Contemptible Annual Review Process... - Anonymous employee Sage Employee Review

1.0
20 Apr 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Sage has an annual review process in which employees are able to provide feedback on their own performance. The leaders then complete their own ratings of the employees. An employee's bonus and merit increase are tied to this performance process.

Cons

The annual review process is rigged. It is all based on a preset curve. Someone has to be on top and someone has to be on the bottom. This means that even if a department has a team of excellent employees the managers are forced to rate someone as Needs Improvement (NI) even if they don't deserve this rating. If the managers don't pick someone or fight back against the low rating of someone who doesn't deserve it the VPs and HR get involved and force the decision. Depending on the size of the department it may be more than one who is unfairly rated. This has a direct effect on an employee's bonus and merit increase and has been used as a way for a manager or VP to get back at an employee they don't like or want to see leave. It also controls overall costs for the company. It helps to hire new employees with the "promise" of a bonus but then rate that employee low enough so they don't have to give it to them at the end of the year. Money saved-employees lose.

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Sage Response
10y
Thanks for spending time and writing a review. In 2014 Sage introduced a global performance process and rating system to provide a framework where colleagues are recognised and rewarded for their performance contribution in a consistent way. This is in line with the Sage Values – in particular our value of ‘Doing the Right Thing’. Sage is already a successful business and we want to grow further so goal setting helps us achieve our ambitions. It is therefore important that goals for individuals are completely aligned with the business. All colleagues, along with their manager, should regularly review their goals and assess progress during their one-on-one meetings. Whilst we have guidelines in place I can assure you the process is not forced. Our HR teams support our managers in the performance process to objectively help them with consistency, levelling and fairness. Indeed, our global performance data for FY15 shows that we have a large skew towards positive ratings which means that 90% of our colleagues were rated as Meeting Expectations or above. Sage prides itself on rewarding colleagues for high performance and offers a range of competitive merit incentives for high performance including the annual Platinum Elite where 120 high performing colleagues win a holiday at a luxury holiday destination. Thanks for the feedback.

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5.0
5 June 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

They will work with you and teach you everything you need to know and help you as long as you help yourself and meet kpi but they help you meet it

Cons

No cons to add at this time

3.0
15 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Pay’s decent -Benefits are solid -The Sage Foundation feels like proper philanthropy -Some genuinely nice people -If you’re happy treating work as just a payslip and don’t mind things being a bit dull, Sage is actually quite a comfortable place to be. That stability is a real perk

Cons

-Far too many layers of middle management and general bureaucracy -The Ai push is getting a bit daft -Not especially innovative, so the work can feel quite uninspiring. I’m grateful to be employed, but if you’re after something more interesting, Sage will probably disappoint. That said, some people prefer it that way, fair enough -The office / hybrid requirements feel a bit pointless -Sage doesn’t tend to do layoffs, which is good, but it does mean there are quite a few people where you’re not entirely sure what they do. A lot of meetings, essentially. Even the positives come with trade-offs

4
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Sage Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughtful and balanced review. We’re pleased to hear that you value your compensation and benefits, as well as the work our Foundation do, among the areas you’ve highlighted. We also recognise the points you’ve raised around bureaucracy, innovation, and the pace and focus of change. Different people are motivated by different things at work, and it’s helpful to hear honest perspectives on how our structure, processes, and priorities can impact day‑to‑day experience and engagement. Feedback like yours helps inform ongoing conversations as we continue to evolve our ways of working, use technology more meaningfully, and improve the products and experiences we create for our customers. If you’re open to sharing further insight, we encourage you to do so through our Always Listening survey. Thank you again for your openness and for being part of Sage.
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