Upward Reviews

how to configure an upward review in charthop what is an upward review? an upward review (also called manager feedback or 360 feedback from direct reports) allows employees to provide feedback about their manager this helps managers understand how they're perceived by their team and identify areas for leadership development 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 cannot query or report on responses across the platform 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 leadership effectiveness over time need help deciding? contact your customer success manager to discuss which approach fits your organization's needs decision 2 who can see the feedback? for upward reviews, we recommend manager only access only the manager being reviewed sees the feedback from their direct reports the manager's skip level (their manager) may also see responses direct reports do not see each other's feedback or aggregated results this protects employee anonymity and encourages honest feedback important upward reviews are sensitive most organizations keep this feedback visible only to the manager receiving it and potentially their skip level manager for coaching purposes decision 3 anonymous or identified feedback? identified (recommended) skip level managers can see who provided feedback, but the manager being reviewed typically cannot allows for accountability in feedback quality useful for skip level managers coaching the manager the manager receiving feedback sees responses but not necessarily who wrote them note charthop allows you to control who sees the identity separately from who sees the responses, giving you flexibility in how you handle anonymity step 1 build your upward review form navigate to people ops tools → forms → create form → upward review add a header (optional but recommended) provide guidance to employees giving feedback to their manager your rating scale definitions links to leadership competencies or values tips for providing constructive, actionable feedback reminder about the confidentiality of their responses encouragement to be honest and specific add your questions choose question types that capture leadership effectiveness question type best used for long text open ended feedback, specific examples, suggestions short text brief comments single select leadership effectiveness ratings multi select leadership behaviors demonstrated numeric scale rating on leadership dimensions (1 5, 1 10) yes/no binary leadership questions common upward review questions how effectively does your manager communicate expectations? does your manager provide regular feedback and coaching? how well does your manager support your professional development? does your manager foster an inclusive team environment? what should your manager start doing, stop doing, or continue doing? overall effectiveness rating leadership strengths and development areas if using custom fields for questions connected to custom fields applies to select "people" track changes over time check this box (tracks leadership effectiveness over time) sensitivity select "manager only" (recommended) keeps feedback confidential to the manager and their leadership chain step 2 configure form settings status start with "inactive" (draft mode while building) when ready to launch "active" when finished "archived" distribution settings 1\ who is this form about? select "another person" direct reports are reviewing their manager, not themselves 2\ who can complete this form? select "their direct reports" only people who report directly to the manager can complete the review 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 upward reviews happen you create tasks for direct reports to review their managers self guided "yes, on everyone's profile" direct reports can provide feedback to their manager anytime best for continuous feedback cultures custom group "only specific people's profiles (custom)" for specific managers or levels only example only managers with 3+ direct reports access & anonymity 1\ how should the identity of the respondent be recorded? select "identified" the system records who provided feedback, but you control who can see that identity 2\ who can see the identity of the respondent? select "manager's in the person's reporting line" skip level managers can see who provided feedback (for coaching purposes) the manager being reviewed typically cannot see individual identities this protects direct reports while maintaining some accountability 3\ who can view the form responses? select "managers of the person the form is about" the manager being reviewed sees the feedback content their skip level manager can also see feedback to support coaching form completion 1\ allow saving drafts? select "yes" (recommended) direct reports can save progress and return later 2\ populate form with previous responses? select "no, start with a blank form every time" ensures fresh feedback 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 select "no" (recommended) we don't recommend requiring approval for upward reviews approval could compromise the confidentiality of feedback release select "no" (recommended) we don't recommend using a release step for upward reviews release is typically used for downward reviews, not upward feedback feedback should be available to the manager once submitted editing select "no" (recommended) once submitted, upward feedback should remain unchanged this maintains integrity of the feedback process prevents second guessing or pressure to change responses export optional allow export as pdf based on preference managers may want to save their feedback for personal development notifications email responses to choose based on your preference option 1 "the manager of the person the form is about" (the skip level manager) useful if skip level managers are coaching managers through feedback option 2 "none" (recommended for many organizations) reduces notification fatigue managers can check their profile tab to see feedback