Feeling Trapped by Unfair Performance Appraisal and HR Pressure – What Should I Do Next?

I have been working in an MNC company for the last 4 years. There was a performance appraisal this year, and I have been rated as "I." The manager has already given ratings to my official email that I have been rated as "G." However, when the actual results came out in the portal, I have been rated as "I." The manager tampered with my feedback comments just before one day of the closure of the appraisal cycle.

I then took this matter to the corporate level via email, and they stated that it's just a process lapse that I got to know my pre-calibrated rating before the appraisal cycle. They did not answer my other question about why my feedback comments were tampered with before the one-day closure of the appraisal cycle and mentioned that whatever the circle level gives as a rating is final.

After that, I referred to the investigation policy (whistleblower) of the organization, where I filed a complaint regarding the change in my feedback comments and rating. Almost 3 months have passed, and the investigation team is saying that they are following up with the company, but they have yet to receive any response. Once there is feedback from the company, they will get back to me soon.

During these 3 months, I have been put on a Performance Improvement Plan and informed that my performance is not up to the mark, and I am not meeting the company's expectations. Now, as the employees in my department are transferring to a new Pune location due to centralization, I have not been selected.

The HR of the organization is stating that all employees in my department have been interviewed, but I am 100% sure that none of my employees in my department has been interviewed for the transfer. I suspect the company has pre-planned my termination or to force a resignation, seeking revenge for what they believe I did earlier.

Now, they are informing me that I was not selected for the Pune location and that my PIP is not up to the mark. The HR is now suggesting that I resign. Please advise on what steps to take next.

When the environment is forcing you to do so, just do it, but make sure that you've got another opportunity in your hand. Even though you do not do it now, definitely, one day you will again have pressure from management because they have already decided something. If possible, try and find out the reasons for your forceful resignation properly and then act accordingly.

I would like to tell you that you cannot *SURVIVE* in an organization for a long time, but you have to *LIVE* longer! Hope this has helped you understand the meaning of your other post asking for the difference between termination and forceful resignation. Read the clauses of your appointment letter carefully twice before acting.

Think twice and think wise before you act wise!

Regards,
Bharghavi

Dealing with Unfair Management Practices

There are many situations where managers with selfish desires engage in such acts. Whoever opposes the manager, they try to suppress using these means, and those who comply, even if not good, are made leaders simply because they obey the manager for any deeds.

There is no option if you cannot prove your capabilities. Try seeking help from other managers, possibly from different departments.

If you have older positive appraisal ratings or certificates proving your abilities, it may assist you in the future (either to defend yourself or to showcase to a potential new employer if given the opportunity). So, gather those documents before leaving the organization.

There are numerous opportunities awaiting you; enhance your skills for a better company. Do not forget the humiliation and adapt to handle similar problems if they arise in the future.

Best of luck.

Regards,
Rakesh.

Resignation Under Pressure

With that condition, you must resign. Management seems to have decided to push you out for a long time because of what you did to them earlier. As you have just said, they were only waiting for the right time and opportunity to do so. Performance evaluation appears to be the best way for them to proceed. They are the ones who evaluate your performance, so who will question their findings? Absolutely no one. Documenting the performance appraisal results is just an attempt to gather evidence that you were an incompetent employee, which is why they fired you. I am certain that even if you do not willingly hand over your resignation now, be prepared to receive your termination letter very soon. It is better for you to do so for the sake of your future CV.

Consider the grounds for termination. If you wait for them to fire you, you will be terminated on the grounds of incapacity (incompetence), which is bad for future references. No company will be willing to hire such an incompetent employee. Hope you are aware of that. You will be required to state the reason why you left your past employer in the interview. Think about what you will say. Also, there are issues with background checks. Even if you lie, they will find out. It's better to resign and reconcile with them.

