How Microsoft Turned its Workers’ Performance Reviews Into Steel Cage Death Matches

Former Apple executive and current Guardian columnist Jean-Louis Gassée has spotted some particularly interesting details stashed away in long Vanity Fair piece about Microsoft’s decline from its position as a top innovator. While the Vanity Fair piece lists several reasons for Microsoft’s woes, one of the most jarring is its practice of “stack ranking” employees during performance reviews that transforms a routine HR practice into a “Gladiator“-style death match where workers are encouraged to back-stab one another at the expense of cooperation.

“[E]very unit was forced to declare a certain percentage of employees as top performers, then good performers, then average, then below average, then poor,” reported Vanity Fair. “For that reason, executives said, a lot of Microsoft superstars did everything they could to avoid working alongside other top-notch developers, out of fear that they would be hurt in the rankings.”

The results were fairly predictable as many talented people felt too stressed out by the entire process and fled Microsoft for companies whose HR departments didn’t count “Lord of the Flies” as their chief influence.

Via: BGR

Prateek Panda

Prateek is the Founder of TheTechPanda. He's passionate about technology startups and entrepreneurship and enjoys speaking to new founders every day. Prateek has also been consistently regarded as one of the top marketing experts in the region.

Recent Posts

Geek Appeal: New gadgets & apps on the block

The Tech Panda takes a look at recently launched gadgets & apps in the market.…

2 days ago

Agtech foreign expansion & incoming business: Helping the farmer within & beyond shores

With the realization that the farmer is one of the most crucial aspects of any…

3 days ago

Elevating Your Daily Developer Experience: Unveiling the 3 Development Phases

Intro Have you ever been irritated by the thought of having to go through all…

1 week ago

‘Upskilling in scalable way will need a pedagogy shift’

AI is about to open up careers for today’s youth in great numbers and ways.…

1 week ago

EV is pretty big in India, but it could get even bigger

In a rapidly evolving world towards sustainable and environmentally conscious solutions, the Electric Vehicle (EV)…

1 week ago

ESG in India: How India’s organizations are contributing for sustainable future

Addressing India's climate challenges demands urgent action and collaboration across sectors. From enhancing resilience in…

1 week ago