2009 PBC Rating: 1

I’m excited to announce that this year I pulled off a PBC rating of 1. This is particularly good news because my performance was being compared to all the other band 9 employees, a band that I’m relatively new in. I think I made a strong showing for 2009, obviously others did too, and I’m expecting 2010 to be even better.

[From my post two years ago:] For the uninitiated: At the beginning of each year, IBM employees write down their goals for the year and put them in the PBC tool. At the end of the year employees write up how close they came to achieving those goals and submit them to management who reviews them. Also at the end of the year management gets together and rates employees according to how well they did compared to their peers. Ratings can be one of the following

• 1 – Extraordinary
• 2+ – Exceeded Expectations
• 2 – Solid Performer/Met Expectations
• 3 – Needs Improvement
• 4 – Your Ass Is Getting Fired

Because PBC ratings are tied to bonus payouts, the number of 1s and 2+s are limited – generally at a 3rd-line manager level.

To make things more challenging the evaluation of employees for band 9 aren’t done at a 2nd-line manager’s level but at a level higher. This means that my manager isn’t directly involved with the discussions but instead fills in my 2nd-line manager who advocates for me with her management team. Getting a 1 this year shows that not only am I performing well but I’m making good progress at getting exposure to my 2nd-line manager and her peers.

Like last year, I thought I’d include an excerpt from my manager’s writeup:

This is only Casey’s second PBC assessment as a Senior Software Engineer (Band 9) employee. For 2009, I can say with complete confidence, Casey has stepped it up a notch to clear the “raised bar” of expectations for the higher band and has achieved an extraordinary contribution rating, relatively, in such a short time. I feel this is remarkable, well deserved and continues to be tip of the iceberg regarding Casey’s up-side potential, in regard to his career in Tivoli and IBM, as a technical professional. Given the economy, recent resource reductions and world events, Casey is accomplishing this at a time, perhaps, where relative contribution relatively, may be more competitive than ever.