To defend or not to defend, that is the question!

[bjcheung77]

No, I am not referring to your dissertation or thesis.  Would you or would you not shoot yourself in the foot by defending an employee that's working really well with the team or is a high-performance member in your team?  

I just came across this article, there are many other corporations that operate with similar performance improvement programs, some of them are just to kick out the employee...  I've never put myself in this situation before, hmm, I do wonder sometimes what I would do...

Link: I was a manager at Amazon. My boss encouraged me to quit after I defended a high-performing employee who was about to get the lowest performance rating. (msn.com)

[davewill]

I shouldn't be surprised, but that's F'd up. Well managed teams don't have really bad performers, especially if they've been running for a few years. Sure, I'd stick up for my guy. I'd rather leave than stay in such a toxic culture.

[Alpha]

I agree with Dave.  And as an aside, I've heard very few good things (and lots of bad things) about working for Amazon.

[dfrecore]

I'm all for getting rid of losers - way too many of them drag the team/branch/company down. But forcing people to arbitrarily put people in the bottom percentile is just dumb. Sometimes, a team is just filled with great people - especially after you spend a couple of years culling the bad ones. At some point, a team COULD have all great employees, and I mean, isn't that the goal? If you get rid of a good (or great) person because you have to, and then hire someone new to replace them, what did you gain? At best, you get another great person, creating the same problem next year. At worst, you get a crappy person, who you are then just going to get rid of at year's end.

This really makes no sense.

[Pats20]

Unfortunately the corporate mentality is “what have you done for me lately” nobody cares about yesterday, unless it was bad, then you’re held responsible. 

The management style that is being practiced today by a lot of companies is a micromanaged run and gun style to keep everyone covered up and to prevent free reign and thought.

You keep teams hopping and changing , you prevent comfort, enjoyment, and sense of security.