Competing Priorities - Manager Vanguard Employee Review

Competing Priorities: a) Picks Winners/Losers - Winners are defined as anyone "identified" by management and placed on the "Talent List". Losers being everyone else, and particularly anyone over 40. Employees over 40 are not on the "Talent List" no matter how talented, because "there isn't enough runway left for their plane to take off" (a direct quote from an officer of the company). Since managers put employees on this list, it tends to become a self fulfilling prophecy that these individuals get the top raises, top bonuses, and are setup for success in their assignment. No manager wants to look stupid for putting someone on the list that isn't a top performer, so even if they fail it is often over looked or dismissed as beyond their controll. Last year, I witnessed a spectacular screw up by a "Talent" person. Managers argued that they did not deserve a "Distinguished" rating or high bonus due to their performance. This was overridden by a Vanguard Officer that insisted the get a top review, rating, and bonus. b) Lower cost - keep expenses low. Hits employee benefits and pay. Leads to "right sourcing", hiring H1Bs, "managing out" older employees. Vanguard used to talk about paying in the 75th percentile of market compensation. The target since around 2000 has been the 50th percentile. This together with restructuring YE Bonuses so only "high performing" employees are eligible for a top tier bonus (1 in 10 - and generally those are the luck chosen few - see talent list discussion above). The rest get a much smaller bonus or none at all. Think zero times "x", 1 times "x", 2 times "x", or 3 times "x" as a bonus. With "x" being a dollar amount defined for each level. The "Talent" people get the 3x, or 2x (10 to 15 percent of population), 70 percent get a 1x bonus, 10 - 15 percent get no bonus at all. Raises work in a similar fashion with only the "talent" getting a decent raise. c) Diversity - Trying to solve it's diversity numbers (see numerous lawsuits) by targeting older white employees mainly (with a few others sprinkled in) to be managed out or moved aside to be replaced by more diverse younger replacements at lower compensation. Still upper management and the officers remain largely older and white. It's like they are in the "club" and take care of each other. All the other stuff described in this review is how they manage the rest of us not in the club. d) Forced Ranking - "We don't do this anymore". But as a manager try to come in at year end without a "normal" distribution curve and you may be targeted as not having "managerial courage", an unwillingness to manage and identify poor performers. Likewise if you have too many "Distinguished" performers, you clearly aren't doing your job. Every year people are bumped down to make things fit. That should give you an idea what it is like working here. Get out before you are 40, after that you are just waiting for your number to be called. Next!..........