Ask HN: Engineering Managers, what do you think about performance reviews?

In practice, perf reviews seem to have become record-keeping tools for organizations to keep plausible deniability when firing people.

But in theory, I think performance reviews are underrated. I would love a weekly performance review if I could have one. Fast feedback is an essential component for learning -- biannual reviews come wayyyyy too late. I want to know what my manager thinks I'm doing wrong now haha

> Do folks think this is a useful thing to do?

I do. It is a ritual, the impact of rituals on productivity is well understood [1], but then there is [2] and we live in a post-factual world and we'll all dissolve into nothingness eventually anyway [3]

I think rituals carry value for some type of people (those who think rituals are a good thing) and provide value to some of the people who don't like them (eg. those who would slack off or lose focus without them). I also believe there is a subset of free thinkers who are constrained by rituals. I also think not all rituals should apply equally to everybody.

> What are the methods people use to do this?

Target definition and evaluation at fixed intervals or when roles change.

> What are the pain points?

Rituals that exist on paper but have no real impact, excessive exceptions, insufficient leverage and rewards.

[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2370....

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_death_of_the_universe