Weird Performance Evaluation

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Is there a new trend in nursing performance reviews in which we are personally rated for company performance? I was (on a 1-5 scale) given FOUR 1s, and I have never in my long career of nursing received anything below a 3. These were all corporate measures for the hospital and we were all (reportedly) individually given low marks. Things like LOS, employee retention, etc. 

Are you all seeing such things in your annual evaluations?

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Yep, that's what I figured.

I love how they blame us, on an individual level, for their corporate shortcomings. I'm sure even more staff will leave due to the baseless poor employee reviews (and already lowest pay in town), and we are already desperately short-staffed. Those of us who stay will be blamed next year for the staff turnover again (and again and again, etc)

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

ChaosCoordinatorRN said:

Yep, that's what I figured.

I love how they blame us, on an individual level, for their corporate shortcomings. I'm sure even more staff will leave due to the baseless poor employee reviews (and already lowest pay in town), and we are already desperately short-staffed. Those of us who stay will be blamed next year for the staff turnover again (and again and again, etc)

Do you mind mentioning what healthcare system it is?  This is definitely a cost saving strategy on their part, just as performance based raises are.  Everyone thinks I'm a good worker or a great worker and so I deserve a good raise and want performance based raises, but the reality behind them is they are meant to save the corporation money. 

Even before they added this savage new twist of adding corporate goals that you have no control over to your eval, which just further ensure you would get a subpar eval and consequent punier raise; it was a cost containment strategy.  It worked like this the company would allocate say 2% across the board for raises and how it works is for one person to get say 4% exceptional, another person has to get 0% to keep the budget in line.  This is the real reason it is so hard to get good raises unless you are a pet!

I worked at a union hospital, although sadly a small one standing against a billion dollar behemoth that took over.  You need a union like the National Nurses United to get decent fair raises, stop the BS of these ridiculous corporate performance goal evals and unsafe staffing ratios.  With a union, the company must give you their financial information during negotiations and raises and working conditions are agreed upon. 

It isn't easy and sometimes picketing or striking  must be done to get the hospitals to listen.  Sometimes the NLRB must come in to settle things.  Sometimes the hospital will even violate the contract, as mine did, and you will have to file a grievance with the NLRB and then they would invariably back down when it was time to go to court. 

But the alternative is to be at the mercy of healthcare corporate systems as many people unfortunately are.  Some nurses are organizing and starting the union process, but many are just walking away and looking for a better job at a different healthcare system. 

My union did stop them from adding any sort of unit or Press Ganey performance goals and eventually we had flat raises which is better in the long run, although some people didn't understand the reality of performance evals being budget based and believed they could do better.

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Great comment, Brandy1017!! I don't want to say what company it is because they could potentially figure out who I am, but they are a for-profit company based out of TN. We are actually threatened with termination if we so much as mention the "U" word (union). The stuff that goes on is absolutely incredulous. I can't believe they think they are going to keep staff with their current practices....

[JKL33]

ChaosCoordinatorRN said:

I can't believe they think they are going to keep staff with their current practices....

Ah, but--contrary to their constant woe-is-me wailing--not retaining people has historically been another one of their power/control and cost containment strategies.

I have been through several performance reviews where I was told "everybody is getting a 2" on certain items similar to the OP.

That is not how I work. I don't accept it. It was one of the many insults and mistreatments that finally convinced me for good that I was done in the hospital and done with healthcare corporations. Best professional decision ever.

[beachbabe86]

ChaosCoordinatorRN said:

Great comment, Brandy1017!! I don't want to say what company it is because they could potentially figure out who I am, but they are a for-profit company based out of TN. We are actually threatened with termination if we so much as mention the "U" word (union). The stuff that goes on is absolutely incredulous. I can't believe they think they are going to keep staff with their current practices....

This may be the same corporation that  was recently in the news for having roaches in one of their Florida hospitals in the OR.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

It's not part of our evaluation, but corporate performance goals do have financial compensation for us.  For example if we reach our goal for CAUTI's we get a financial bonus.  We as an organization are held accountable as well all get the bonus or we all don't.  Not on our individual evaluations.

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Tweety said:

It's not part of our evaluation, but corporate performance goals do have financial compensation for us.  For example if we reach our goal for CAUTI's we get a financial bonus.  We as an organization are held accountable as well all get the bonus or we all don't.  Not on our individual evaluations.

I get CAUTI/infection prevention measures, but bring it down to an individual level by quantifying # of 2nd RN sign-offs or whether the patient on whom you inserted a catheter developed an infection, etc. Measurable things.

Things like employee retention are not individually quantifiable, therefore should not be used in individual performance appraisals. I, personally, influenced two nurses' decisions to stay vs. handing in their notices and STILL received a failing mark for retention. That tells me that, no matter how hard I try to help nurse retention, I will always receive a failing mark. 

Giving nurses failing appraisals will drive even more nurses away.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

ChaosCoordinatorRN said:

I get CAUTI/infection prevention measures, but bring it down to an individual level by quantifying # of 2nd RN sign-offs or whether the patient on whom you inserted a catheter developed an infection, etc. Measurable things.

Things like employee retention are not individually quantifiable, therefore should not be used in individual performance appraisals. I, personally, influenced two nurses' decisions to stay vs. handing in their notices and STILL received a failing mark for retention. That tells me that, no matter how hard I try to help nurse retention, I will always receive a failing mark. 

Giving nurses failing appraisals will drive even more nurses away.

As nurse Kelsey Rowell explains in the video linked below, paraphrasing "Hospitals love to manipulate nurses into thinking it's their job to staff the hospitals.  It is not!  It is your job to work the days you are scheduled, that is all."  But they love to guilt trip nurses to pick up extra to keep the hospital afloat when they choose not to hire enough staff or have adequate contingency plans like a float pool or agency to manage call offs, vacation, fmla etc. 

And it is ridiculous to me that they expect you to help retain nurses and make them stay.  That is definitely not your job!  You should be looking out for you.  Is this a good job?  Is this a good company to work for?  Do they offer safe staffing?  Do they respect me?  Do they let me use my PTO and accommodate the time off I need for school or personal needs?  Not how can I implore my coworkers to stay so I can get a decent eval or I have to pick up on my day off or they will be sunk!

The bad evals tell you they don't really care about nurse retention.  It shows the level of blatant disrespect, manipulation and gaslighting that management has toward nurses.  They just expect nurses to keep putting up with the bad working conditions and now bad evals and bad pay.  They are hoping the gaslighting works and they can get nurses to accept this is the way it is and take ownership of the hospital's problems.  Please don't do that!  Don't waste your time trying to please a company that doesn't value you or implore your coworkers to stay!  If you must stay for personal reasons, then work only when you need to, but don't do them any favors!  If you can look for a better job!

 

 

 

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Brandy, I need like a Congressional Medal of Honor emoji for what you wrote. ????⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️?????????????????

[2BS Nurse, BSN]

I agree with Sleepwalker. A manipulative way to avoid handing out pay increases. 

[mtmkjr, BSN]

The goal set for our unit level performance are fiscal responsibility, quality outcomes and patient satisfaction. All these are areas that bedside nursing staff can have an influence on. 

The impact on an individual's final score is very minimal. 

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

mtmkjr said:

The goal set for our unit level performance are fiscal responsibility, quality outcomes and patient satisfaction. All these are areas that bedside nursing staff can have an influence on. 

The impact on an individual's final score is very minimal. 

Yes, and those used to be what we had for unit goals, as well. Those unit goals (which I am OK with) have now morphed into hospital goals, over which we have very little individual control. Yet we are rated individually.