Couple thoughts: 1. I really like 360 reviews, where you get feedback (anonymously) from other members of the team and even outside of the team. It's some work

Couple thoughts: 1. I really like 360 reviews, where you get feedback (anonymously) from other members of the team and even outside of the team. It's some work to do, but it can be worth it. 2. My company does semi-annual reviews, because 6 months is about the time people can remember things. That works well, and also because the review is only six questions. 3. As a manager and an employee, creating goals is hard, especially ones that are useful. I think a person should have at most two goals, one technical, and one personal. 4. My company also created a rubric for being senior, which while not perfect, is better than nothing. It makes creating goals easier. 5. My company also does not tie pay directly to the reviews. Pay increases happen once a year in a specific month, and the reviews are used to inform that, but no discussion of pay comes out of it. It lets everyone relax more. 6. Part of the problem is promotion is too hard, and a manager has to really justify that. Adding that rubric above helps a lot.