The mood at work has really soured. I didn’t post last night because I wanted some time to think it though and not just to scream into the universe, but I might have a problem.
New KPIs went into effect this week, and they’re a big increase - what was, before, “a really solid day’s work, excellent effort, you’ve done a bit better than planned” is now considered “just about barely adequate, maybe”. Not good, just minimally adequate.
We’ve been busting our collective ass to keep churning through work as everything changed around us. The “new benchmarks” are based on productivity we were flogging ourselves for, with the understanding that we could breathe once things stopped going bananas. We’re undermanned, senior members of the team have been seconded out to back up other departments, the system we use is old and breaking regularly…
Nope. Now the “busting your ass” productivity is a permanent requirement. Everyone hates it.
Me personally, I type with one hand. My right hand won’t do much of anything, so it’s all with my left. I can’t realistically get much faster at processing than I am…and the new benchmarks are set so high I’m only just scraping past them. If I have a day with particularly complex work, or any technical issues at all, I won’t make it.
I like my job. I’d quite like to be competent at my job, and I’d like to feel there was a realistic way for me to improve at my job.
At the moment, it doesn’t feel that way. My absolute best is now barely good enough, and I can’t see a way for me to get any better than bare minimum (and permanently worrying about being pulled up for low productivity) while still “only really being able to process work with one hand”.
My problem with KPIs is that it’s so damn easy for a bean counter at HO to just routinely adjust them upwards even though they are unfamiliar with the conditions at the grass roots. It also appears in a lot of ‘how to run a company’ books that the staff are supposed to always be yearning to ‘improve’ their stats by continually getting more done with less. This is completely unrealistic imo. American hustle culture being imposed from the top down in the name of efficiency, but really to make the HO bean counter look good in comparison.
spoiler
As a person with a disability, who is essential if the org is going to meet it’s diversity and inclusion obligations, then I think you may be able to negotiate a more realistic KPI. Be warned though that this is a very risky move if you want promotions.
Also, having senior staff members seconded elsewhere is a major red flag for ‘sub-par’ KPI assessments. And something of a get out of jail free card too if played correctly.
I need to verbalise it, because it IS a problem…and realistically, I’m probably very well placed to mention the concerns of the whole team, given that “finding the KPIs unrealistic” would be down to an identifiable medical issue in my case and they supposedly can’t penalise me for that.
But lordy me, I hate to play the “please hold me to different standards than my colleagues, I can’t do it!” card. I was really, really proud of not being judged by different standards until now. I was genuinely proud and happy to know that I was “good enough” and deserved to be there off my own effort.
That’s the problem with KPIs, people look at your output then just think you can do 10% more next year.
I hope things work out, either everyone just collectively agreeing the KPIs were ‘stretch goals’ all along, or you find somewhere else more chill to work.
I’m probably very well placed to mention the concerns of the whole team, given that “finding the KPIs unrealistic” would be down to an identifiable medical issue in my case and they supposedly can’t penalise me for that.
But lordy me, I hate to play the “please hold me to different standards than my colleagues, I can’t do it!” card. I was really, really proud of not being judged by different standards until now. I was genuinely proud and happy to know that I was “good enough” and deserved to be there off my own effort.
It sucks to hear that you’re feeling under so much pressure. If these KPIs are unrealistic though, it would make sense that the team across the board struggle. If that’s the case, what are management going to do? Fire everyone? or rethink their KPIs. I know what I’d choose. The KPIs don’t mean much if no one is meeting them
The mood at work has really soured. I didn’t post last night because I wanted some time to think it though and not just to scream into the universe, but I might have a problem.
New KPIs went into effect this week, and they’re a big increase - what was, before, “a really solid day’s work, excellent effort, you’ve done a bit better than planned” is now considered “just about barely adequate, maybe”. Not good, just minimally adequate.
We’ve been busting our collective ass to keep churning through work as everything changed around us. The “new benchmarks” are based on productivity we were flogging ourselves for, with the understanding that we could breathe once things stopped going bananas. We’re undermanned, senior members of the team have been seconded out to back up other departments, the system we use is old and breaking regularly…
Nope. Now the “busting your ass” productivity is a permanent requirement. Everyone hates it.
Me personally, I type with one hand. My right hand won’t do much of anything, so it’s all with my left. I can’t realistically get much faster at processing than I am…and the new benchmarks are set so high I’m only just scraping past them. If I have a day with particularly complex work, or any technical issues at all, I won’t make it.
I like my job. I’d quite like to be competent at my job, and I’d like to feel there was a realistic way for me to improve at my job.
At the moment, it doesn’t feel that way. My absolute best is now barely good enough, and I can’t see a way for me to get any better than bare minimum (and permanently worrying about being pulled up for low productivity) while still “only really being able to process work with one hand”.
My problem with KPIs is that it’s so damn easy for a bean counter at HO to just routinely adjust them upwards even though they are unfamiliar with the conditions at the grass roots. It also appears in a lot of ‘how to run a company’ books that the staff are supposed to always be yearning to ‘improve’ their stats by continually getting more done with less. This is completely unrealistic imo. American hustle culture being imposed from the top down in the name of efficiency, but really to make the HO bean counter look good in comparison.
spoiler
As a person with a disability, who is essential if the org is going to meet it’s diversity and inclusion obligations, then I think you may be able to negotiate a more realistic KPI. Be warned though that this is a very risky move if you want promotions.
Also, having senior staff members seconded elsewhere is a major red flag for ‘sub-par’ KPI assessments. And something of a get out of jail free card too if played correctly.
I need to verbalise it, because it IS a problem…and realistically, I’m probably very well placed to mention the concerns of the whole team, given that “finding the KPIs unrealistic” would be down to an identifiable medical issue in my case and they supposedly can’t penalise me for that.
But lordy me, I hate to play the “please hold me to different standards than my colleagues, I can’t do it!” card. I was really, really proud of not being judged by different standards until now. I was genuinely proud and happy to know that I was “good enough” and deserved to be there off my own effort.
And now I have to swallow that.
Play the senior staff seconded elsewhere card as hard as you can.
That’s the problem with KPIs, people look at your output then just think you can do 10% more next year.
I hope things work out, either everyone just collectively agreeing the KPIs were ‘stretch goals’ all along, or you find somewhere else more chill to work.
I wish it was only 10%. It’s like…30
union , call the union
And get together a meeting of your colleagues to discuss it, or at least establish lines of communication among yourselves in some way
Given you’ve got CP, if they try to come at you for KPIs you can probably hit them with some disability protection stuff.
I’m probably very well placed to mention the concerns of the whole team, given that “finding the KPIs unrealistic” would be down to an identifiable medical issue in my case and they supposedly can’t penalise me for that.
But lordy me, I hate to play the “please hold me to different standards than my colleagues, I can’t do it!” card. I was really, really proud of not being judged by different standards until now. I was genuinely proud and happy to know that I was “good enough” and deserved to be there off my own effort.
You are and you do. Fuck them if they justify their unrealistic flogging of employees with ableism
It sucks to hear that you’re feeling under so much pressure. If these KPIs are unrealistic though, it would make sense that the team across the board struggle. If that’s the case, what are management going to do? Fire everyone? or rethink their KPIs. I know what I’d choose. The KPIs don’t mean much if no one is meeting them
Never underestimate the hubris of senior leadership.