Manager Reviews

how to configure a manager review (downward review) in charthop what is a manager review? a manager review (also called a downward review) is a performance evaluation that managers complete about their direct reports this is typically the primary review document used in performance conversations before you start key decisions decision 1 questions vs custom fields you have two options when building your form option a questions only responses are stored only within the form simpler to set up query or report on responses across the platform using id's rather than fields option b questions connected to custom fields responses are stored as custom fields in charthop can be queried, filtered, and reported on across the platform best for tracking performance data over time can be referenced in smart calculations need help deciding? contact your customer success manager to discuss which approach fits your organization's needs decision 2 when should employees see their reviews? this is a critical decision for manager reviews option a release step (controlled timing) managers write reviews, then manually release them to employees when ready best for coordinating review conversations across the organization ensures reviews are discussed in 1 1s before employees see written feedback field sensitivity setting manager shared option b bulk releasing unreleased reviews (controlled timing) admins can release all pending reviews at the end of the review cycle or release all reviews at once field sensitivity setting manager shared option c bulk release (not using release functionality) all reviews are released to employees at the same time (typically after all are completed) best for structured review cycles with specific release dates requires admin action to release all reviews at once admins must update each field/question in the form from manager only sensitivity to manager shared field sensitivity setting manager only option d immediate visibility employees see reviews as soon as managers submit them best for continuous feedback cultures no release step needed field sensitivity setting manager shared recommendation most organizations use the release step approach for better coordination and to ensure managers discuss feedback before employees read it step 1 build your manager review form navigate to people ops tools → forms → create form → manager review add a header (optional but recommended) provide guidance to managers, such as your rating scale definitions and examples links to your company values or competency framework tips for writing effective, actionable feedback calibration guidelines reminder to focus on specific examples and behaviors add your questions choose question types that capture the evaluation dimensions you need question type best used for long text detailed feedback, accomplishments, development areas short text brief summaries or comments single select overall performance ratings, promotion readiness multi select skills demonstrated, competencies met numeric scale performance ratings by category (1 5, 1 10, etc ) yes/no binary assessments (meets expectations, promotion ready) number value quantitative goals (% attainment, numeric ratings) common manager review questions overall performance rating key accomplishments this period areas for development goals for next period promotion readiness flight risk assessment if using custom fields for questions connected to custom fields applies to select "people" track changes over time check this box (maintains historical performance data) sensitivity choose based on your release approach manager shared if using release step (managers release individually) manager only if using bulk release (admin releases all at once) step 2 configure form settings status start with "inactive" (draft mode while building) when ready to launch "active" distribution settings 1\ who is this form about? select "another person" managers are reviewing their direct reports, not themselves 2\ who can complete this form? select "their manager" only the direct manager can complete reviews for their reports 3\ should this form automatically appear on profiles? choose based on your review process task based (recommended) "only if there is a pending task" gives you control over when reviews happen and who participates you create review tasks for managers self guided "yes, on everyone's profile" managers can write reviews anytime without tasks best for continuous feedback approaches custom group "only specific people's profiles (custom)" for specific teams or levels only access & anonymity 1\ how should the identity of the respondent be recorded? select "identified" employees should know their manager wrote the review 2\ who can see the identity of the respondent? select "anyone who can view the form response" 3\ who can view the form responses? select "the person the form is about" this ensures the employee being reviewed can see their review (once released, if using release) form completion 1\ allow saving drafts? select "yes" (recommended) managers can save progress and return to complete reviews later 2\ populate form with previous responses? select "no, start with a blank form every time" ensures fresh evaluation each review cycle 3\ how would you like your form to display? choose pop up or standalone page (based on preference) after submission settings approval optional require approval based on your process some organizations require skip level approval or hr review before release common for promotions or performance improvement situations release (optional but recommended) if you want managers to control when employees see their reviews enable "require release before the person can view" who can release select "submitter or admins" (recommended) submitter = the manager who wrote the review admins = hr or system administrators this ensures reviews are discussed in 1 1 meetings before employees read them if you're using bulk release instead skip enabling individual release and plan to release all reviews