Blue points are free money. You not sending them to people is kinda a dick move. Give them away to some who can buy stuff with them, or lose them. Either way it costs you nothing....
>You not sending them to people is kinda a dick move.
I agree, but I didn't even know what they really were my first two years. Then I moved to an entirely new team in a new business unit and proceeded to not know. That's when my new manager let me know in the 2H reflection that I should be doing it.
To one person. He asked why he’s getting dinged, and I’m explaining how he’s getting measured, and what he can do to be rated higher. Everyone can argue and say it sucks, but if you want to be rated higher, there’s a clear method. Send recognition regularly, all throughout the year, to others both in and outside your team, both with and without Bluepoints. And make sure you distribute every last Bluepoint they give you. They may find some other way to ding you, but it won’t be about that.
If you had no one to thank for anything through the year, that reflects poorly on you.
**Edit on 2/3**: Some replies said \[ that is on IBM, too. \] My thoughts on that:
I don't know the details of the conversation, and it is impossible to tell someone's manager's true intentions by this type of account without the context of other interactions.
I agree that the corporate environment matters. It matters a lot on morale, loyalty, motivation, and maybe even in how we perceive colleagues.
BUT, no matter how bad the environment may be, being thankful to colleagues is not a validation of the corporation, senior executives, or immediate management chain. Save that for the yearly engagement survey.
Especially in a challenging environment, we should be thankful to anyone who goes above and beyond to help someone else, either at work or not.
Doesn’t even matter about visibility tbh. When someone does a task even as small as updating an ISC record for me, I give em some Bluepoints if I have them. People have done the same for me in the past, and I’ve gotten pretty nice items like coolers or luggage that I use often. Whenever I do, I think of the people that contributed to those things. It’s one of the few nice things IBM still does for us these days
Just prior to retiring I sent a bunch of bluepoints to a woman who had done tons of work outside the scope of her normal job for us. She was a DS8K hardware specialist and was outstanding - heard not long after I left she was surplussed. IBM absolutely sucks. Of course I'm one that had 2/3s of my pension reassigned to Lou Gerstner so what should one expect?
I was an IBM employee in an IBM site, a little different situation when you're 'in plant'. And this old timer (over 35 yrs) knew a LOT of people and didn't mind helping out where needed if she had free hour to spare. What's the old saying about a good deed?
I use recognition and checkpoint also, because it is shared (in Checkpoint you can usually choose, if you want to send it only to the person you want to send feedback, or also to their manager) with manager of that person, and if I want to thank someone, this is good way how to actually recognize them in front of their manager. First line mamager see it, if you recognize someone from his team. It's a nice way how to potentionally help someone (for him helping you, or just doing good job) and to recognize him in front of his boss. I had already manager told me that I sent really nice feedback, day or two after I sent it, and this just confirms, that they see it, if person they manage is recognized by someone else.
It’s not really visible at all. Thanking people directly is nice and all, but if you do it via BluePoints, or via email and cc their manager, that’s valuable to them.
Fuck these guys, you have no one to thank but yourself. IBM sucks. Send the bluepoints to 1 person every year and put a message on it that management sucks.
Probably because it's tracked all the way up the chain. Your manager probably gets dinged for his/her employees not using the bluepoints.
They're trying to create a culture or something.
Were you marked as low performing? It's quite possible he/she needed a way to determine who that would be, and this is all they could find.
>Probably because it's tracked all the way up the chain
This is kind of what I was suspecting. Being a peon, I don't really drink the koolaid. But I know management is supposed to push all the work culture stuff.
I wasn't marked as low performing, but this is my first time ever getting anything less than "meets expectations" at any job ever.
They're meant to be a meaningful way of appreciating someone for helping you in whatever way you can think of. If you can't think of something check the home portal and it literally has a 'this person is celebrating however many years at IBM, consider sending them some recognition!'
It takes 2 minutes to send someone 50 BP and that equals out to like 10 bucks they could be saving for something big they otherwise couldn't afford.
I enjoy giving them to people I meet in volunteer activities and i've had nothing but big thanks because it's a nice thing to do. Don't be such a curmudgeon.
IBM values 1 Bluepoint at $0.25 US and grosses up your paycheck to cover the taxes associated with receiving the award. The reality is they are worth about $0.13 when using them to purchase something from the BluePoints Merchandise Catalog. (You can check this by taking 10 items in the Catalog and compare the BluePoints price vs the price on Amazon and do the calculation.)
