KPI tracker came in today, although it only shows data until 1 september. if the numbers are accurate, i am very close to hitting my promotion target. considering that i also submitted some cases over the past 3 days, it's quite possible that i've already hit it! it's kind of a relief, to have a bit more certainty. even if i haven't hit it yet, i'll be submitting at least another 2 cases (if not 4) between now and month-end, so i'm not worried about missing the mark for points.

what i AM worried about though, is the other criteria for determining promotion - quality. it's not exactly opaque, but not clear, either. i think i'll call it translucent. like, we're told about the mistakes in our reports that we'll be marked down for, but we're not told how many mistakes we're "allowed", be it per report or over what duration. still, my lead assures me that as long as we're doing our best, it should be fine. i updated him about my plan to go for the masters, and he's supportive! the plan is for me to get a C+ performance grade this year.

the goal's been set, and new information has come to light. time for some planning! the latest news i have that's confirmed by management is that the earliest our promotions will kick in is from 1 january next year, meaning that we will finish this year with a lower KPI target (separate from promotion target). that's good, because it means it's easier to exceed and thus get a higher performance grade. meeting the annual target (100%) basically guarantees a C, but the cutoff for C+ or higher grades in general is another kind of translucent thing. that's because of the "graded on a curve" thing, where only the top x% gets it. so for example, you'll get a higher grade if everyone else barely makes 100% and you hit 110%. but if you get 110% and everyone else gets 120%, you're out of luck.

i forget the exact number, but i think there are about 50 people at my current rank. i'd ideally want to be in the top 5 (ie. top 10%) just for added security/confidence, but i think aiming for top 10 (ie. top 20%) should be safe. if i keep my current pace, my projected year-end number should be 150% of my base goal, which would be awesome. realistically, i don't think i'll hit that because of the november holiday. plus, things tend to slow down at year-end. the plan is to just maintain my current pace, and adjust as necessary over the next few months.

another thing i spoke to my lead about was the masters course. he's supportive, and if all goes well, i'll be able to start next july at the earliest. january would have been nice, but there's not enough time. i kind of want to do it ASAP, because my previous colleagues have said that taking the course while still young is the way to go. i don't know if i feel like my rate of knowledge absorption has gone down, but i do know that i definitely don't have the stamina (both physical and mental) to do another bachelors degree. at least the masters is like, 6 or 7 modules, which shouldn't be too bad. target is to finish it in 3 semesters (1.5 years), which should make the course load manageable, alongside my workload. step by step, aim for the C+ first!

-random thought of the day: Let's keep it up!-