Latest news with #GooglerReviewsandDevelopment


India Today
05-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Google changes its appraisal system, some employees could receive smaller bonuses
Google is updating its employee performance evaluation process, with the tech giant introducing changes that could see some workers receiving smaller bonuses and equity packages starting 2026. The company has decided to reward high performers better while tightening compensation for those rated in mid or lower performance bands, according to a report by Business a company-wide email, John Casey, Google's VP of Global Compensation and Benefits, told employees that managers will now be allowed to award the "Outstanding Impact" rating — one of the top performance categories — to a wider group of employees. This move is expected to benefit top performers, who will now be eligible for higher bonuses and stock make this change without increasing the overall budget, Google will reduce the compensation multipliers for employees falling under the "Significant Impact" and "Moderate Impact" brackets — two categories that represent a large portion of the workforce. While Casey clarified that "Significant Impact" remains a strong rating, it will fetch less than what employees in this category might have previously received. "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings. It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus," he the discretionary reward budget that managers use to recognise strong contributors will be increased. This will allow for more flexibility in rewarding staff who are performing well but may not fall into the very top company's internal review system — called Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD) — operates on a scale ranging from "Not Enough Impact" to "Transformative Impact." Until now, very few employees made it to the top two tiers. With the latest change, more employees will have a chance to climb higher up the ladder — but only if they deliver standout says the decision is part of a broader push to drive performance at a time when the company is seeing strong momentum in areas like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. "High performance is more important than ever to meet the ambitious goals we've set," Casey said in the is not surprising because the tech sector overall has been shifting towards a more performance-focused work culture. Companies like Microsoft have introduced new systems to push for greater productivity, while Meta has made job cuts earlier this year to eliminate underperformance.


Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google has tweaked employee review system to boost rewards for top performers: Report
Live Events Tech major Google is overhauling its employee performance review process to offer bigger bonuses and equity grants to top performers, while trimming payouts for others, The Times of India (TOI) has report added that the changes, part of a revamp of the 'Googler Reviews and Development' (GRAD) system, aim to allow more staff to qualify for the highest 'Outstanding Impact' rating. 'High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set,' wrote John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, in the company-wide company said the new system would reward top-rated employees with improved bonus and equity awards starting in 2026. 'More Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews,' Casey fund the enhanced payouts for high performers, Google is reducing the bonus and equity multipliers tied to the 'Significant Impact' and 'Moderate Impact' ratings. However, it stressed that the overhaul is 'budget-neutral' and that those ratings would continue to deliver above-target rewards."We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told employees, while noting that 'Significant Impact will remain a strong rating.'A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes to TOI, saying they are meant to "further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company".Meanwhile, a recent proxy filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Google parent Alphabet spent over $8 million (approximately Rs 68 crore) on personal security for chief executive officer Sundar Pichai in 2024, a 22% rise from the Rs 57.48 crore spent the previous year.


Time of India
03-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google changes its appraisal program, VP emails to employees: "We want to be upfront that..."
Google announced major changes to its employee performance review system that will reward high performers with greater bonuses and equity while reducing compensation for others, according to an internal email sent to staff earlier this week. "High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set," wrote John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, in the company-wide message. The revisions to Google's annual review process will allow more employees to achieve the coveted "Outstanding Impact" rating. The company is restructuring what it calls the "Googler Reviews and Development" (GRAD) system to "further reward top contributors," Casey explained. The changes mean "more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026." Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini confirmed the changes, stating: "We're making these changes to further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Neurologists: These Shoes Are the Best Thing You Can Do for Your Body After 60 Foot Insider Learn More Undo However, to fund these increased rewards, Google is "slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," according to Casey. The company emphasized these changes are "budget-neutral" overall. "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told staff, though he assured them that "Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus." Read Google's compensations head full letter to employees "Hi Googlers, As recent moments like the Gemini 2.5 Pro launch and Cloud Next have shown, there's incredible momentum across the company right now — it's so exciting to see Googlers pull together to deliver on our ambitious product roadmaps. High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set, and so we're making some changes to further reward top contributors, in all teams across the company. First, we'll increase the ratings distribution guidance we give to leaders for Outstanding Impact (O). This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026. Second, we're increasing the discretionary budget we give to managers so they can further reward high performers within the Significant Impact rating. We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings. It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus. The above changes are budget-neutral, and overall we're continuing to invest in comprehensive and highly competitive compensation and benefits. These changes apply to the end-of-year reviews and 2026 compensation planning. John Casey" AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now


Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google is making changes to its salary structure: Here's what it means for employees
Google has announced it will modify its performance rating system to reward high performers with larger bonuses and equity awards, while potentially reducing compensation for lower-performing staff. In an email titled "Strengthening our performance culture," John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, informed employees that more of them will have the opportunity to achieve the "Outstanding Impact" rating during annual reviews. "High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set," Casey wrote, noting that the changes are being made to "further reward top contributors" at the company. Google managers can now reward more employees as top performers The changes specifically affect Google's annual review system known as Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD), which rates employee performance on a scale from "not enough impact" to "Transformative Impact." Most employees typically fall into the "Significant Impact" category. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest $200 in Amazon without buying stocks to earn a second salary Marketsall Sign Up Undo Under the new structure, managers will be allowed to assign the coveted "Outstanding Impact" rating to more employees, which directly affects compensation. Additionally, managers will receive increased discretionary budgets to reward high performers within the "Significant Impact" category. However, Casey acknowledged that these changes would be "budget-neutral," meaning some employees will receive less to fund the increases for top performers. HR head says that this change would mean some employees may get less bonus "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told staff in the email. "It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus." Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini confirmed the changes, stating, "We're making these changes to further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company." The compensation adjustments come amid a broader trend in the tech industry, with companies like Microsoft and Meta implementing policies to increase performance pressure on employees. These changes will apply to end-of-year reviews and 2026 compensation planning at Google. "The above changes are budget-neutral, and overall we're continuing to invest in comprehensive and highly competitive compensation and benefits," Casey concluded in his email to staff.

Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Google is shaking up its compensation to incentivize higher performance
Google is making changes to its compensation structure in a bid to incentivize higher performance from staff. The company announced on Tuesday that it will change how employee performance ratings work. The change gives more staff the opportunity to achieve one of the highest scores in their annual review and, therefore, higher compensation, while lower performers receive smaller bonuses and equity. In an email to staff with the subject line "Strengthening our performance culture," John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, said that managers will be able to allocate the "Outstanding Impact" score to more employees than previously. "This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026," he wrote in the email, which was seen by Business Insider. Googlers' performances are rated once a year using an internal system known as Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD). An employee's impact is scored on a scale, with "not enough impact" being the lowest and "Transformative Impact" being the highest. The ranking a Googler is given usually determines their bonus and equity. Most Googlers fall into the second-highest bracket of "Significant Impact." The "Outstanding Impact" bucket captures a smaller number of higher performers, while the "Transformative" bucket is reserved for a very small number of excelling Googlers. Casey said Google will also increase the discretionary budget it gives to managers so they can dish out more rewards to high performers who fall within that "Significant Impact" bracket. He added that the changes would be "budget-neutral," meaning employees with lower ratings could receive smaller bonuses and equity in their compensation packages as more of the budget is allocated to the higher brackets. "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told staff. "It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus." Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told Business Insider in a statement, "We're making these changes to further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company." The changes at Google come amid a broader shift across Big Tech to run their businesses more efficiently and push employees to perform better. Microsoft recently rolled out new policies aimed at dialing up performance pressure on employees, while in January, Meta announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, focusing on low performers. While Google hasn't gone to such lengths itself, the changes to its performance ratings are designed to push staff to work harder and aim higher. "High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set," wrote Casey in the email to staff, adding that the changes were being made to "further reward top contributors" at the company. Read the full email sent to Google employees: Hi Googlers, As recent moments like the Gemini 2.5 Pro launch and Cloud Next have shown, there's incredible momentum across the company right now — it's so exciting to see Googlers pull together to deliver on our ambitious product roadmaps. High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set, and so we're making some changes to further reward top contributors, in all teams across the company. First, we'll increase the ratings distribution guidance we give to leaders for Outstanding Impact (O). This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modeled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026. Second, we're increasing the discretionary budget we give to managers so they can further reward high performers within the Significant Impact rating. We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings. It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus. The above changes are budget-neutral, and overall we're continuing to invest in comprehensive and highly competitive compensation and benefits. These changes apply to the end-of-year reviews and 2026 compensation planning. John Casey