Timelines, Status, and Reminders

Review cycles have deadlines and dependencies. Topicflow helps track who’s completed their reviews, who’s overdue, and what’s still needed.

​

Review cycle timeline

A typical review cycle has several phases: 1. Setup (HR/People team)

• Define review period (e.g., Q1 2025)
• Select participants
• Configure review format
• Set deadlines

2. Self-reviews (employees)

• Deadline: typically 1-2 weeks
• Employees complete self-assessments

3. Peer feedback (if applicable)

• Deadline: overlaps with or follows self-reviews
• Peers submit feedback

4. Manager reviews (managers)

• Deadline: typically 1-2 weeks after self-reviews
• Managers write reviews

5. Calibration (leadership)

• Happens after manager reviews are drafted
• Ratings are aligned across teams

6. Review delivery (managers)

• Managers meet with employees to discuss reviews
• Reviews are shared in Topicflow

7. Follow-up (ongoing)

• Development goals and action items are tracked

​

Tracking review status

Topicflow shows:

• Who has completed their self-review
• Who has submitted peer feedback
• Which manager reviews are complete
• Who is overdue

For employees: See whether you’ve completed:

• Your self-review
• Peer feedback requests

For managers: See which direct reports have:

• Completed self-reviews
• Had peer feedback submitted
• Had reviews written

For HR/People teams: See completion rates across the organization:

• Percentage of self-reviews complete
• Percentage of manager reviews complete
• Who is blocked or overdue

​

Reading the Progress tab

The Progress tab shows one row per person and one column per step, grouped into sections for the organization, departments, reporting groups, and employees. The names and step headers stay in view as you scroll.

• Each column header shows when that step is due.
• A late step carries a red timer icon. Click it to see the due date and how many days ago it passed.
• A step that can’t be started yet — such as a manager review waiting for pre-calibration — reads Blocked. Click it to see who can unblock it, with a link to the Results tab.
• Remind all overdue sends a reminder to the people on overdue rows only.

A step counts as overdue only while the cycle is running, so nothing shows as late on a paused or closed cycle.

​

Excusing or removing one person

Each person’s row has a menu next to their name for changing that one person in a running cycle:

• Excuse from this review keeps them on the list with a reason, such as parental leave. Their steps read “N/A” instead of late, and they no longer receive reminders. You can add them back later.
• Remove from this review takes them off the cycle for good, even if participants are updated later.

A closed cycle must be reopened before you change who is in it, and someone in a calibration group can’t be removed. The person is not notified either way.

​

Reminders and notifications

Topicflow sends reminders for:

• Upcoming review deadlines
• Overdue self-reviews
• Pending peer feedback requests
• Manager reviews not yet started

Customizable reminders Organizations can configure:

• How far in advance to remind
• How often to send overdue reminders
• Who receives escalation notifications

Manual reminders and extensions You can also step in yourself: send a reminder to specific participants, escalate overdue items to their managers, extend a deadline for everyone, or grant an extension to one person.

​

Exporting results

A cycle’s results can be exported as a CSV file for offline analysis or for sharing with people outside Topicflow. The export preserves the review order configured in the cycle.

​

Seeing the plan before it runs

The setup form shows the same plan in a Timeline panel while you edit — see Setting up a review cycle. Admins can also open the Timeline tab on a review cycle to see its whole schedule laid out day by day before anything is sent. Each dated block lists the notifications due that day, who receives them, and how many people are affected — so you can check that kickoff, peer nominations, the manager review unlock, and due-date reminders land in the order you intended, and correct the dates while there is still time.

​

The activity record

The Activity tab is the record of a cycle as it runs, newest first. It shows every automatic notification and reminder that went out, with sent, failed, and skipped counts, alongside admin actions such as publishing, pausing, resuming, closing, and reopening the cycle; changing its dates; updating participants; adding or deleting reminders; excusing or removing a person; reopening a submitted review; and marking someone as calibrated. Each action shows who took it and where — in the web app, in Slack or Teams, or through an AI assistant. You can filter to actions, notifications, or reminders, and expand a send to see everyone it reached, so you can answer “did they actually get it?” — including the reason a message was skipped. Cycles that started before this record existed show a notice above the log saying so, since anything that happened before then was never recorded.

​

Closing a cycle

When a cycle is over, close it from the review’s action menu. Closing ends it: anyone part way through can no longer change or submit answers, automatic reminders stop, and the cycle moves under the Closed status filter so the list stays focused on current work. Everything stays readable — results, reports, and delivered reviews are unaffected — and you can reopen a closed cycle at any time. Pausing is the lighter option. It stops the cycle for now but still lets people finish what they started.

​

Common deadlines and dependencies

Self-reviews before manager reviews Employees typically complete self-reviews first, so managers can reference them. Peer feedback before manager reviews Managers often wait for peer feedback to be submitted before finalizing reviews. Manager reviews before calibration All manager reviews need to be drafted before calibration can happen. Calibration before delivery Reviews aren’t shared with employees until after calibration (if applicable).

​

What to do if you’re behind

If you’re an employee:

• Complete your self-review as soon as possible
• If you’re blocked, let your manager know

If you’re a manager:

• Prioritize overdue reviews
• Use Topicflow AI to speed up drafting
• If you need more time, communicate with HR/People team

If you’re HR/People team:

• Send reminders to overdue participants
• Offer support or extensions if needed
• Track blockers and escalate if necessary

​

Best practices

Start early Don’t wait until the deadline. Self-reviews and manager reviews take time. Set realistic deadlines Give employees and managers enough time to write thoughtful reviews. Communicate expectations Make sure everyone knows what’s expected and when. Track completion proactively Check status regularly and send reminders to those who are behind. Use Topicflow AI to save time For both self-reviews and manager reviews, AI can help draft content quickly.

​

What’s next