Performance Review

1-on-1 performance reviews are done monthly in order to correct mistakes fast and reward great contribution. Performance review results are averaged over the course of a quarter (3 months) to determine promotion, year-end bonuses, stock options, etc.

Goals

Management’s goals for effective performance management center around transparency and fairness.

Have clear standards for performance.
Have an opinion on the role of managers.
Have a process for evaluation and reward.
Don’t be soft on low performance.
Be consistent without losing speed.

We don’t promote based on potential. We don’t promote based on favoritism. We don’t promote based on a feeling. We promote based on actual performance.

Software Developer Rubric

Qualitative

Technical Skills

Great programmer – able to write modular, maintainable code.

Able to communicate clearly on technical topics.

1. Design

Contributes to design.

Understands the user or customer.

Begins to show architectural perspective.

Leads the design for medium to large projects with feedback from other engineers.

2. Code Quality

Leaves code in substantially better shape than before.

Rarely introduces production bugs.

Provides thorough and timely code feedback for peers.

Demonstrates effective use of testing.

Conforms to company code styles.

3. Impact and Contribution

Capable of working on small projects independently, and medium to large projects with supervision.

Drive for Improvement

Strong desire to learn and grow. Should be rapidly improving.

4. Culture

A good cultural fit. Team player.

Reflects our values and principles.

Quantitative

1. OKR Performance

Perform, overperform, or underperform at

2. Total JIRA Story Points Completed

Add up all the story points completed for this performance review cycle.

Rating Levels

Far exceeds expectations: This should be very rare, indicating truly extraordinary performance. Maybe you’re doing what someone two levels above you would be doing. Or you’re making an unusually high impact.

Exceeds expectations: This means you’re consistently knocking it out of the park. You’re starting to do the job above you.

Achieves expectations: This is where 50 to 60% of people are expected to land. Achieving expectations means you’re hitting an already very high bar.

Does not achieve expectations: Getting this rating means you’re struggling and either need help, plan to improve or both. Your manager and People Ops are responsible for helping you turn this around.