FAANG performance review process demystified
Conducting Performance Reviews itself is a very similar process in all the FAANG companies. Almost half of the employees in a company consider its performance review process effective.
A performance review is a formal process that aligns with your goals and improves your skills. Through the performance review process, you gain constructive feedback from managers, other bosses, colleagues, and key stakeholders. It’s important so that you can continue building up your skills, work more effectively and efficiently. The purpose is to assist with goal setting. There are 4 types of performance reviews: weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual performance reviews.
In this article, we’ve put a closer look at the FAANG performance review in each FAANG company separately.
Overview:
- Google performance review process
- Apple performance review process
- Meta performance review process
- Netflix performance review process
- Amazon performance review process
- Performance review process vs. performance management system
- How to implement an employee performance review
- What to include in your self-assessment?
1. Google performance review process
Google completely changed its performance review process in May 2022. Now, the process is called GRAD, which means Google Reviews and Development. The process is putting more responsibility on managers instead of relying on peer reviews.
We expect the new process to lead to higher pay for most Googlers than the old system. The GRAD system also brings clearer expectations for OKRs.
Google’s five-scale system for employee ratings:
- Transformative impact
- Outstanding Impact
- Significant impact (most will be here)
- Moderate impact
- Not enough impact
They do the process annually but also do quarterly checks with their managers in order to review their career development.
2. Apple performance review process
Apple highly rewards high performers. Apple’s employees get benefits depending on individual performance and the number of years within the company. Apple relies almost entirely on peer reviews. Apple measures performance based on final results rather than trials or efforts. Apple’s reward method: Stock (Link employee reward with company performance).
According to Quora, Apple divides employee performance into three categories. These are teamwork, innovation, and results. Each employee is given one of three grades for each criterion. The criteria are: “needs improvement,” “met expectations” and “exceeded expectations.”
3. Meta performance review process
Meta has a performance management review every six months, starting in January and July. Previously, they called it the Performance Summary Cycle. Meta uses a stack ranking system.
Employers need to grade employees according to a bell curve. For example, the C grade is for about 60% of employees. Employees write a peer evaluation, self-assessment, and manager’s evaluation within a two-week period.
After reading all the feedback, self-assessment and other information, the manager determines an employee’s “Performance Assessment” rating as well as whether it’s time to have them promoted.
At the end of a cycle, managers have conversations with their employees about their performance. An employee’s manager summarizes what they’ve done well, where they need to improve, and then the manager gives them a letter of compensation at the end.
The letter includes the details of the employee’s rating and bonus, in addition to any additional information.
4. Netflix performance review process
Netflix has regular informal reviews in March and April. Netflix holds 360-degree reviews. This involves getting feedback from colleagues and superiors and performing a self-assessment.
Netflix’s approach to performance reviews prominently its culture of candor features.
During 360-degree reviews at Netflix, employees can send feedback to anyone in the company, and the manager and superiors to that person will see this feedback. Previously, Netflix used anonymous reviews through a software system.
5. Amazon performance review process
Amazon performs a performance review in which all the employees receive one of three grades: top tier (TT), highly valued (HV), and least effective (LE). Amazon also started rating employees on a scale from HV1 to HV3. Employees who receive a high rating of HV1 or higher are eligible for a base-pay increase, according to internal documents.
Amazon also uses the “Anytime Feedback” tool. This is an internal platform where employees can use anonymous feedback in order to praise or criticize their colleagues. If you fail in this part, they put you on a three-month performance improvement plan.
6. Performance review process vs Performance management system
Employees see Performance Feedback and reviews to validation of their work, proof, documentation, and the right ordeal of their tasks done, and be part of the invaluable system. Performance reviews do not provide a strategy for future growth.
The reason performance management is important to employees is that it helps them to stay connected to their manager, get feedback on their work and progress, plan their development, and also understand what they have to do, and how they are and can be aligned to Company Objectives. Performance management focuses on providing a strategy for employees’ future growth in order to enhance the growth of the company.
Performance reviews are changing constantly. Over the years, performance reviews were considered a “carrot/stick” tool tied to promotions and salary increases. Companies put a lot of effort into a short period of trying to recap an entire cycle of performance in one session. Performance management is an ongoing, daily responsibility that benefits the organization as much, if not more, than the employee. Unfortunately, people might be taking Performance Reviews, feedback & management just as a one-time process for appraisal. Performance reviews serve as a checkpoint for employee development as well as statistical data for the company to paint a larger operational picture for management when teams, sections, and departments are reviewed together.
7. How to implement an employee performance review?
The performance review implementation involves the following steps:
- Goal-Settings: Goals can be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative goals, by default, will have targets, unlike qualitative goals. Goal-setting can be a collaborative process between the managers and the employees, or only the managers or admin can do it, depending on the culture of the organization. Mapping common goals through templates is also an important part of goal setting.
- Check-ins: To make performance review, continuous, more and more organizations are incorporating regular check-ins into their traditional review system where instead of waiting for year-end to have a conversation, the managers and the employees can interact continuously and update on the achievement, track progress against time, have a one-on-one conversation and give and get feedback.
- Self Review: The next step in the review process is the self-review, where the employee rates themselves for their performance.
- Review by Manager: The manager then reviews the ratings and the score given by the employee, as well as all the training needs that are identified by the employee. They then give their rating and add comments depending on the goals and culture of the organization and recommend for promotion.
8. How to perform your self-assessment?
Before a performance evaluation, review the past year in terms of your accomplishments. Prepare a one- page that shows what you have contributed, individually and as a part of a team. Before a performance evaluation, review the past year in terms of your accomplishments. Monetize the data as much as possible to show the financial impact of your contributors - how much your efforts actually made or saved the organization.
Provide a copy of that to your boss prior to the meeting and, in the future, start sending your boss a one-page report/email each month showing your 5 most significant accomplishments from last month and your 5 highest priorities for the current month.
Send this report on/before the 5th calendar day of each month. Keep it quick and concise and make certain that you keep those priorities in front of you each month. Invite your boss to provide you with feedback on your reports each month to keep you both aligned and accountable.
If you need any additional tips on how to perform your self-assessment as a part of the performance review process in your company, InterviewHelp is here for you.