Everyone's very motivated, which is good, but they're also often very busy. And when people are busy, one of the first things to fall by the wayside is performance feedback. Despite a documented schedule and process for formal performance reviews, I haven't had a single one in more than two years. I hope that no news is good news and that I'd get more feedback if there was a problem to warrant it -- but how would I know? I've gotten a comment here and there, but most of the feedback I've gotten I've had to ask for. OK for folks who are driven enough to extract feedback on their own, but the silence can get pretty wearying and unsettling for everyone else.
Management comes in the form of team leads, colleagues of the same role (such as software developer or QA) who perform strongly enough in that role to catch someone's attention when there's an opening for a new team lead. Typically a new lead starts off guiding 2-3 subordinates. But strong performance as a manager requires a significantly different skill set from what each role requires to excel. Epic provides training for new team leads, but it seems spotty and generally insufficient considering the vast management skills material that it needs to cover. Not to mention team leads' time is valuable, and if something has to go, putting off the training is the first option. But training's a poor substitute for experience anyway, and for most new team leads, this is their first taste of what management really is. Gotta start somewhere, but this system frequently leads to team leads who are extremely skilled as peers but not immediately adept as managers. New hires are the employees most in need of assistance and feedback and guidance, but the way seniority works, they're also the ones who often wind up with new team leads, people who are least likely to be able to provide those things well.
I spent my first two years working for a team lead who barely had any time for me. At least half my weekly workplan meetings (in theory an Epic requirement) were canceled, and the ones that did take place averaged less than 5 minutes. In my case the problem was access and attention, not experience. But I just haven't perceived the same strong emphasis on management best practices that there is on, say, the software development cycle. It's perhaps a side effect of the expectation that we're all responsible adults and don't need that much management -- normally a good thing. But I hear more grumbling about team leads than anything else.
Hiring is outpacing campus growth. It's nice to work for a healthy employer, but the crowd pressure is growing noticeably when it comes to private office availability and the ability to navigate the cafeteria.
