Employees speak out against Facebook’s ‘Hunger Games’ Employee Review Process

Grades aren’t everything! But apparently, employees at Facebook would disagree with this sentiment.

According to a CNBC report published on Tuesday, former Facebook employees say a ruthless ‘stacked ranking’ review process created a cult-like culture where they felt the need to feign happiness in a desperate attempt to form friendships with colleagues to advance their careers.

The former employees put the blame on Facebook’s bi-annual peer review system which heavily relies on the perception and feedback of colleagues.

The stack ranking process compelled employees to participate in after-hours social events, grab daily lunches with the team, and remain a positive advocate for the company to put on a good front with colleagues.

One former employee likened it to a ‘popularity contest.’

Any negative feedback is considered anonymous and can’t be challenged.

Once peer review is collected, employees at Facebook are ‘stack ranked’ and assigned a grade by management.

Employees who received two consecutive reviews of “meets expectations” – which they say is equivalent to the mighty ‘B’ grade – were canned in a couple of months.

The report suggests that Facebook’s twice-yearly reviews have contributed to the company’s growing list of scandals by encouraging a rush to roll out controversial features without considering the long-term impacts on user privacy.

The infamous “stack rank” system was introduced by Jack Welch, one of the world’s most respected and celebrated CEOs, known for his winning and time-tested philosophy on people management. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft had adopted the dreaded practice only to abandon it amid declining employee morale.

The post Employees speak out against Facebook’s ‘Hunger Games’ Employee Review Process appeared first on The HR Digest.

Source: New feed