note we typically don't notify the manager being reviewed for each individual submission (to maintain some anonymity during the collection period) managers can view aggregated feedback on their profile once all responses are in step 3 create the profile tab profile tabs display upward review feedback on manager 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 "upward review" to add to an existing tab click into the existing tab add a new column name the column header "upward review" configure the upward review tab 1\ display on the profile of upward reviews only apply to people who have direct reports, so use a filter select "custom" filter "directs >= 1" (recommended) this displays the tab only on profiles of people who manage at least one person why this matters individual contributors don't need an upward review tab since they don't have direct reports providing feedback 2\ visible to select "the person's manager" (recommended) the manager being reviewed sees their own feedback their skip level manager can also see it (for coaching) direct reports cannot see aggregated results or others' feedback alternative some organizations choose "the person, and the person's managers" if they want managers to access their own feedback, but this is implicit in most access settings 3\ columns under "form responses history," select your upward review form this displays upward feedback on the manager's profile step 4 activate everything activate the form set status to "active" test by having a direct report complete a review activate the profile tab scroll to top of profile tab settings toggle to "active" how the upward review process works here's the typical flow once the form is active create review tasks for direct reports (or enable self guided access) direct reports complete upward reviews about their manager feedback is submitted and appears on the manager's profile manager reviews their aggregated feedback skip level manager (optional) reviews feedback to coach the manager manager creates a development plan based on feedback manager follows up with team (optional) on actions they'll take best practice consider holding a team discussion where managers share key themes from their upward feedback and commitments to improvement (without revealing individual responses) testing your upward review setup before launching organization wide complete a test review have a direct report write sample feedback check visibility verify the manager sees feedback but not necessarily individual identities check the profile tab confirm feedback appears on the manager's profile verify filtering ensure the profile tab only appears for people with direct reports test notifications verify emails go to the right people (if enabled) review anonymity settings confirm identity protections work as intended check skip level access verify skip level managers can see feedback if intended common questions how many direct reports should participate for meaningful feedback? most organizations require at least 3 4 direct reports for upward reviews to protect anonymity with fewer respondents, individual feedback can be too easily identified consider setting a minimum threshold for participation can managers see who wrote each piece of feedback? by default with our recommended settings, no the manager sees the feedback content but not who wrote it skip level managers (the manager's manager) can see identities for coaching purposes, but this can be adjusted based on your needs should upward reviews be anonymous? most organizations use "identified" in the system for accountability, but control visibility so the manager being reviewed doesn't see individual identities this balances honest feedback with quality control when should upward reviews happen? common timing as part of annual or bi annual performance review cycles after a manager has been in role for 90 180 days regularly (quarterly/semi annually) for leadership development after major team changes or reorganizations what if a manager only has 1 2 direct reports? consider whether upward reviews are appropriate for this situation, as feedback can be too easily identified alternatives skip the formal upward review for small teams combine feedback from multiple review periods to aggregate more responses focus on 1 1 conversations instead of formal reviews should managers share upward review results with their team? this is a cultural decision some organizations encourage managers to share high level themes (not individual comments) discuss actions they'll take based on feedback thank the team for honest input this transparency can build trust, but it's not required can a manager's skip level boss see the upward feedback? yes, with our recommended settings skip level managers can see upward feedback to help coach the manager through development areas if you prefer to keep feedback private to the manager only, you can adjust the visibility settings what if someone writes inappropriate feedback? this is rare, but if it happens hr should review the feedback address the issue directly with the respondent consider whether the feedback should be removed reiterate guidelines for constructive feedback in future cycles best practices for upward reviews communication is key explain the purpose and confidentiality measures to employees before launch set expectations about how feedback will be used (development, not punishment) provide guidelines for constructive feedback reassure employees about anonymity protections minimum participation consider requiring at least 3 4 respondents before sharing results aggregate feedback to protect individual identities skip upward reviews for managers with very small teams follow through managers should create action plans based on feedback skip level managers should coach managers through development follow up in future cycles to show progress frequency start with annual or bi annual cycles consider more frequent feedback as your culture matures balance thoroughness with survey fatigue