Amazon's performance review process is reportedly causing resentment among employees
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Amazon is known for its innovative ideas when it comes to people management.
On one hand, there are yet to be explored concepts, such as the wearable tracker designed to monitor warehouse workers and lead them to the location of specific items.
On the other, there is the newly implemented mandatory Q&A that pops up on employees’ computer screens at the start of each day, which aims to gather their feedback.
These strategies are meant to lead an increasing workforce of 500,000 into the next chapter of growth. And when certain members fall behind, Amazon knows exactly how to bring them up to speed.
In early 2017, Amazon took performance management to the next level with a program called Pivot, an improvement plan for underperforming employees.
Through Pivot, workers on the verge of being fired are given three options:
1. They can quit and take their severance package.
2. They can work hard for the next few months trying to hit performance goals set by the management to prove they’re a worthy team member.
3. They can take part in a video conference where they can argue their case against their manager before a global panel of fellow Amazon employees who hold a similar role.
An employee placed on the program spoke to Bloomberg’s Spencer Soper and recalled how she was given the option to have one manager or three non-managers to sit through the arguments. The employee said the video conference made it difficult to engage the panelists.
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When it came time for her manager to argue against her, she was prohibited from watching the presentation. She only learned later on she had lost.
Pivot comes as a response to earlier criticism alleging Amazon does not provide workers, who are about to be terminated, the proper forum to air their grievance and resolve issues.
But, of those who choose the courtroom-style litigation, 70% lose their case and are given the first two options again, Bloomberg reported. Those who win are taken off the program and are given the option to remain with their current team or move on to another.
A year and a half after it was rolled out, however, Pivot is reportedly causing resentment among workers, and prompting industry observers to question how fair the review process truly is.