I think the following anecdote may illustrate the silliness of the ranking systems:
My wife works in a big manufacturing company (which is just slightly related to IT). She started to work in a just-opened position for some department. As the position is new, they are not sure about her obligations.
After one year, she had a end-of-year review, where her immediate boss rates her performance. Because she completed everything she was asked to (which was not a lot... given that they still are defining the role), her boss gave mainly 9s or 10s (out of 10) for her rating.
Well... apparently, nobody in that company is supposed to get 9s or 10s, as that would mean that their work is perfect, and their motto is that everyone can improve. So my wife's boss was scolded by her boss, and had to decrease my wife's ratings.
The worst thing is that my wife is the only person in her actual position, so she is not competing against anyone.
When I bought a car recently, the sales person said the company would send me a survey about his service. On a scale of 1 to 10, he claimed (and I did believe him) that the company treats a 10 as a 10 and a 1-9 as a 0 when determining employee bonuses.
I read the same assertion in a couple car buying guides. It was given as advice going into negotiation: let the salesman and his(her) manager know that you know how the rating system works and you're happy to give perfect scores for a good buying experience.
My wife works in a big manufacturing company (which is just slightly related to IT). She started to work in a just-opened position for some department. As the position is new, they are not sure about her obligations.
After one year, she had a end-of-year review, where her immediate boss rates her performance. Because she completed everything she was asked to (which was not a lot... given that they still are defining the role), her boss gave mainly 9s or 10s (out of 10) for her rating.
Well... apparently, nobody in that company is supposed to get 9s or 10s, as that would mean that their work is perfect, and their motto is that everyone can improve. So my wife's boss was scolded by her boss, and had to decrease my wife's ratings.
The worst thing is that my wife is the only person in her actual position, so she is not competing against anyone.
...