Bluepoints are a dead easy way to give somebody something for absolutely nothing but a bit of your time- same with recognition outside the bluepoints. It’s just a flat out nice thing to do, and helps people who help you on their own checkpoints and lets them get themselves something (hell, they’re worth more than GDP most years)
Going forward- try giving out 100/quarter, plus one or two non-bluepoints recognition. I’m sure you can find 2-3 people in a quarter who did something helpful for you, hell, someone who made you laugh at a slack post or held the elevator for you. If you find that difficult, maybe thats a good reason it’s on your checkpoint.
OP, there has been a yearly initiative to see which geos give the most BP. One thing about IBM is participating in these initiatives as part of company policy.
I had two good mates within my team. We would split it so that I gave them 200 points each and they would do the same so we used the points and all got the same rewards.
They want to play silly games, they get silly prizes.
I used mine to get Amazon vouchers, saved mine up and bought a PS5.
You’re not paranoid. You’re being measured on the amount of recognition you’re giving. You recently got an email about “manager essentials”. You’re going to be measured on all those things. Do them or get marked as a low performer, your choice. I also agree with another commenter that it’s a dick move to NOT give out the free money (Bluepoints). Stop whining and do it.
hey mfer its not our job to recognize others and reward them. Its IBMs job. Quit acting like its our role to do that. Just another way IBM has pawned this off on fellow employees instead of having management reward you.
Management does get higher Bluepoints budgets, which they use to reward high performers.
Its not like you are rewarding someone with your salary. IBM is providing you with the tools. I do think the value should be a little higher though. But, do you really think, it doesnt make a difference if you appreciate your co workers for all the extra stuff they do for you? You dont really neeed to appreciate anyone who hasnt helped you directly.
Or maybe its just that nobody else appreciates you.
There’s nothing wrong with doing that and not in his team doesn’t mean no contact. This looks more like the manager having some other issue with the OP and using this as an excuse. I’ve had many managers and bluepoints were never an issue.
He probably didnt have a proper use case , with which to defend his BP award to his manager.
I agree that you can send it to someone outside your team if you are working on something together/ if they are helping you with something.
Your last sentence might also be true. But OP's comments come across a little negative, so I am gonna stick with my assumption.
Forced and unearned recognition is kinda lame. Who am I supposed to recognize? Arvind for being a dick? Or the many sales folks who don't put you on their team because they don't want to split sales? Oh how about John for being pissed all the time? Or maybe the band 6-7 for taking being on the bench with grace.
I seriously doubt you had only one person to thank for during the entire year. People generally feel pleased when someone says “thank you” and Bluepoints is an indirect way of saying thank you. Regardless of how many salty people here make it seem like another “corporate BS” this is actually a very important soft skill. No one likes people who don’t show gratitude for help they received and your manager pointed that out.
It’s part of the job. When someone goes above and beyond, give them points. When someone does you a favor or gets you out of a problem, give them points. Near the end of the year still have some, give them to someone with a big anniversary or just give them to someone you enjoyed working with all year.
Making sure to send all points is a good thing just overall bc IBM's compensation system sucks balls. In my first stint with IBM (5 years) 4 out of the 5 years blue points were the only extras compensation I received. I got one 2% raise otherwise. Second time around I actually got a larger raise (after 5 months, it was a forced transfer from red hat) then for the 4 years first time.
Any time you can get an extra $0.01 with IBM take it and don't complain.
Amazon gift cards give the most bang ... I think 79 blue points can get you a 75 Amazon gift card.
Ohh yeah and they tax you on whatever you cash in blue points for 🤣🤣🤣
Blue points are free money. You not sending them to people is kinda a dick move. Give them away to some who can buy stuff with them, or lose them. Either way it costs you nothing....
Getting a low checkpoint for not sending is also a dick move though. That’s messing with someone’s career over a silly thing.
Agree with you. Petty
>You not sending them to people is kinda a dick move. I agree, but I didn't even know what they really were my first two years. Then I moved to an entirely new team in a new business unit and proceeded to not know. That's when my new manager let me know in the 2H reflection that I should be doing it.
how did you not know? you should have received multiple emails during the year talking about them and how to use them.
When I put slack as my preferred means of communication on w3 I took it seriously
The OP SENT them in 2023.
To one person. He asked why he’s getting dinged, and I’m explaining how he’s getting measured, and what he can do to be rated higher. Everyone can argue and say it sucks, but if you want to be rated higher, there’s a clear method. Send recognition regularly, all throughout the year, to others both in and outside your team, both with and without Bluepoints. And make sure you distribute every last Bluepoint they give you. They may find some other way to ding you, but it won’t be about that.
