Setting Up a Review Cycle

A review cycle coordinates one round of performance reviews across the organization: who takes part, what they are asked, when each step opens, and how people are reminded. It turns a one-time activity into a repeatable process that works the same way for ten people or a thousand.

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What a cycle coordinates

• Which review types run — self-review, manager review, peer feedback, upward feedback
• The evaluation period being assessed
• Who takes part
• A due date for each step
• Reminders and completion tracking
• Delivery of the finished review

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Creating a cycle

1. Go to the Reviews page and start a new cycle
2. Configure settings:
   • Evaluation period — the stretch of work being assessed (Q1 2025, Annual 2025, etc.)
   • Review type (360, manager-only, self-review, etc.)
   • Participants (entire organization, specific teams, etc.)
   • Deadlines (self-review, peer feedback, manager review)
3. Click Save or Publish

If any required fields are incomplete when you click Save or Publish, the form highlights what’s missing — switching to the relevant tab, scrolling to the first error, and marking incomplete sections with a red indicator. Tabs that contain errors also show a red dot so you can see at a glance which sections need attention. Participants receive notifications and deadlines are tracked automatically.

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Setting up a cycle in conversation

You can also set a cycle up by talking to Topicflow AI. Describe what you want to run and it walks you through four milestones: the schedule and which review steps are enabled, the questions each review type asks, who takes part, and the reminder schedule. Each milestone is shown to you as a preview and is only saved once you approve it, and the assistant tells you what is still missing before the cycle can be published. The cycle stays a private draft throughout, and reminders set this way stay inactive until you publish it in the web app.

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A typical cycle

• Week 1-2: Self-reviews and peer feedback
• Week 3-4: Manager reviews
• Week 5: Calibration
• Week 6: Review delivery

Before publishing, open the Timeline tab to see the whole schedule laid out day by day, so you can check the dates while there is still time to change them.

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Who can set one up, and who sees the results

Creating and editing review cycles is normally limited to People Admins and organization admins. See Roles and permissions for what each role can do. Once a cycle is running:

• Employees see their own reviews
• Managers see their direct reports’ reviews
• HR and People teams see all reviews, for reporting and calibration

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Best practices

• Give participants enough time for each phase
• Communicate expectations clearly
• Track completion proactively
• Use calibration to ensure fairness

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What’s next