Google raises employee pay in performance review renewal

The Google The company is reforming the performance appraisal process, implementing changes that will lead to an increase in salaries, as the company is trying to ease tension between employees and leadership on the issue of compensation.

Starting this week, Google is using a new process for performance reviews called GRAD, which stands for Google Reviews and Development. It’s part of an effort to streamline the appraisal process, limit reviews to once a year, rather than twice, and put more responsibility in the hands of managers rather than relying too heavily on peer reviews, according to internal documents reviewed by CNBC.

“Under this new process, we expect that the majority of Google employees will be designed to earn higher salaries than they would have been under the old performance system, and the total amount paid will also increase,” one of the documents said.

The head of Google search, Prabhakar Raghavan, reiterated the point at the company’s city council meeting on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.

A Google spokesperson said in an email that the company “has nothing else to share”.

Employee salaries have been a sensitive topic at Google. in the year “Googlegeist” pollwhich CEO Sundar Pichai Considered a key indicator of employee satisfaction, employees gave Google particularly poor marks on how bonuses compare to paying for similar jobs at other companies. Employees also lowered their ratings based on the performance reviews process and career growth opportunities.

Survey results were distributed in March and highlighted the challenges facing Google from ‘big resignation’ With workers leaving their jobs at a record pace and tech companies seeking talent

Google employees express their concerns to management directly, not just in the annual survey. at comprehensive meeting In December, Frank Wagner, Google’s vice president of compensation, responded to questions about whether the company would provide a pay raise to tackle rising inflation, especially since Google’s revenue has boomed during the pandemic with stock prices hitting a record high in November.

Wagner said Google would not implement an overall increase to keep pace with inflation even as CEOs receive their salaries Pitfalls.

Google is now making fundamental changes to how workers are paid and promoted. As part of the new GRAD system, promotions will be decided primarily by management rather than a union of managers and peers. Documents show that employees can still request promotions twice a year.

The Google She said In March, it will attempt to make changes to the lengthy “performance” process, which has been replicated in other companies in the industry. the information Previously mentioned Some performance review details changes.

As part of the new system, Google employees will get a new tool for setting expectations for goals, or Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as they are known, according to an internal memo. Employees will also have “regular check-ins” with their managers every three months to discuss career development among other things, the documents explain, and address central complaint among workers.

For employee ratings, Google introduces a new metric with five different levels.

Most employees will be in the middle, which “reflects the huge impact they are making.” The two ratings below average are “medium impact” and “inadequate impact,” which are “distinguished impact” and “transformative impact” for those who “perform above or below that high.”

There is also a new promotion system. In it, the employee’s manager will complete a form to assess whether the person has demonstrated the skills required for advancement.

“Google employees are not actually expected to perform next-level business to demonstrate their ability to achieve next-level success,” one of the documents said. However, there will need to be a commercial need for the upgrade.

“Google employees will be considered for promotions if they show signs of success at this level of work,” the company said.

Watch: Jim Cramer explains why “The Great Liberation” is a more appropriate name for The Great Resignation