Review design and creation best practices

This page collects the best practices we have gathered about reviews, their purpose, their use and their configuration over years of research and collaboration with our customers.

Is there such thing as a perfect review template?

This is a big question that HR face when it comes to the performance review and it is something that can be unique to each company, its culture and its workers.

As a vendor, we understand this which is why we have options to accommodate all types of reviews.

With our review template, you can choose to use an "comment only" configuration, a "manager only" performance rating or give workers and managers the option to rate on performance.

Our rating scales can also be customized to be exactly what you need for the rating depending on the scale, value and language.

What’s more - you can also choose to enable the ability to add a secondary manager to provide a rating to add even more objectivity.

With all these customizations on the platform, we have best practices recommendations for the performance review - based on our customer experience, best practice and the latest research.

Performance review for a worker

Questions to keep in mind when designing performance review templates

Should the worker be able to add a performance rating or should this be limited to the manager?

Giving workers the possibility to input a performance rating can help bring a more adult to adult conversation to the review, as workers must share their own performance view.

Should there be a separate rating for goals (WHAT) and behaviors (HOW)?

Enabling separate ratings for the goals (WHAT) and the behaviors (HOW) can help focus performance on not just the actual achievement, but the journey and how the worker got there!

Does the worker work in agile teams with cross-functional managers?

If that is the case, beqom recommends enabling the ability to add additional managers to an worker review so that they can give their own view on performance.

Should I include a section for development?

Reflecting on past performance is always a good opportunity to plan for the future. Using the custom widgets available in the review, you can create development-focused questions to ensure the worker also has a clear path of growth coming out of their performance review.

To rate or not to rate?

The research on this topic is mixed. What we see working well and would recommend is including a rating for the end of year review only, coupled with continuous performance conversations throughout the year.

Should I moderate the reviews?

It depends on your performance process and whether or not you calibrate your reviews. This can be facilitated by adding an additional stage to the review where the reviews must be approved by HR before being published to the worker.

What if a worker does not agree with their review?

We have this covered. There is an option that can be enabled when creating the review template which gives the worker the possibility to first have an additional conversation with their manager before challenging the review to their manager’s manager. It’s rare but it does happen - even on our platform!

How do I make sure all reviews are completed?

We track all stages of the review process at all levels, from the aggregate to the individual, to ensure that you can track progress, view review results and hold a performance record.

How should I communicate about the review?

Designing a solid communication plan is key for a successful review. Using the nudging functionality, you can send nudges to your target audiences at the critical moments of the review process. Built-in notifications for some of the key steps during the review can also be enabled directly in the platform.

Performance review creation screen