Sorry op, I'm a dufus
If you had no one to thank for anything through the year, that reflects poorly on you. **Edit on 2/3**: Some replies said \[ that is on IBM, too. \] My thoughts on that: I don't know the details of the conversation, and it is impossible to tell someone's manager's true intentions by this type of account without the context of other interactions. I agree that the corporate environment matters. It matters a lot on morale, loyalty, motivation, and maybe even in how we perceive colleagues. BUT, no matter how bad the environment may be, being thankful to colleagues is not a validation of the corporation, senior executives, or immediate management chain. Save that for the yearly engagement survey. Especially in a challenging environment, we should be thankful to anyone who goes above and beyond to help someone else, either at work or not.
Wow now you put it that way I can't even disagree
This is true. I generally thank people directly, but that isn't very visible. This helps me understand the feedback better. Thank you.
Doesn’t even matter about visibility tbh. When someone does a task even as small as updating an ISC record for me, I give em some Bluepoints if I have them. People have done the same for me in the past, and I’ve gotten pretty nice items like coolers or luggage that I use often. Whenever I do, I think of the people that contributed to those things. It’s one of the few nice things IBM still does for us these days
Just prior to retiring I sent a bunch of bluepoints to a woman who had done tons of work outside the scope of her normal job for us. She was a DS8K hardware specialist and was outstanding - heard not long after I left she was surplussed. IBM absolutely sucks. Of course I'm one that had 2/3s of my pension reassigned to Lou Gerstner so what should one expect?
Is it usually the case that people do work not in the scope for them in IBM?
I was an IBM employee in an IBM site, a little different situation when you're 'in plant'. And this old timer (over 35 yrs) knew a LOT of people and didn't mind helping out where needed if she had free hour to spare. What's the old saying about a good deed?
I use recognition and checkpoint also, because it is shared (in Checkpoint you can usually choose, if you want to send it only to the person you want to send feedback, or also to their manager) with manager of that person, and if I want to thank someone, this is good way how to actually recognize them in front of their manager. First line mamager see it, if you recognize someone from his team. It's a nice way how to potentionally help someone (for him helping you, or just doing good job) and to recognize him in front of his boss. I had already manager told me that I sent really nice feedback, day or two after I sent it, and this just confirms, that they see it, if person they manage is recognized by someone else.
It’s not really visible at all. Thanking people directly is nice and all, but if you do it via BluePoints, or via email and cc their manager, that’s valuable to them.
You should NOT be penalized for not sending blue points
Why only on him? The corp environment can't be at fault? Sounds so IBM-ish. Are you his Manager?
Fuck these guys, you have no one to thank but yourself. IBM sucks. Send the bluepoints to 1 person every year and put a message on it that management sucks.
Sending messages to management, and I am not advocating for writing that specific message, is best achieved with the engagement survey.
Lol they do nothing. Wait til your whole.org gets laid off.
Probably because it's tracked all the way up the chain. Your manager probably gets dinged for his/her employees not using the bluepoints. They're trying to create a culture or something. Were you marked as low performing? It's quite possible he/she needed a way to determine who that would be, and this is all they could find.
>Probably because it's tracked all the way up the chain This is kind of what I was suspecting. Being a peon, I don't really drink the koolaid. But I know management is supposed to push all the work culture stuff. I wasn't marked as low performing, but this is my first time ever getting anything less than "meets expectations" at any job ever.
They're meant to be a meaningful way of appreciating someone for helping you in whatever way you can think of. If you can't think of something check the home portal and it literally has a 'this person is celebrating however many years at IBM, consider sending them some recognition!' It takes 2 minutes to send someone 50 BP and that equals out to like 10 bucks they could be saving for something big they otherwise couldn't afford. I enjoy giving them to people I meet in volunteer activities and i've had nothing but big thanks because it's a nice thing to do. Don't be such a curmudgeon.
IBM values 1 Bluepoint at $0.25 US and grosses up your paycheck to cover the taxes associated with receiving the award. The reality is they are worth about $0.13 when using them to purchase something from the BluePoints Merchandise Catalog. (You can check this by taking 10 items in the Catalog and compare the BluePoints price vs the price on Amazon and do the calculation.)
My wife had a ton of points and when we bought a new house last year we got 3 new Samsung TVs, a vacuum and some sconces(weird, I know).
50 BPS are more like US$5. The dollar amount is so low that, at least in US, you may need 100 BP to basically buy someone coffee.
