Run performance reviews
Your own review templates, a self-review, scores side by side, their comments and both signatures.
What this is for
A performance review on a template your shop builds for the role: things to score, grouped in sections, on a scale you name, each with an improvement note, plus written sections such as strengths, training and goals. The person can do a self-review first and sees their scores beside yours once you share it. They add their comments and sign, and you sign. The next review date reminds HR. Only HR people, and department leads if you allow it, see anyone's reviews.
What is on this screen
Each part of the screen above, top to bottom, and what changing it affects.
Reviews & improvement plans page
- Review templates
- HR only: opens the templates screen.
- Start an improvement plan · Start a review
- Start either for anyone you may review. Start a review asks for the template, the person, the reviewer, the review date, the period it covers and whether they do a self-review first.
- Yours
- A self-review waiting for you, and any review or plan shared with you.
- Reviews coming due
- People whose next review is within 30 days or overdue, from their newest review.
- Reviews in progress
- Each review with its stage: Waiting for their self-review, Being written, Shared, waiting to sign, or Signed by both.
- Signed by both, most recent
- Finished reviews and plans, newest first.
Review templates
- Who runs reviews
- Switch on to let department leads see and run reviews and improvement plans for people in the departments they lead. HR people always can; no one else on staff ever sees another person's.
- New template · Edit · Remove · Put back
- Templates you've built, with how many things they score, the written sections and the version. Removing stops it being offered; reviews already done keep their copy.
- Name · Description
- Such as the role it's for.
- The scale
- Starts at 0 or 1, and how many points (2 to 11, 0 to 4 to start). Name every point.
- What you score
- Sections with a heading, each with the things to score and an optional note for the reviewer. Every thing gets an Improvement suggested note on the review.
- Written sections
- Headings you choose for written answers, such as strengths, training and growth, or goals for next year.
- Save template
- Saving makes a new version. A review keeps the version it was started on.
- Writing guide
- Topics reviews usually cover, how to set a scale and common mistakes. Sign OS doesn't supply criteria or wording.
A review
- Stage · Print · Start a plan from this review
- Where it's up to, a page laid out to print or save as a PDF, and an improvement plan linked back to this review.
- Your self-review
- The person scores themselves on the same form and writes their answers. Save for later, or Hand it in; after that it can't be changed and the reviewer sees it.
- The review
- Reviewer, review date and period, then a score and Improvement suggested note for each thing, with their self-review score beside it once handed in, and the written sections.
- Next review
- The date of their next review, with In 3, 6 or 12 months buttons. HR is reminded two weeks before and on the day. It can be changed after signing.
- Shared with them
- Switch on and they're told, can read it beside their own scores, add comments and sign.
- Comments and signature
- The person's own comments, then their signature. Signing doesn't mean they agree.
- Reviewer's signature
- Once it's shared, the reviewer signs. Once either signs, the scores and written sections are locked.
- Remove review
- HR only. It comes off their file and they stop seeing it; it's kept under Removed on their Reviews tab, with Put back.
Reviews tab on a person's file
- Performance reviews
- Every review for them, newest first, with its stage and next review date, and Start a review.
- Improvement plans
- Their plans, covered in their own article.
Before you start
- Your shop has the HR add-on. Building templates and starting reviews needs change rights on HR & safety records, or a department lead role when your shop allows leads to run reviews.
Step by step
- 1
Open HR & Safety → Reviews & plans → Review templates and press New template. Name it for the role, name each point of the scale, add sections with the things to score, and add written sections.
- 2
Open the writing guide beside the editor for topics to think about. You write every criterion yourself.
- 3
Press Start a review, pick the template, the person and the reviewer, the review date and the period it covers.
- 4
Switch on the self-review if you want them to score themselves first. They're told, and their scores show beside yours once they hand it in.
- 5
Score each thing, write any improvement suggested, fill in the written sections and set the next review date. Save as you go.
- 6
Switch on Shared with them and save. They read it, add their comments and sign. Then you sign.
- 7
Press Print to keep a copy as a PDF.
Tips & gotchas
- Build one template per role so everyone in that role is reviewed the same way.
- Nothing in a review should be the first time they hear about a problem.
- Changing a template never changes a review already started.
- Department leads only run reviews if you switch that on, and only for their own department.