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Wow! Time sure has flown by since I started working at Trinity. I had my 6 month review last Friday with my supervisor. No, I'm not going to give you any confidential details about my review, but I will give you some valuable information related to corporate culture that may help you decide to work here over another company. Remember, I'm a non-traditional 56 - I have 15 years work experience, unlike most of you who will be joining straight out of school. So I want to give you some perspective on performance reviews from my industry experience.
When you first start working at Trinity, they give you plenty of training via the New Hire Orientation. All companies do this of course, but most just focus on the basics of HR forms, benefits enrollment, required OSHA safety topics, etc. When its over, its over & there isn't any attention given to it again. Trinity goes further and provides you with a Career Workbook that outlines the Career Track Program based on Consultant Grades (pay grade you are hired at), Career Channels (IT, Specialty Consulting, Delivery Support, Line of Business Architecture, Delivery Management), and Achievement Levels (L1-L4). They let you know from day one that they will support you every step of the way with training, a flexible schedule and advancement opportunities. Having worked in industry I can tell you that a lot of companies give lip service to this, but Trinity walks the talk. Trinity makes a significant investment in each person they hire, and we still act like a small company, so try to utilize our people assets to their fullest extent. Trinity even takes orientation to a new plateau with an Advanced Orientation a few months after you start.
At all the other companies I've worked for, especially the large and very large ones, reviews were never talked about until the day you got one. Even if they said they performed 6 month and yearly reviews, I never saw the 6 month review. It was just glossed over as meaningless. This is the first company I've worked for that actually does what it says regarding the 6 month review & they take it seriously. This is important, as it gives you more frequent feedback to gauge your performance and your career goals. My first 6 months here were just working on whatever came along. I got the one thing I really wanted & expected out of the review - tangible goals for the next 6 months.
The last couple of companies I've worked for had horrible review processes, and on reflection, they were not great places to work (probably why I moved on). A previous employer gave me a 1 year review and did not allow me to provide any input whatsoever. When I pressed my supervisor for feedback & a review, he literally told me that he didn't know enough about what I did and couldn't give me a review. He just processed the review paperwork as generically as he could and it was business as usual. This obviously isn't helpful to the individual or the organization & that organization suffers from high turnover and a corporate culture that keeps employees frustrated, untrained, and constantly looking for greener pastures. Getting a review every 6 months may not sound like the most comfortable thing, but its well worth it. Of course you get informal feedback regularly from your supervisor and peers, but the formal review keeps your performance on track.
From my experience, getting a once/year review that is a complete surprise (as far as content) is no fun & a very poor way to manage your people assets. With my 6 month review Trinity has re-affirmed that I chose to work for the right kind of company & that this corporate culture is the best I have ever worked for. If you come to work for us, I think you'll find it that way too. As I've said before, our office has several consultants that started out of school and are still here 4 or 8 years later. Our Principal Consultant for the KC office has been here 14 years! Trinity is doing a lot of things right to make this corporate culture one that attracts and keeps employees.
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