TIKTOK HAS BEEN accused of pushing bosses into assigning low grades to employees in the company’s twice-yearly performance reviews.
The move is believed to have caused distress among staff, who fear that lower gradings in performance reviews could result in layoffs.
It is also causing “stress” among those who issue the reviews, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The Journal has seen internal communication from a manager stating that they were “forced” to give a low grade for “no reason”.
It’s also alleged that high-ranking members of staff within TikTok can alter performance reviews without informing the managers who issued the original grade.
The Journal learned of these claims in recent weeks, and it has since been reported that TikTok is to cut several hundred jobs globally, with a proportion of the redundancies affecting staff at its headquarters in Dublin.
There are currently around 3,000 staff working for TikTok in Ireland.
The outlet reported last October that managers across the US, Singapore and China were informed by senior management and HR staff that they needed to assign more performance reviews at the lower end of the company’s rating system.
People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that this could double or triple the number of subpar grades given on some teams.
A former TikTok employee in Ireland told The Journal that team leaders have been placed under pressure to assign low grades to staff members who have been performing well.
One manager described the performance reviews as a “joke”.
“How can they force people into [low performance reviews] if they are meeting targets and expectations?” they asked in communication seen by The Journal.
The Journal understands that TikTok’s performance reviews in Europe are ranked on a scale from ‘O’ to ‘I’.
‘O’ is for outstanding, followed by ‘E+’ (above excellent) and ‘E’ (Excellent).
There are then three different ‘M’ ratings: ‘M+’ is for above expectations, ‘M’ equates to meeting expectations, while ‘M-’ means not meeting expectations.
Beneath this is the ‘I’ grade.
The former TikTok employee based in Ireland told The Journal that an ‘I’ rating is “really bad” and someone with this rating will likely be laid off.
It was further claimed that two M- ratings in a row would result in being placed on a performance improvement plan.
Typically, if an employee fails to meet the goals and aims of a performance improvement plan, they will most likely be sacked.
It was further alleged that when staff within TikTok’s Ireland operations were placed on performance improvement plans, they were often offered the following choice: leave now with a lump-sum, or carry out the performance improvement plan in the knowledge that they may be unsuccessful and let go at the end of the plan.
It’s also claimed by the former TikTok employee that an M- rating or below means employees will receive reduced bonuses and that employees cannot apply for another role internally without the “discretion” of a manager.
Instances where an employee can apply for another role internally despite being graded M- have been described to The Journal as being “rare”.
“It is really bad to be placed on M- and it can come out of the blue with no proper reasons or explanations,” the former TikTok employee told The Journal.
The Journal has seen internal communication among managers at TikTok which appears to show that they felt pushed into giving low ratings and sometimes felt that no one in their team was deserving of a low rating.
The messages viewed by The Journal were sent in the first half of last year.
“Hi, just a heads up our distribution is not looking good,” writes one senior manager on the communications app Lark, which is much like Teams or Slack.
Lark, like TikTok, is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance.
A day later, the same person messages on Lark: “Hi guys, we will need M-.”
An M- grading allegedly means reduced bonuses for employees, difficulty in applying for other roles, and two of these ratings in a row is believed to result in being placed on a performance improvement plan.
Another message from this senior manager to a colleague reads: “I wanted to ask you whether you have any M- in your team.”
The colleague replies that they “double checked” and could not think of anyone who would fall within the M- ranking.
Some days later, a manager at TikTok shared a screenshot on Lark of a performance review having been recalibrated downwards by a high-ranking member of TikTok Ireland.
“Without even informing us,” said one manager in reply.
“He is meeting requirements… so M- is the new M,” was the response from the employee who posted an image of the performance review downgrade.
Later, another manager writes: “I’m hiding from the M- hunters.”
“It’s gonna be the same stuff like last time, we will be forced to give M- for no reasons, right?” reads another message.
“Basically be very prepared if you haven’t got an M- on your team,” is the reply.
Another writes: “This PR (performance review) is a joke. How can they force people into M- if they [are] meeting targets and expectations.”
The Journal approached TikTok for comment on internal communication among staff at its Irish operations referring to “M-hunters” and claims that managers are “forced to give M- for no reason”.
The Journal also enquired about claims that performance reviews could be recalibrated downwards without the knowledge of the person who first issued the grade, and about the other claims set out in this article.
In response, a spokesperson from TikTok said: “Similar to many others in our industry, we run a thorough performance review process incorporating feedback from employees’ peers and leaders.
“Guidelines are provided to ensure consistency and objectivity throughout the process, but managers are encouraged to use their own judgment and are ultimately responsible for their team’s performance distribution.
“Employees also have the right to appeal their evaluation if they believe it’s not reflective of their performance.”
TikTok is a video sharing app and one of the most popular social media platforms globally, with more than one billion users.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say