Years of Years

Scholars, like the people of the societies they live in, have varied birthday traditions. Gifts, parties, all of these things-- people tend to follow the custom of where they grew up or where they land for work. There is more of a tendency to mix up traditions in the modern days, but only in the sense that immigration and globalization lead everyone to mix and match traditions. On top of the normal birthday celebrations, Scholars have a tradition going back centuries called the Years of Years.
Initially, Years of Years was a way of cataloging the skills and experience of everyone working as a Scholar. It was a sort of formal performance review, going through everything from sword skills to sleeping habits. The reviews from Years of Years were used to decide who should be working where. As time went on, most of that information was collected in other ways, but the yearly review was an opportunity to reflect on your goals, correct any errors in the record, and spend some time in quiet contemplation. For some people, filling out the Years of Years paperwork is an unpleasantness somewhat like tax time; for others, it is accompanied by a real sense of accomplishment. Either way, the process is ended with a hearty meal and a celebration with your team of all the work of the past year.

History

Years of Years is so named because of a quirk of the initial paperwork required; every person would have years (alive) and years of those years in service. People who worked their whole lives as Scholars would describe their tenure as years and years of years-- and then the Years of Years review was your proof of that.
For the first two or three hundred years, the review was purely skills-based. Languages, math, hunting, and swordsmanship were all evaluated. Not much happened as a result of these reviews; home base could keep an eye on which places were staffed well or understaffed, but because of language barriers, not many people were moved around. If a review found that no one in an area could perform a particular skill (mathematics was often under-served), new recruits would have to be pulled in to fill in that gap.
At the turn of the 19th century, languages were much more widespread and uniform than before. Several bases were established where they spoke entirely the same language, and there were more resources to learn a new language when you moved. Scholars were more likely to get sent to an entirely new place; for decades, those decisions were made solely based on skill gaps. However, a few massive personality clashes and roommate blowouts got a whole other category added to the review of preferences and needs so that, all other things equal, people wouldn't be sent to work with someone who would drive them up the wall. Instead of doing a whole new review, these questions were added to the standard Years of Years (though most of the answers wouldn't change much over time).

Components and tools

There is an entire stack of papers necessary to fill in all the questions for the review. Technically speaking, the review can be performed in person without the paperwork, but with literacy rates nearing 100% in the organization, it's very rare for someone to review in person; even in rare situations where one team member can't write, almost certainly someone at the same base will be able to fill out the papers.

Participants

Most of the key work for a Years of Years review has to be done by the birthday celebrant. However, in some bases, the review becomes a group activity, with colleagues hunting through records, making encouragement teas, and making the process more tolerable with ridiculous hats. At the very least, the colleagues of someone doing a Years of Years will keep an eye on the process, because it's traditional that the celebration meal is made by someone else and waiting hot when the review is finished. If no one is available to make the celebration meal, because of deaths or illness in the base, it's a strong sign to home base that someone new should be delegated there as soon as possible. No one should find themselves truly alone during Years of Years; if they are, something has gone very wrong.