Employee Ranking Systems : Rank and Yank

By JOHN SCHWARTZ - Enron, which had once prided itself on its intense team spirit, had become the kind of place where someone could be dismissed in such an impersonal way -- a company so bent on success that it did not always observe the basic human niceties. Many former employees and executives say the atmosphere became so intensely competitive that people often did not feel secure enough in their jobs to question irregularities, if they were aware of them at all. (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 423 )

By Andy Meisler - Whether you call it forced ranking, the vitality curve or another alias, it's a workforce performance tool that's used by up to one in five Fortune 500 companies. But most of them refuse to talk about it. Why is that? Ask Ford, which paid out $10.5 million over forced ranking-related discrimination claims. (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 487 )

By Robert Bacal - This isn't actually the right question. The real question is: Will rank and yank work to improve YOUR company productivity? The reason you need to ask this is that rank and yank CAN work in some very narrow situations, when some very specific variables fit. Here are some of the factors that will influence whether rank and yank will work to improve your company's productivity. (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 415 )

By Mark Edmondson - Really good. Read this if you have an interest in rank and yank. It's amusing, with some very serious points. (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 365 )

By Derek Lowe - This is good and it mentions baseball and Bill James This also points out the folly of the Jack Welch rank 'em and yank 'em style of performance review. You know, find your bottom 10% and fire them all. Other companies that have tried this technique (Ford, to pick a notable example) have found that it mostly sows fear and discord. And I'm sure it did at GE, too, truth be told (although some CEOs swear by it.) (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 611 )

By Christian M. Ellis, G. Barrow Moore, and Anne M. Saunier - In our view, many organizations today are jumping on the forced ranking bandwagon too quickly and carelessly, allowing the practice to hijack their performance management system. (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 412 )

By USA Today - New research suggests the common but quiet practice of culling the bottom 5% or 10% of workers improves company performance. This is a great example of how the press gets it wrong as often as it gets it right and why the press and the Internet are so poor for research. If you actually look at the basic study, you'll find it's a mathematical model, which explains, in THEORY, that there are limits on improvement using rank and yank, and that it is a rough computer simulation (Added: 18-Oct-2009 Hits: 441 )