Performance Reviews

People supports structured performance reviews with self-assessment, manager review, goal tracking, 360 feedback, and calibration — for any review cadence your MSP uses.

Review Types

Type	When to Use
Annual	Year-end comprehensive review
Quarterly	Lightweight check-in on quarterly goals
Mid-Year	Six-month review against annual goals
90-Day	New hire check-in at the 90-day mark
Probation	Review at end of probationary period
Promotion	Formal evaluation for a promotion request
Improvement Plan	Performance improvement plan (PIP) documentation

Review Workflow

Every review moves through a defined lifecycle:

Draft → Self Review → Manager Review → Calibration → Completed → Acknowledged

Stage	Who Owns It	What Happens
Draft	HR Manager	Review created, due date set, not yet visible to employee
Self Review	Employee	Employee completes their self-assessment and rates their own performance
Manager Review	Manager	Manager completes their assessment, overall rating, and development plan
Calibration	HR Manager	Optional cross-team calibration before sharing results
Completed	HR Manager	Review finalized and shared with the employee
Acknowledged	Employee	Employee signs off that they've read the review

Creating a Review

1. Navigate to Reviews in the left navigation
2. Click New Review
3. Select the Employee being reviewed
4. Select the Reviewer (the manager who will complete the manager assessment)
5. Set the Review Type
6. Set the Review Period — start and end date for the period being reviewed
7. Set a Due Date — when the review must be completed
8. Click Create Review

The review is created in Draft status. The employee cannot see it yet.

Self-Assessment

When the review moves to Self Review status:

1. The employee receives a notification
2. They navigate to the review and complete their self-assessment:
   • Competency Ratings — rate themselves on each competency (1–5 scale)
   • Strengths — what they did well this period
   • Areas for Improvement — what they want to develop
   • Overall Comments — any additional context
3. They submit the self-assessment

💡Encourage employees to complete self-assessments before the manager review. Self-assessments often surface information managers are not aware of — unexpected accomplishments, blockers, or career interests.

Manager Assessment

Once the employee submits their self-assessment (or if you skip self-assessment):

1. The reviewer navigates to the review
2. They complete their manager assessment:
   • Competency Ratings — rate the employee on each competency
   • Strengths — specific examples of strong performance
   • Areas for Improvement — specific development needs
   • Overall Comments — summary narrative
3. They set the Overall Rating:
   • Exceeds Expectations — consistently above bar
   • Meets Expectations — solid performance at level
   • Developing — growing into the role (common for new hires)
   • Needs Improvement — identified performance gaps
   • Unsatisfactory — formal performance concern
4. They complete the Development Plan — specific actions, resources, and timelines for growth
5. Click Submit Manager Review

Goal Setting and Tracking

Reviews include goal tracking. Goals can be set at any time and are visible on the review:

Adding Goals

1. In the review, click Goals
2. Click Add Goal
3. Enter:
   • Title — what the employee is working toward
   • Description — context and criteria for success
   • Target Date — when this goal should be achieved
   • Key Results — measurable outcomes (OKR style)
4. Click Save

Tracking Goal Progress

Goals have a progress percentage (0–100%) and a status:

• Not Started
• In Progress
• At Risk
• Completed
• Cancelled

Goals carry forward between reviews — you can reference prior goals in each new review cycle.

Calibration

Before finalizing reviews, HR Managers can enter a calibration phase to review ratings across the team and ensure consistency.

From the Reviews list, filter to Manager Review status to see all reviews pending calibration. Review rating distributions and make adjustments before moving reviews to Completed.

One-on-One Notes

Separate from formal reviews, managers can log 1:1 meeting notes at any time:

1. Open an employee's review
2. Click Log 1:1
3. Enter:
   • Date of the meeting
   • Agenda items discussed
   • Notes — what was discussed
   • Action Items — follow-ups with assignee
4. Click Save

1:1 notes are private to the manager and HR — the employee does not see them unless the manager shares the review.

Completing a Review

1. After manager assessment is done, click Complete Review
2. The review status moves to Completed
3. The employee is notified and can read the full review including the manager assessment
4. The employee clicks Acknowledge Review to confirm they've read it
5. Status moves to Acknowledged — review is fully closed

ℹ️An acknowledged review creates an audit record. The review is then locked for editing. If you need to correct something after acknowledgment, contact support.

Improvement Plans (PIPs)

For employees on a performance improvement plan, use the Improvement Plan review type. This creates a structured document that:

• Defines specific behaviors or metrics that must improve
• Sets a timeline (typically 30, 60, or 90 days)
• Tracks check-in milestones
• Documents outcomes (successful or not)

⚠️PIPs are sensitive legal documents. Consult with legal counsel before initiating a PIP. The One Legal's policy templates include a PIP template that can be referenced.

Review Reminders

People sends weekly email reminders every Monday for overdue reviews. If a review is past its due date and not completed, both the reviewer and HR receive a reminder.

Reports

Go to Reports > Reviews to see:

• Average overall ratings by department
• Review completion rates
• Rating distribution across the org
• Goal completion rates
• Employees without a completed review in the current cycle