and am perfectly able to deal with their work. My direct manager who also happens to be a woman with 2 children could have done that job in her sleep. The man who was promoted in her place can not and even asks us to check some of his emails before he sends them. He does however have a good personal relationship with our finance director who is one of the share holders. I strongly believe that if they think that there is a reason to keep me where I am they should at least tell me why.

In terms of the legal side, it seems that an employer can do what they like. It may well be that people are facing discrimination, proving it is a different matter.

What business are you in?
From your last post it sounds as though the job two levels above you is solely about managing files. Is it insurance? If this young man isn't very good at the files side, is there something else he does do? I don't mean to sound critical of you, but I think you may be missing some element of what these managers do.

I still think you are focusing on efficiency, but if they repeatedly promote people who are less efficient, it would seem that efficiency is not what they are looking for.

This is something the book is great at. I have read it many times thinking "unfair bds" and come away with "OK I'll try that". For example, the promoted guy has a good personal relationship with someone important, so it may be that they are looking at some type of networking ability. Without knowing what business it is I couldn't hazard a guess what they may be after.

In terms of the opportunites you are not considered for, what exactly happens when such an opportunity arises? Is there any way you can be more active about actually doing this? EG do the opportunities go on a website or anywhere where you find out about them and can officially apply? It sounds as though you have said to someone "I'd like to be considered" and that isn't working. (Last December I told my boss I would like to be considered for official homeworking....I'm still waiting to hear whether it's even possible....) If you have sent an official application in, it's harder for them to ignore you, and they will have to prepare a story as to why they don't want to promote you. Often I think these things aren't sinister, they may just vaguely feel your face doesn't fit the next level up, and you will have to push them slightly so they realise that you can actually do the job and are a good promotion candidate.

I don't think there's anything you can do about your boss not being promoted - they can't discuss with you why someone else didn't get promoted. What they can do is tell you why you don't get considered. They should also be able to say why someone else is considered over you.

In your performance appraisal I think you should just write it all out and ask them all these questions, as they relate to yourself. Practicing in front of a mirror works for me if I want to stay calm and not get emotional - when something makes you sad, saying the words can bring the tears out, whereas if you practice the words will become more familiar.
EG
"I have expressed a desire to be considered for promotion opportunities, however x opportunity and y opportunity came up and A and B were put forward instead. I am keen to advance in my career and if you can give me any feedback about how I can improve so I do get put forward, I would appreciate it." Look them straight in the eye and brace yourself to hear things you might not like hearing. This would be a good result, because they are showing you enough respect to communicate honestly with you. They might talk about something like a positive attitude for example. It sounds fluffy, but it gives you a clue as to what you could change.

If what they say is unclear, ask for clarification.
A great one from my previous (sexist IMO) employer was "Well...you don't really have gravitas."
Me: What do you mean by gravitas?
ExBoss: Er...well...I think of gravitas meaning I believe what someone is saying when they present.
Me: Can you give me any examples of colleagues who have gravitas?
ExBoss: Dave, Jim, me haha...
Me: Female colleagues?
ExBoss: Er...I didn't like Thatcher but she did have gravitas.
I am not an MP btw

That dialog gives me a clue (no sh*t Sherlock!) that the problem is not something I can fix. Hence it was his problem and not mine. If they can't tell you what the problem is, it's theirs not yours. Although, if the meeting gets very awkward, they may not tell you because they feel you won't be able to handle it. This is why it's worth practicing staying calm.

The book has some examples of similar dialogs where the boss does have a proper reason why someone is not seen as suitable for the next level up.

This is very long but hopefully it is of some use.

The people above us do exactly the same things we do, just higher value cases, but these are not always more complicated than the files we handle. On top of that we are also handling higher value cases and management simply signs them off, often without checking or reading the file. They to put stats. together for clients, but the figures are provided to them by IT and these are fairly simple to put together. Again last year our manager was on long sick leave and the stats were put together by us.

This latest promotion has left the whole department totally puzzled.

In terms of oppertunities, they are never advertised. They just pick people for certain posts or advertise in the paper without giving any consideration for internal possible candidates.

I will definately give the book a go.

Thanks

Ask for a copy of their policies for talent management and promotion, explain that you are struggling to find a reason why you are not progressing at the speed of some of your colleagues and would like to know what promotional plans they have for you.

This looks like unintentional discrimination to me, but is hard to prove. Asking about your own opportunities might nudge them in the right direction.

Again, spent most of my morning editing e-mail messages so our new boss can send them out. So fed up!