Sky has finally acknowledged employeesí frustrations with
the Sky Achievers performance pay system by introducing a new set of rules.
Sky Performers, the new policy, is intended to correct
the overwhelmingly negative opinion staff had of Sky Achievers
which managed to leave the contributions of the majority of
staff who work very well in the organisation unrecognised.
However whilst most staff welcome the change, there are
fears that the new scheme, introduced in the last few weeks,
has been rushed through without adequate preparation time
for employees or line managers.
Staff changes - whether it be advisors moving into new teams/shifts or the
continual turnover of team leaders/team managers means that for this
appraisal period many reviewees will not benefit from the structured appraisal
of their efforts which Sky Performers is supposed to deliver. As a result appraisals
completed in the last few weeks will have focussed on the recent past rather than the full year.
Sky still insists on linking Sky Performers to salary and in order
for staff to be judged as "competent" they must have a score of 3 in
the rating system. Staff who feel they have been unfairly assessed
should take up the rights of appeal - BECTU members can get help and
support through the process.
Next year the operation of the system should be fairer if staff
and managers have time for the monthly 1:1's as well as the proposed half-yearly review.
Concerns have been raised regarding the collection of evidence by the
reviewee: will time be allocated between calls to complete the
competency journal? Will staff and line managers have the opportunity to agree what is
acceptable evidence in respect of the competency indicators on a
"continuous" basis? Will staff have access to printer facilities?
One suggestion is for staff to keep a copy of the competency
dictionary for each 1:1 session where the indicators can be ticked
off each month to show consistency. If there are indicators that
cannot be ticked as being met this then indicates what needs to
be worked on over the coming month in preparation for the next 1:1 session.
The importance of the monthly 1:1 sessions cannot be over-emphasised.
If staff are without a direct line manager they should insist on someone
higher up the chain taking on this responsibility.
