You smart people sure are dumb. HR is the real enemy here and their fear-based power derives from risk management action against Federal/State mandates and pot

You smart people sure are dumb. HR is the real enemy here and their fear-based power derives from risk management action against Federal/State mandates and potential employee legal action, i.e. "Make sure we don't get sued and that we have a strong defense if we do." Without a documented methodology for weeding out 'poor performers' and a history of doing so, the company's risk from an individual dismissal increases. Hence the HR team locked in the basement where nobody accounts for the differential cost from all these schemes and programs. Like vaccinations, thousands of lives are vaccinated in the hopes of preventing one, high-cost event with a damaging outcome. Managers feel safer, executives don't care, and you play the game