3 ms·
Pardon my ignorance but what is the "4 year cliff" exactly?
by pmkiwi 5y ago
Pardon my ignorance but what is the "4 year cliff" exactly?
- bzbarsky 5y agoWhen you initially start at Google, say, you get an RSU grant that vests over 4 years. So for 4 years you are getting your salary and on some schedule also getting stock. The stock can be a quite large portion of your total compensation (as in, comparable to the base salary). After 4 years, unless you got refresher grants, your compensation is just your salary, so you effectively make less money than during the first 4 years. At that point the incentive is to move to some other company and start the 4-year clock again...
- pmkiwi 5y agoOk got it! So I guess the only way for Google to keep the best performers is to eliminate this cliff by giving RSU and/or offering a significant pay increase. Thank you for the explanation ;)