Timely box ticking

It's that time of the Accenture year again - performance evaluations. It's always a touchy and thorny subject so I will try and jump in with both feet and smash a few myths. I've been here for over 9 years so I've seen my fair share of evaluations, ladderings, banding meetings etc. I think the main things that I have learnt or would share with people are:

1. The process is fundamentally flawed but it's as good as we can make it (for the most part). Consulting is subjective and depends a lot on the luck of the draw - whether or not you get drawn with a client and project manager who like you and your work is often not under your control. Furthermore no two roles are ever identical so therefore you are obliged to compare apples with oranges. The process tries to take this into account, but it can never be perfect.

2. That missing a promotion doesn't mean that you a failure as a human being. My baby boy Maxime is almost 6 months now. This last 6 months has flown by. Promotion cycles are also every 6 months. If you don't make it in September, the following March isn't really that far away. However if Maxime was still the same size in 18 months time, then I'd start to worry - i.e. if you miss your promotion 3 cycles in a row, start thumbing your little black book of contacts. It's perfectly normal to miss the odd cycle largely because of the next point....

3. That generally, you're up against good people. Make no bones about it we're not the Andersen Consulting of old. However the people are still generally very good and on top of that, they work like dogs. Everybody thinks they work hard and it is difficult to compare, but when you start navel-gazing because you've missed a promotion, don't forget who you are up against. Burton Albion have had a great season in the Blue Square conference, but I still think they would get tonked if they represented England at the World Cup next year.

4. That your time will come. This is the timely bit in the "Timely box ticking" title. You can have the hardest C1 role in the world and execute it better than anyone else could, but a C3 is the man next in line to get promoted. It's like Hull City on the final day of this year's premiership season (check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/table/default.stm) - their place in the premiership is theirs to lose. The C3's promotion slot is his to lose - only if he does a bad job will the C1 (Newcastle United) get a look in. Therefore the overall advice is sit tight, do your job and understand when it's your turn to be Hull City.

5. Linked to the previous point is the box ticking bit in the "Timely box ticking". If you are Hull City, understand what you need to do - if you're a C3 then understand you've got to have shown that you can lead a team. Regardless of which level you're at currently, the basic rule of thumb is that you need to show that you are already working at the next level up e.g. an analyst must be seen to be doing the work of a consultant. Don't forget the bigger picture - this is how Accenture gets its pound of flesh out of us all....

6. That you need to have effective representation. Unfortunately because it is a subjective world out there, doing a good day job isn't enough. You need to make sure that the person who is going to represent you in banding meetings is well prepared - give that person the information they need to tell everyone else about the good job you've done. Alex Ferguson telling Fabio Capello that Danny Wellbeck is going to be in his World Cup squad next year - now that's effective representation.

7. That if you miss a promotion, are hugely annoyed and decide you want to jump ship as a result, then make sure you've got something to go to and that your CV will still look sensible. Leaving to sit at home for 6 months is a bit daft because jobs are not falling off trees at the minute. Additionally leaving after only 18 months in a company at a junior position looks odd. Think of 2 years as a minimum amount of time to spend in any one company.

8. The final point, which is in no way meant to justify everything, is to try and think about performance evaluations and promotions from a firm point of view. This helped me to take a step back and put a lot of things in perspective. Promotions to Accenture mean they have to spend money (your wages). It also makes it more difficult to sell you to clients because you cost more (why do you think there are fewer Senior Executives than Analysts on a project). On the other hand, Accenture has to make sure it keeps its best people happy and motivated through money (dollars) and recognition (e.g. celebrating performance points). The firm spends it life trying to get this balancing act correct. And of course, there are times when it gets it wrong.

Phew, that's all a bit serious (and very long)......normal service will be resumed tomorrow.....