RE: Bonus Structures -- MIDRANGE-L

Great post, Mac.

Problem is, we think managers golf on the business trips all day (because
that's all they tell us or we hear they did on the trip), and they think we
surf the web all day.

No one ever understands how much work we each do.  But, if I was a travlin
man, you can bet I would be in management right now.  :)  BUt I prefer to
surf the web.  (double <bg>)  Meetings, etc.. just get in the way.  

Perfect example, had a conference call with another company.  I told the
project leader I wanted a programmer from the other side on the line.  He
assured there would be.  When time came for the call, the programmer wasn't
there (no fault of my project leader).  Well, they tracked him down and we
got more done talking to each other in 5 minutes that we did trying to
explain how this was going to work in 45 minutes with the managers.
Needless to say, it was wasted time and I could have dropped the other
programmer a quick email explaining what I needed him to do.

They keep drilling into our heads that "we're all equally important to get
the job done", but when it comes down to benefits such as bonuses,
advancement, etc... it's all BS.  (and that doesn't stand for Brad Stone).

Brad

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MacWheel99@aol.com [mailto:MacWheel99@aol.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 1:45 AM
> To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject: Re: Bonus Structures
> 
> 
> This year, my employer started a new merit pay system, that 
> applies to all 
> the salaried & salary exempt workers ... the hourly factory 
> people are under 
> a different system, but share in most everything else like 
> 401k & all kinds 
> of HMO benefits.
> 
> We had a questionairre to fill out to describe the kinds of 
> work that we do & 
> what qualifications are needed for someone to replace us ... 
> among other 
> things I said that a high school drop out could do my job, 
> because academia 
> is irrelvant to our world, provided that person had 3-5 years 
> experience or 
> PHD equivalent with relevant ERP on relevant AS/400 
> programming structures of 
> which I listed a dozen languages & tools in which proficiency 
> is a must, but 
> a Certified Data Processor could probably do my job with only 1 year 
> background in the right stuff.  From this, Management derived 
> a description 
> of my job that had very little in common with what I put on 
> their survey. 
> 
> Then they matched up my job description with that of other 
> professional 
> co-workers, like engineers & accountants, and I have no idea 
> if their input 
> was as disregarded as my effort, to come up with a comparable 
> worth ... a 
> theory that people who do comparable work should get 
> comparable pay ... and 
> also came up with some scheme regarding what they think people in the 
> industry at large are being paid to do whatever it is they 
> ended up on paper 
> that we are supposedly doing.
> 
> By this logic, they concluded that I am being over paid with 
> an annual salary 
> around $ 40 k.  However, my annual review was such that they 
> felt that I was 
> doing such a superlative job, that I should be over paid, so 
> they gave me a 
> raise.
> 
> The whole system is so complicated I can't even explain it 
> without a computer.
> 
> My dislike with the approach is that it is being administered 
> by people who 
> do not comprehend the work being done by the people who get 
> the pay & they 
> are playing guessing games with the relative importance to 
> the job function 
> of the various pieces of their rules.   If I was to leave the 
> company & they 
> used the re-written deal as the requirements for my 
> replacement, then my 
> replacement would not be able to do my job, but in some areas 
> would be over 
> qualified.
> 
> I get some project done that I sweated blood to achieve & it 
> is ho hum what 
> have you done for us lately because they do not comprehend 
> what I am doing.  
> Some other program I get done in a few days & they are 
> excstatic with praise 
> because they think it was difficult for me & therefore I did 
> a very good job. 
>  It is like the stock market ... some company says they are 
> making a 10% 
> profit this quarter & their stock price nose dives because 
> the know-nothings 
> on Wall Street estimated the company should make 20%, while 
> some other 
> company that has yet to make a profit has its stock 
> skyrocketing like there 
> is no tomorrow.
> 
> We have zero tolerance for unplanned down time & various 
> other mishaps ... it 
> has been eons since we had any serious problems, that could 
> not be fixed in a 
> few days ... should I get the credit for this, or whoever 
> persuaded the 
> company to get an AS/400 a few years ago?  I asked for a 
> bonus for saving the 
> company, and civilization, from Y2K, and did not get one.  I 
> said I would 
> trade 1% less raise for an official parking space & they 
> treated it like I 
> was making a joke.  I was serious about indicators that I am 
> important to the 
> company.
> 
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