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Is salary management worth the effort?

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By scooby
Anonymously contributed:

Why does LLNL senior management bother with the appraisal and salary management charade when the management process costs much more than the managed funds dispensed?

How much effort will a 200 really put in for the wonderful 1% average reward, when medical and tax increases take most? Why try indeed.

Consider that the full LLNS fee annually exceeds by four times the amount of the whole professional annual salary increase package. Nice, huh?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Talk to anyone, manager or not, they will all agree ranking and PAs are useless. Yet, nothing is being done about them. What is LLNS afraid of?
11/23/2009 7:36 PM
Anonymous said…
As a first line supervisor, (now retired), I would say this:
It's a contractual obligation.

When I was at the lab, MOST of my fellow supervisors took their jobs very seriously, and tried to be fair and honest. But that was 12 years ago...
11/24/2009 8:34 AM
Anonymous said…
You can bet ranking will be used if there's another wave of layoffs. So in that regard, they're important.
11/24/2009 9:27 AM
Anonymous said…
I am a first-line supervisor. My colleagues take ranking very seriously in attempting to make the process as fair and equitable as possible, even though it is obvious that the process is futile given the small salary increases to be expected and considering the enormous labor expense required to conduct the yearly evalutions. Hopefully the process will be evaluated and revised. Here's a good place to seek cost cutting measures.
11/25/2009 3:32 AM
Anonymous said…
Are we lumping together performance management and salary management? Some sort of performance appraisal should happen at least annually regardless of the size of the raise package. The streamlined form has been an improvement.
11/25/2009 7:12 PM
Anonymous said…
"When I was at the lab, MOST of my fellow supervisors took their jobs very seriously, and tried to be fair and honest. But that was 12 years ago..."

Total BS...there has never been a tie to how well your PA was and what you recieved in compensation. Its always been about who you know and who advacates for you. I've been on both sides of the fence for much geater than 12 years and know better. If your only a first line supervisor your out of the loop.

The current attempt is just more of the same and wasting dollars that should be spent on research!
11/25/2009 11:09 PM
Anonymous said…
Ranking has always been bull- dodo. I've worked my ass off for more then 20 years and out performed most all those in my peer group and at that time two peer group above me and yet watched all those who were ass kissers, brown nosers and yes men advance into groups that pay $2K -$3K more a month. The sad thing is this. All the butt sniffs who have held me down for 20+ years are the ones that come to me when they want the job done. Why? Because they know I will get the obstacle out of the way and have the job done in record time and it'll be done right even if I have to ruffle someone's feathers. They, then sit back at their meeting and say, "look how good of a job I did". Most of these people go to meetings and say, "yes" I can do that", then they leave, forgetting to tell those who they just made false promises to that the turd in their pocket was me and they didn't do a damn thing butt will take full credit. Thinking that once LLNS took over this injustice would be abolished has proven to be only wishful thinking. The same good old boy system is alive and well and it'll never go away until they are all dead and stinking. By that time LLNS will be all contract and all FTE's will be a thing of the past. IAFS but ULM have their boys they're going to take care of and if you're not on board with their illogocal ideologies, you're toast no matter how good you. When all is said and done and you finally figure out how the game is played letting ULM know you'd like to advance, they set down task in writing that you must accomplish before you'll be considered with at least one road block they know you can never accomplish because that level work is not going to be available again. Indirectly they're telling you "you are where you are, be glad you have a job and keep working dumbo, cause you're not going to every make it with the amount of time you have left." And there you have it people. Life at LLNL from start to finish..
11/27/2009 10:47 AM
Neko said…
FACT: It keeps the Lawyers happy.
11/28/2009 6:03 PM
Anonymous said…
Hey 11/27 10:47AM,
I was looking forwards to working for a private company and finally see
the good old boys culture (that includes good old girls too!) abolished!
It got worse! what is LLNS waiting for? the end of the contract?
I challenge anyone in ULM or HR management to look into salary disparities and overhaul compensation!
11/29/2009 4:58 PM
Anonymous said…
From what I understand, managers receive bigger raises (along with their higher rankings). Thus managers take a disproportionate chunk of annual payrole. Then, as they suck the projects dry with their high salaries and lack of work, we in the trenches struggle to keep the lab going and paying these guys salaries through ever rising overhead. Can anyone point to any data that shows manager salaries and rankings are evenly distributed through the lab population? My hunch they are clustered near the top of the rankings because of the fine job they do and thus "deserve" higher pay raises than those who work on projects. As far as I can tell, it is nearly impossible to get a high ranking unless a manager, no matter the quality of your work. It is my understanding that we are the ONLY national lab that scr*ws the employees this way. And DOE has pointed this out.
11/29/2009 10:16 PM
Anonymous said…
"s far as I can tell, it is nearly impossible to get a high ranking unless a manager"
FALSE!
I am not a manager; I have the highest rank. Problem is no money comes with it! I have had anywhere between .125% and 0.5% raises the last 3 years.
Under UC, I compared management vs non-management salaries (about a dozen of them) and observed that from 2001 to 2007 (last year salaries were publicly available), management raises were from 3.5 to 12% a year versus non managers .125% to 3%.
One manager did not even have anyone reporting to her and got 7% in 2006!
11/30/2009 11:16 AM
Dave Johnson said…
Nov, 25 11.09 said. (Quote included)
"When I was at the lab, MOST of my fellow supervisors took their jobs very seriously, and tried to be fair and honest. But that was 12 years ago..."

