Reviewing performance reviews

I have, by now, been through enough cycles of performance review in the biopharma industry that I feel confident in saying that there is no good way to do it. Not for researchers, at least. The jobs before us are wildly variable and can change without warning, and on top of that, evaluating how we’re doing at them is next to impossible. Companies can select from several unsuitable systems with varying degrees of utility, ranging from ‘not that helpful’ down to ‘frankly destructive’. A look at the latter type might be helpful, so that it can be recognised from a distance.