Mark My Worth: How to deal with the dreaded Meets Expectations rating

“What?!" (readers may add more exclamations and expunged words to understand my sentiments then). It did not sit well with me, so I reached out to my seniors to understand what went wrong. Almost a decade later, I still get prickled thinking about that ME, but it taught me more than all my ‘DE’ (Demonstrates Excellence/Top Performer ratings). Here are my key learnings from that episode:

Who, why, when, where, what and how is one an ME?

Now a Meets Expectations/Average rating means the employee has successfully completed the tasks assigned to him/her. So congratulations if you are an ME. This means you are definitely an asset to the firm, and your employer is not regretting hiring you.

However, you are not the top performer, and there are those who have received a higher rating which means they will get a better hike and possibly a promotion. And there are many reasons why you could have gotten an ME. In my case, in 2016, I saw my bylines but since it was a year of breaking stories, others too had a spurt in their bylines. Therefore, when pitted against them, my work was ho-hum.

The Matrix and you

The manager needs to explain how ratings are rolled out in the firm and this should be done few weeks before the appraisal ratings are out. If the bell curve is followed, then about 70% of those eligible for a hike will fall in the ME category, about 20% will be slotted as top performers and 10% will fall in the bottom bucket.

A full disclosure on how one's performance is linked to that of the team , which in turn is attached to the business and that is linked to the firm whose rating depends on the economy. Therefore, if your sector is lethargic and the company did not fare well in that business, then the domino impact will hit you as well. Never mind your performance. You are part of the larger matrix.

Manager, Me and my ME rating

Bhawana Mishra, founder of advisory firm BasilTree Consulting, points out that managers need to discuss the employee's performance in the middle of the year so that one is aware of how the first six months have been and what can be done to up the performance.

"There needs to be a distinction drawn between performance and potential. The Boss should clearly state what is the potential of the employee and show him/her the growth path. Tilt the scale in your favour by explaining with data and examples on where the employee stands today and what are the ways in which a higher rating can be achieved."

Also read | A thank-you note for all the tough bosses who went unloved

How do you deal with the ME rating?

My initial reaction was rage. And that was a mistake. A knee-jerk reaction reduces the chances of a conversation with the boss. There is a higher probability that as the rage subsides, your chat with the senior will be more of a whining session, and in a few days, you will accept the ratings and get back to work. Instead of lamenting on 'why me' ask pointed questions - which are the specific areas in which you want me to improve and how should I go about it, I need to learn a new set of skills so can the company help me go for a specific course to achieve this?

Point out places where you agree with the boss, and strongly but politely point out areas where you disagree. Show the effort you have put into achieving those results. The boss has the rating but you have your own data to prove a point. It is unlikely that the ratings will change, but it is highly possible that the way you present your case will put you as a strong contender who cannot be pushed around.

In a society where ‘Average’ translates to ‘Unsuccessful’, we need to realise that an ‘ME’ does not mean one is on the block. In a slump, the chances of a top performer being asked to leave because of being expensive or the team becoming redundant is just as high . No one is safe. The ‘ME’ offers a chance to pause, think about the rating and maybe you will realize that there were blind spots in your performance that you missed. The gap between you and the top performer can be bridged, but as of now, enjoy the success even if it is a middle rank. You did your best, and the firm is lucky to have you!

Read the other stories in our special series here:

Introducing “Mark My Worth": A new series to help you navigate appraisal season

Mark My Worth: Appraisal and the art of Atmanirbhar Branding

Mark My Worth: Rulebook on how to choose one high performer over another and retain both