Total BS...there has never been a tie to how well your PA was and what you recieved in compensation. Its always been about who you know and who advacates for you. I've been on both sides of the fence for much geater than 12 years and know better. If your only a first line supervisor your out of the loop.

Me again, Nov 24, 8:34.
This may be your experience, in your group.
In 6/89 I was made a supervisor in ESD/Z Division. You obviously did not work in my group. Salary WAS connected to ranking and PA's. I made damn sure of that. I had the salary sheets available. I also asked for anonymous ranking of my guys. The top performers were spot on, the lower ranks were fantasy. I did my best for about 5 years, then went back to real technical work. The bitching from below was the biggest problem, plus mgmnt had no use for me.

Not sure if my sig will appear, but I'm Dave Johnson, NTED supervisor for about 5 years. I did the best job I could. My group got fair treatment, to the best of my ability. If anybody has info to the contrary, please post.

DJ
11/30/2009 9:12 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi Dave, I was in your group and appreciated your work on my behalf. I am now in a small private company startup that is doing very well.

For "Ranking has always been bull- dodo": why have you been hitting your head against the wall all these years? If you are dissatisfied, go outside and get another job that rewards you properly.
12/02/2009 5:15 PM
Anonymous said…
"Ranking has always been bull- dodo. I've worked my ass off for more then 20 years and out performed most all those in my peer group and at that time two peer group above me and yet watched all those who were ass kissers, brown nosers and yes men advance into groups that pay $2K -$3K more a month. The sad thing is this. All the butt sniffs who have held me down for 20+ years are the ones that come to me when they want the job done. Why? Because they know I will get the obstacle out of the way and have the job done in record time and it'll be done right even if I have to ruffle someone's feathers"

This is my situation exactly also but only for 8 years so far.
12/03/2009 9:50 AM
Anonymous said…
December 3, 2009 9:50 AM

Believe me, if you don't get some kee-pads you'll go nowhere no matter how hard you work. You must become a "yes" person or some sort of "special" person if you get my drift to move up the ladder quickly otherwise it'll be like urinating in the wind. What keeps me going is knowing I'm right in all I say and do and have great confidence in what I'm doing.
12/09/2009 12:35 PM
Anonymous said…
December 3, 2009 9:50 AM

LLNS needs to understand this:

Productive people are who they you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

They are not God and never will be.
12/09/2009 12:38 PM
scooby said…
Hey dec 9 12:38PM!
I read your comment over and over; only one thought comes to mind!
AFLAAAAAAAC!
12/09/2009 7:35 PM
Anonymous said…
No. They should just give everyone the 1/2% raise and stop the morale lowering process - it would save moeney too, are you listening Bechtel?
12/18/2009 7:36 AM
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