Please do not decide on his capabilities without understanding the situation. Dictating terms like this suggests you have never experienced company politics; with these rash words, it proves your ignorance regardless of your position. More than you, he himself knows why he is removed; you don't have to educate him in this regard. He is already broken.

Regards,
Rakesh

I have already resigned from the company, but I want to know why such managers are playing with our careers. First, they are giving a "G" rating, then an "I" rating??? What is the reason for that?

Dear Rinku,

Please do not get disappointed when you have already chosen what is right for you. Anyway, can you please inform me if the rating declared by the manager was officially communicated to everyone in your team, including your counterparts, or were you the only one who came to know about your rating before the actual ratings were declared the next day?

Did this happen with others in the organization too? Has this occurred for the first time ever in the organization's history or with employees working under this manager? How were your previous performance appraisals/review experiences since you worked with this organization for 4 years?

If you provide answers to these questions, experts will be able to guide you correctly. Best wishes for your new employment.

Regards,
Hiral

My apologies, I wanted him to understand the gravity of the situation he is in. What I meant to say is that management used performance evaluation as a way to target him. If you refer to what he said earlier, he mentioned that he did something that they did not like back then, so now they are retaliating against him. I wanted him to understand that termination on the grounds of incompetency is always very difficult to challenge because it is the management themselves who evaluated him. Even though he was given the chance to improve himself, they still claimed he couldn't perform (not to me, but management saw it that way). These are sufficient grounds for his termination. You can see that management followed all the necessary procedures for such a termination so that, once they take action, they will not face any penalties. I am speaking from experience here.

Regards,

The rating was disclosed by the manager covertly to two of his employees (including me) via their official email IDs. The other employee has resigned due to the same "I" rating. All the rest of the three appraisals were given a "G" rating, and this is the last one where I have been rated as "I."

My manager was given the chance for the first time in the company to be the reportee of four employees. Three of the employees have already resigned (including me). This is the first time this has happened in the organization's history.

He said, "Seek revenge for what he did back then," was in the context when he initiated the investigation against the tampering and rating, not before the P.E. Your statement gives the idea that P.E. was the end result of whatever he has done (investigation), which is not true.

Presumably, the manager is quite influential. What document was given as a result in the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)? Have you shared these documents, i.e., the email with the G rating and the PIP result with the investigation team?

I have been following the details you have provided regarding your forced exit. I don't want to be illogical in explaining things to you, but let us say you are the employer and you do not want an employee to stay in your organization. Whatever the circumstances, you will remove the individual from the organization. Unfortunately, the legal obligations that would have supported you are of no use in India based on what I have seen over my years of experience. It is a bit demotivating to hear such things, but it is better to face the truth than to live on empty hopes and expectations. Please remember that what I am talking about is the valuable time you can invest in looking for better opportunities.

Every piece of evidence you are going to gather regarding your experience is in the possession of your company. Your peers, subordinates, files, clients, and documents—everything. I can offer you sympathetic views, but everything in your office seems to be happening without any response to what you are trying to demonstrate or justify. Trust me on this, 4 years is a good timeline to find a new job and profile. Also, please do not assume that other companies would adhere to what this company might say about your performance post interviews or discussions that may occur in the future at other organizations. You have the talent and experience; you can thrive in different environments. There is nothing to gain from winning this battle against this company. If you genuinely want to highlight their wrongdoings, then consider joining a competitive setup to reclaim your position and experience in alignment with industry standards. I am sharing this based on my own experiences that resonate with yours.

Regards,
Good Luck

From what you've mentioned, it seems the manager has deliberately done this to both of you. It is a human tendency (excluding exceptions and professionalism) to proclaim high ratings to juniors before the actual ratings are declared. This gives juniors a sense of pride and security for their managers. When the actual ratings differ from the ones quoted, they pass the responsibility to management, saying normalization was done, which was not informed to them.

Even when the performance reviews are from bottom to top, such tricks help managers get good ratings from juniors (as they know their rating, they'll boost their managers like God, which improves their rating).

