I worked at a company that was purchased and the new management switched us to this type of system. During my time previous the buyout I had practically doubled my salary through reviews. With the new system I was one of two who got the highest rating the system offered. My raise was less than the previous cost-of-living increase I received.

Then they insisted I move to keep my job. Since the move meant going to a better job market I went along with it and then quit after a decent amount of time.

Sounds like high school teachers who refuse to give a perfect 100 because "nobody is perfect".

Very common system, I've worked for two companies and both has this exact system.

Ahh, the old 'Force reality to conform to my imperfect understanding of statistics' method. Never mind that in a small, unrepresentative sample it's entirely possible to have a team of people be all 5-star or all 1-star. Indeed, the goal is to build teams of 5-star people!

Off-topic mini rant: This is something that pissed me off about college too. Grading on a curve just serves to mask flaws. Either the professor is shit, the course is shit, the test is shit or the students are shit. Shifting the goal posts so that the top score of 54 / 100 is now an A is just dishonest.

I worked for a company with this same process. When I became middle management there, I was told I couldn't give all 5s even if I felt they were earned because "there's always room for improvement".