"Complaints About 'Low Salary'... Google Revamps Performance Evaluation System"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Google has decided to raise salaries by revamping its employee performance evaluation system.

According to foreign media reports such as CNBC on the 8th, Google has decided to introduce a new employee evaluation system called GRAD to ease conflicts over salary issues between employees and executives. GRAD stands for Google Reviews And Development.

With the revision of the evaluation system, Google will limit evaluations, which were previously conducted twice a year, to once a year, and streamline the evaluation process by placing more responsibility on managers instead of heavily weighting peer reviews.

Google expects that with the introduction of this procedure, the majority of Google employees will receive higher salaries than under the previous personnel evaluation system. Previously, group evaluations by managers and peers were important factors for promotion, but in the new evaluation system, the judgment of the management plays a significant role.

The lengthy forms that had to be filled out with evaluations from supervisors and peers when applying for promotion will also be eliminated.

Through the evaluation, employees are classified into five grades. Most are rated as having "Made a Significant Impact," which is the middle tier, but those with poorer performance receive ratings such as "Moderate Impact" or "Insufficient Impact."

For better performance, the rating is "Outstanding Impact," and employees with top-tier performance are rated as having a "Transformational Impact."

Complaints about low salaries have recently been a major grievance among Google employees. In Google's annual survey of employees, "Googlegeist," compensation such as salary and bonuses compared to similar jobs at other companies received some of the lowest ratings alongside the company's execution capability.