The only thing you have in your favor is the mail mentioning a "G" rating. Based on that, you can have a say, but nonetheless, you've taken your stand to move. If all three of you had taken this point together, you probably had fair chances to gain.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the manager seems to be influential, which is why things moved the way he wanted.

Anyway, it is said that every mistake gives some experience, and this will surely help you make the correct decision and act cautiously in the future.

Regards,
Hiral

Everything said by the other posts is right, and that's how it has been in many scenarios. Very few fight back when they are rigidly right. With the initiation of an investigation, it proves you did not have anything to hide.

Even winning the battle may not get you back the same job, and even if it may, it is not right for you to go back to the organization that let you down. It's about proving your capabilities or dealing with humiliation in your friend circle and possibly your manager.

The only reason to say fight back is that this removal of employees should not become a trend in the future but should be a last resort for the company and the right candidate. HR has a policy that approximately 25-15% in a team should be given a rating as "below expectation" or an "I" rating, which is not correct. These are mostly in Indian companies. Some policies should change for the better.

The relationship between a company and an employee should be like that of a parent and child. Both should grow. It should not be that just because of a single manager, the whole company gets a bad name.

I also request you to reveal the company name so that people know where not to put their feet, but I know many may object to it.

Since many have different thoughts and experiences, it's left to you to go ahead.

All the best.

Regards

I fully agree with Mr. Bhatia. You cannot fight against an organization; it is like a rat trying to drill a tunnel in a mountain. It is always better to get things done informally in the initial stages. If you feel that the odds are against you, it is better to work elsewhere, where your work is recognized, the appraisal process is transparent, and a genuine grievance redressal system is operational. It is better to quietly search for another job quickly and then put in your papers.

Best wishes,

NK Sundaram

Accountability of Managers in Performance Appraisals

Why are managers not being blamed for such activities? They do provide ratings before the final appraisal is announced. The organization states that it is an equal opportunity employer, where everyone is treated equally.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

I was thinking about your case. I see everyone putting up some advice against the company policies. Let us consider, what if every HR who has commented on the organization and its policies sends a letter to the HR of the company along with the appropriate authorities who should be informed in such cases. You would then receive an appropriate answer to your concern and justice as well. They seem willing to let you go at any cost, so it's better to fight with support and move forward. My main concern was you fighting alone. Please share the email addresses of the relevant HR and CEO. A group email would suffice, in my opinion.

You must be aware of the freedom of speech and the right to question any authority. As this pertains to my specialization - Human Resources, I feel very connected and have the right to question its applicability. As an HR professional, it is my responsibility to speak sensibly to everyone, hence I am speaking up now. Company policies should be transparent, not opaque. When a single HR is in trouble, let us all fight together if we truly want the future of HR to be strong.

I truly dislike HR being manipulated by management, despite being an integral part without which a company would face issues regularly. This is a wake-up call for all HR professionals. However, understand that the outcome could be either negative or positive for anyone supporting you. You may even risk not receiving your experience letter or final pay. Can you handle such a stressful situation at the moment? There are many experienced HR professionals here; let them also comment on what I have just initiated. Ultimately, the decision will come from HR as a family or community.

Regards

I could have given the email ID of my company, but I feel that I may not be able to get my experience letter or relieving letter, which could put me in trouble when seeking my next job. Though I was working for one of the biggest MNCs, they can be more powerful when escalations occur repeatedly. I took the matter to the organization's investigation policy level (where you can lodge a complaint regarding unfair treatment at the workplace, performance appraisals without informing line managers and Circle HR) but have received no response to date. The response we have received is that they are chasing the company, and we are yet to receive a response from their side. This could be one of the reasons I believe they didn't like and planned to terminate my employment with immediate effect, resulting in my forced resignation. I have documentary evidence such as the manager giving a pre-calibrated rating of myself and my team member and tampering with feedback comments just one day before the closure of the appraisal cycle. Fighting alone was very difficult for me, but what could I do if they had given a termination letter? The problem here is that all (Circle HR Head, Line manager, Network Head) were involved in terminating my employment from the organization, in my opinion.

