When was your last performance review?
December 03. Every employee is reviewed each December. This was my third review in 3 years. Our annual merit raises are based on the outcome of the review.
does your employer view this activity as important to your careers?
The company views it as important, I believe, but my former supervisor seemed to hate doing these--couldn't wait to be done with them.
do you view a review as important to your career?
Yes, it provides me with the only feedback I get from my boss to tell whether I'm doing well or not, and whether my service is of value. My former supervisor was so poor at this, I never knew what he was thinking. And my new boss is even more distant. Since he's always very busy or traveling, I have scheduled quarterly informal discussions with him, so I can make sure we're both thinking along the same lines. So far, he hasn't even responded to the invites.
Do you participate in the "fill it in and I'll sign it" scenario and how?
Yes, I have to complete a comment section and then sign the review each year. The first two years, I wrote a few paragraphs to defend myself, but last year was so astoundingly poor, I couldn't even respond, so simply signed it. He explained he was trying to work within a certain range, so as to provide me with a minimal merit raise. (Wow, thanks! You're such a motivator!)
I received a transfer 5 months later, and thought things had to get better. The jury's still out on that.
Movinonup 