at once using admin controls editing select allow respondent to edit "until it's approved" or "for a period of time" (recommended) gives managers flexibility to refine reviews before finalizing consider timing "until approved" or set a specific deadline export optional allow export as pdf based on preference useful if managers want to keep copies or share offline notifications email responses to choose who should be notified when reviews are submitted "the person who completed the form" (the manager) "the manager of the person the form is about" (skip level manager) recommendation enable notification to the manager who completed the form so they have confirmation of submission note employees are typically notified separately when reviews are released , not when they're submitted step 3 create the profile tab profile tabs display manager review responses on employee profiles navigate to profile tabs navigate to admin → profile content to create a new tab click the + icon name the tab "performance reviews" name the column "manager review" to add to an existing tab click into the existing tab add a new column name the column header "manager review" configure the downward review tab 1\ display on the profile of if all employees receive manager reviews select "everyone in the org" (recommended) if only specific employees use "custom" and create a filter 2\ visible to this is where you control visibility timing during the review period (before release) select "the person's manager" (recommended) only managers see in progress and completed reviews employees cannot see reviews until they're released after the review period (post release) select "the person, and the person's managers" (recommended) employees can now see their reviews managers retain access pro tip you can adjust this setting at different points in your review cycle start with "manager only" during writing, then change to "person and managers" after all reviews are released 3\ columns under "form responses history," select your manager review form this displays review responses on the profile step 4 activate everything activate the form set status to "active" test by completing a sample review yourself activate the profile tab scroll to top of profile tab settings toggle to "active" how the manager review process works here's the typical flow once the form is active with release step create review tasks for managers (or managers access reviews on profiles if self guided) managers complete reviews and submit them managers conduct 1 1 performance conversations with employees managers release reviews during or after the conversation employees can view their written reviews on their profile profile tab visibility can be updated to show employees their reviews with bulk release (by updating field sensitivity) create review tasks for managers managers complete reviews and submit them (employees cannot see yet) all reviews are completed and calibrated admin releases all reviews at a designated time employees can view their reviews simultaneously managers conduct 1 1 conversations (typically scheduled around release) without release (immediate visibility) create review tasks for managers managers complete reviews employees see reviews immediately upon submission managers follow up with 1 1 conversations testing your manager review setup before launching organization wide complete a test review have a manager write a sample review check visibility verify the employee cannot see it yet (if using release) test the release function release the review and confirm visibility changes check the profile tab verify the review appears correctly test notifications ensure emails go to the right people review with hr get sign off on settings before rolling out test approval workflow if using approval, verify it works as intended common questions what's the difference between release and bulk release? release step managers individually release each review when they're ready (usually after the 1 1 conversation) bulk release an admin releases all reviews at the same time organization wide by updating field sensitivity choose based on whether you want individual flexibility or coordinated timing should i require approval for manager reviews? most organizations don't require approval for standard reviews, but consider approval for promotion recommendations performance improvement plans reviews by new managers organizations wanting hr oversight can managers edit reviews after submission? yes, if you enable the editing setting common options allow editing "until it's approved" (if using approval) allow editing "for a period of time" (set a deadline) no editing after submission (for strict review processes) what if a manager doesn't complete a review on time? you can send reminder emails through the task system monitor completion rates in reporting have hr or admins follow up directly can skip level managers see reviews? yes, managers up the reporting chain can see reviews based on your access settings the "default" access setting typically allows the full management chain to view when should i change the profile tab visibility from "manager only" to "person and managers"? if using individual release keep it "manager only" during review writing, then change after most reviews are released if using bulk release change it right after you execute the bulk release if not using release set it to "person and managers" from the start how do employees know when their review is released? charthop sends an automatic notification email when a review is released to them you can also communicate the release timing in advance should you be using fields to toggle can i disable email notifications when releasing reviews? you can only disable notifications when bulk releasing what if i want an employee's previous manager to complete the manager review form? as long as the task is still pending, you can reassign a task go to the task tab within the performance review and select the pending task you would like to reassign and click reassign