Firstly, I would like to clarify certain points.

Performance Appraisals and HR's Role

Performance appraisals are conducted by your supervisors; HR only moderates them. The reason is that HR does not know much about your progress, so we cannot give you ratings unless your supervisor shares them with us.

Forced Bell Curve in Performance Management Systems

Most organizations follow a forced bell curve for Performance Management Systems (PMS). The process is explained below:

1. The first step may (or may not) be self-appraisal.
2. Then your supervisor appraises you based on your performance and your Key Result Areas (KRA).
3. Ideally, there should be a one-on-one meeting between HR, the Supervisor, and the Performer. HR is included to keep someone in the loop.
4. After the individual ratings are declared, they are plotted on a graph to see a pattern.

Numbers randomly plotted on a graph can take any shape. However, many companies follow a strict bell curve graph for PMS. This means they want a fixed percentage of people as poor performers, a fixed percentage as the best performers, and the remaining fall under the acceptable category, which can further be classified depending on the organization.

In this case, people nearer to the poor performance limit are adjusted to poor performance if the percentage is not fulfilled. Office politics can influence this scenario, where a supervisor may say, "Sure, he's got, say, an M rating, but he's not as capable as him," and so if one has to be adjusted, it would be this XYZ person.

If this is done on a performance basis, it is fair. But if it is done on a favoritism basis, it would be a real problem as it would lead to dissatisfaction.

Pre-adjusted Ratings and Dissatisfaction

Usually, in such cases, pre-adjusted ratings are not shared. The reason is that it would lead to dissatisfaction if you discover you were at a higher rating and now at a lower one, as in your case.

Honestly, you can't blame just one person here because several people and factors play into this game:

- Office/Company policy
- Your supervisor's rating
- Your past behavior
- How your supervisor judges you
- What is communicated to HR by the supervisor
- Your personal track records, etc.

I read you've already resigned. I wish you good luck with your job hunting. But have you prepared what you would say if asked the reason for the change? You can't say this.

All the best once again. 

I am working in a company. I have completed 1 year on last September 7th, so I should get an appraisal in that month. When I asked my manager, he told me that he will do that in the next coming month (November), but it's January now. Should I approach him, or should I wait?

Apart from this, due to some reasons between me and my colleagues, the relationship is not good. They have been trying to prove that my performance and attitude are not good. I feel that my manager also wants to take this as an advantage. They may change my department to one with a lower profile than where I am currently working.

What should I do now? Should I switch companies before they prove that my performance is not good, or should I approach my manager for an appraisal?

Please suggest to me as soon as possible.

Regards,
Vivek

Hello Ankita, I am working in a company and have completed 1 year on September 7th. I should have received an appraisal in that month. When I asked my manager, he mentioned he would do it in the next coming month (November), but it's now January. Should I approach him, or should I wait?

Concerns About Workplace Relationships

Apart from this, due to some reasons between my colleagues and me, the relationship is strained. They have been attempting to prove that my performance and attitude are not good. I feel that my manager also wants to take advantage of this situation. They might consider changing my department to a lower profile than my current position.

Seeking Advice on Next Steps

What should I do now? Should I consider switching companies before they establish that my performance is inadequate, or should I approach my manager for an appraisal?

Please advise me as soon as possible.

Regards, Vivek

Your case is a serious issue of concern. At the same time, you also have to consider the organization, which is not ready to listen and clarify your concerns. I would suggest that if such a conflict arises in any organization and you find that management is unwilling to address it and starts harassing the staff, it is better to leave the organization. Therefore, there is no need to dwell on the matter and waste your efforts. There are many organizations that operate on a "respect and results" philosophy and treat their employees as assets.

Regards