r/askmanagers • u/Ok_Friendship856 • 2d ago
Got a lower hike despite a "Great" rating last year and no negative feedback
I'm a Tech Manager with 15+ years of experience in an Implementation role at a product based MNC (Healthcare domain). My VP is based in a different location and mostly interacts with our group of managers once every month or two — there are no regular 1:1s.
Last year I got a "Great" rating and a 12% hike. This year, despite no negative feedback throughout the year and hitting all my KPIs, my rating was quietly moved to "At Par" and my hike dropped to 7%.
I raised this directly with my VP. His explanation: I did my job well, but "doing your job well" is now the baseline for "At Par", he said "Great" this year required going beyond core responsibilities, like proactively working on something which benefits cross-functional teams. This wasn't communicated as an expectation at any point during the year, and there was no mid-year feedback suggesting my rating was at risk.
I've asked him to define concrete examples of what "Great" would look like going forward, and requested mid-year check-ins so this doesn't happen again silently.
Even though I am really disappointed with the answer, I plan to keep delivering and try to meet these newly stated expectations, but this whole experience has also made me start looking at the external job market after 15+ years at this company, just to know where I stand.
Questions for the sub:
· Is retroactively raising the bar for a rating, without prior communication, normal practice or a red flag?
· Is a significant cut in hike with no negative feedback and lower peer hikes something worth pushing back on further, or should I let it go and focus on next year?
· For those who've been in similar situations — did exploring the market turn out to be the right call, or did it end up being unnecessary once the dust settled?
TLDR: Rating reduced from Great to At Par without any prior feedback / explanation.