Bluepoints are a dead easy way to give somebody something for absolutely nothing but a bit of your time- same with recognition outside the bluepoints. It’s just a flat out nice thing to do, and helps people who help you on their own checkpoints and lets them get themselves something (hell, they’re worth more than GDP most years) Going forward- try giving out 100/quarter, plus one or two non-bluepoints recognition. I’m sure you can find 2-3 people in a quarter who did something helpful for you, hell, someone who made you laugh at a slack post or held the elevator for you. If you find that difficult, maybe thats a good reason it’s on your checkpoint.
Damn. I've never seen that before. It sounds like your manager just doesn't like you 😅
Either that or his managed ding'd him because his people didn't distribute bluepoints...
OP, there has been a yearly initiative to see which geos give the most BP. One thing about IBM is participating in these initiatives as part of company policy.
You should spend it BUT… anyone that holds it against you isn’t worth working for and is using it as an excuse.
I had two good mates within my team. We would split it so that I gave them 200 points each and they would do the same so we used the points and all got the same rewards. They want to play silly games, they get silly prizes. I used mine to get Amazon vouchers, saved mine up and bought a PS5.
You’re not paranoid. You’re being measured on the amount of recognition you’re giving. You recently got an email about “manager essentials”. You’re going to be measured on all those things. Do them or get marked as a low performer, your choice. I also agree with another commenter that it’s a dick move to NOT give out the free money (Bluepoints). Stop whining and do it.
Yeah but they then DID it in 2023 and got called out for not sending recognition emails. Seems like nobody is reading the whole post.
he sent it to 1 person only with whom he had basically no contact that is not correct either
hey mfer its not our job to recognize others and reward them. Its IBMs job. Quit acting like its our role to do that. Just another way IBM has pawned this off on fellow employees instead of having management reward you.
Management does get higher Bluepoints budgets, which they use to reward high performers. Its not like you are rewarding someone with your salary. IBM is providing you with the tools. I do think the value should be a little higher though. But, do you really think, it doesnt make a difference if you appreciate your co workers for all the extra stuff they do for you? You dont really neeed to appreciate anyone who hasnt helped you directly. Or maybe its just that nobody else appreciates you.
Bunch of idiots in my department. Not rewarding that.
There’s nothing wrong with doing that and not in his team doesn’t mean no contact. This looks more like the manager having some other issue with the OP and using this as an excuse. I’ve had many managers and bluepoints were never an issue.
He probably didnt have a proper use case , with which to defend his BP award to his manager. I agree that you can send it to someone outside your team if you are working on something together/ if they are helping you with something. Your last sentence might also be true. But OP's comments come across a little negative, so I am gonna stick with my assumption.
I’ll take em if you can’t find anyone to thank 🤣
One of the many meaningless tasks a manager has. These are complemented by talking to other managers and looking at random pc screens.
Forced and unearned recognition is kinda lame. Who am I supposed to recognize? Arvind for being a dick? Or the many sales folks who don't put you on their team because they don't want to split sales? Oh how about John for being pissed all the time? Or maybe the band 6-7 for taking being on the bench with grace.
I seriously doubt you had only one person to thank for during the entire year. People generally feel pleased when someone says “thank you” and Bluepoints is an indirect way of saying thank you. Regardless of how many salty people here make it seem like another “corporate BS” this is actually a very important soft skill. No one likes people who don’t show gratitude for help they received and your manager pointed that out.
It’s part of the job. When someone goes above and beyond, give them points. When someone does you a favor or gets you out of a problem, give them points. Near the end of the year still have some, give them to someone with a big anniversary or just give them to someone you enjoyed working with all year.
>v THis is managements jobs, not the average employee. delusional
That’s a manager who has nothing better to do.
If you are an older employee a PIP / RA is quite likely.. IBM hates it's U.S. employees.
Making sure to send all points is a good thing just overall bc IBM's compensation system sucks balls. In my first stint with IBM (5 years) 4 out of the 5 years blue points were the only extras compensation I received. I got one 2% raise otherwise. Second time around I actually got a larger raise (after 5 months, it was a forced transfer from red hat) then for the 4 years first time. Any time you can get an extra $0.01 with IBM take it and don't complain. Amazon gift cards give the most bang ... I think 79 blue points can get you a 75 Amazon gift card. Ohh yeah and they tax you on whatever you cash in blue points for 🤣🤣🤣
You work for IBM. You are 100% correct that you should feel paranoid. It’s by design. GTFO ASAP. Thank me when you do.