“Using budgets or factors besides the employee’s impact as an explanation for an employee’s rewards will erode trust and confidence within your team.”
Satya Nadella told staff in May there would be no raises for full-time employees this year, and cut the bonus and stock budget. Now managers have a script that forbids them from mentioning that email. Workers are supposed to believe their own “impact” earned them nothing. According to Microsoft, the truth is what erodes trust, so managers have to talk around it.