This article explains how to create and launch a performance review cycle on Deel.
What is a performance review cycle?
A performance review cycle is a structured process for evaluating employee performance over a specific period. It involves setting goals, monitoring progress, providing feedback, and assessing achievements to support development and improvement.
Why is a Performance review cycle important?
1. Enhances Employee Development: Regular performance reviews provide employees with valuable feedback, helping them understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
2. Ensures Consistency: A standardized review cycle ensures that evaluations are fair and consistent across the organization.
3. Aligns Goals: Performance reviews align individual performance with team and organizational goals, driving overall success.
Before you begin
- Must be a Deel Engage admin.
- Must have Deel Engage enabled on organization.
- Must have Performance turned on under Deel Engage
How to create a performance cycle
To start creating a performance review cycle for your employees, follow these detailed steps:
✅ Step 1 - From Deel homepage, click on the Engage icon and select the Performance tab.
In the performance hub, scroll down to the 'Performance Review Cycle' section to see existing cycles, both draft and active. Click on 'New Review Cycle' button to begin the setup.
✅ Step 2 - Configure Cycle Details
Enter a name and a brief description for the cycle and choose the type of cycle based on the feedback needed:
- Self Review: Employees assess their own performance.
- Manager Feedback: Managers review the performance of their direct reports.
- Team Feedback: Employees provide feedback about their managers.
- Peer Feedback: Employees receive feedback from peers they nominate.
Note: At least one feedback type must be selected to proceed.
In the same step, for each type of feedback, the user can choose who can see the responses and when. Results will be shared with the company admins, but this can be done anonymously. The user can choose if the manager or the reviewee will receive the results once the feedback is submitted.
For peer review, admins choose how peers are selected. Participants without managers will always be asked to nominate their peers and their peers will automatically be approved. For participants who have managers, the admins can choose to leave participants to select peers, and managers approve, or managers to pre-select and nominate who is reviewing whom. In addition, admins can set a maximum of peers a participant can select.
✅ Step 3 - Design the Reviewer Experience
Customize how reviewers will interact with the review process by:
a. Toggling on/off whether reviewers see who will view their responses and if responses are anonymous.
b. Deciding if reviewers see additional information about the reviewees, like career paths and growth plans.
c. Allowing managers to share feedback immediately after all reviews are submitted, instead of waiting until the end of the review cycle.
✅ Step 4 - Set Assignments and Automation
Define who should be reviewed and establish automatic assignment rules. Choose to start reviews immediately, on a specific date, after an employee's start date, or once they join a group.
Admins can choose when to assign the review: a) immediately or on a specific date; b) when the participants start working or c) when the participant is added to a specific group within the organization
In the case the admin chooses to launch it immediately, the admin chooses the first toggle and then they check the “launch immediately” button. In the case they want to schedule it to a future date, they need to choose the date, time, AM/PM and timezone. Important part is to choose the group to whom to send the notification.
✅ Step 5 - Establish Timelines
The final step before the review is to set how many days employees have, to nominate and confirm peers and how many days they have to write the feedback. The steps will appear in the order they need to be completed.
✅ Step 6 - Review and Launch
If they haven’t done it before, the admin needs to create the missing forms. They need to separately create all the forms chosen (self review, manager, team or peer feedback).
There are 2 types of questions: open ended and rating.
To add more questions, there is a button to add. There is no limit to the number of questions.
To preview what the participant will see, the admin needs to click on the arrow. If they want to select a different type of question, they need to choose the 3 dots in line with the question.
If they choose to have a rating question, the admin is prompted to choose some additional settings.
In the rating questions, when building it, the admin needs to expand the question in order to choose the range and name the labels of each rating.
When all the forms are added, the admin can launch the review cycle.
Finally, carefully review all settings and choices and make any necessary adjustments to ensure the cycle is set up as intended. Then, click on 'Launch Cycle Now' to activate the review cycle.
Types of reviews/feedback that can be created
Organizations typically conduct several types of feedback or reviews to evaluate performance, provide guidance, and foster professional development. Here are some common types of feedback or reviews along with explanations of each:
1. Annual Performance Reviews
Description: Conducted once a year, these reviews evaluate an employee’s performance over the past year.
Purpose: To assess achievements, identify areas for improvement, set goals for the upcoming year, and discuss potential salary adjustments or promotions.
Process: Typically involves self-assessment, manager’s assessment, and sometimes peer reviews.
2. Quarterly or Semi-Annual Reviews
Description: Conducted every three or six months, these reviews provide more frequent feedback than annual reviews.
Purpose: To offer regular updates on performance, adjust goals as needed, and address any issues promptly.
Process: Similar to annual reviews but less comprehensive. May include goal setting and progress tracking.
3. 360-Degree Feedback
Description: Collects feedback from an employee’s supervisors, peers, subordinates.
Purpose: To provide a holistic view of an employee’s performance and interpersonal skills.
Process: Participants complete anonymous surveys evaluating the employee on various competencies. Results are compiled and shared with the employee.
4. Continuous or Real-Time Feedback
Description: Ongoing feedback provided regularly, often through informal interactions or using dedicated software.
Purpose: To address issues and recognize achievements in real-time, promoting continuous improvement and engagement.
Process: Managers and peers provide feedback as situations arise, often using tools or platforms designed for ongoing communication.
5. Probationary Reviews
Description: Conducted at the end of a new employee’s probationary period (usually 3-6 months).
Purpose: To evaluate the new hire’s performance and fit within the company, deciding whether to confirm their employment.
Process: Managers review the employee’s progress, performance, and integration into the team.
6. Project-Based Reviews
Description: Focused on the performance of an employee or team during a specific project.
Purpose: To assess contributions, effectiveness, and outcomes of the project, and to capture lessons learned.
Process: Typically conducted at the end of a project, involving feedback from project managers and team members.
7. Self-Assessments
Description: Employees evaluate their own performance, strengths, and areas for improvement.
Purpose: To encourage self-reflection and ownership of professional development.
Process: Often part of a larger review process, where employees complete a self-assessment form that is discussed with their manager.
8. Peer Reviews
Description: Colleagues at the same level provide feedback on each other’s performance.
Purpose: To offer insights from those who work closely with the employee, often focusing on teamwork and collaboration.
Process: Conducted via surveys or structured feedback forms, results are shared with the employee and sometimes their manager.
9. Upward Feedback
Description: Subordinates provide feedback on their manager’s performance.
Purpose: To give managers insights into their leadership style and areas for improvement.
Process: Typically conducted anonymously to ensure honest feedback, often as part of a 360-degree feedback process.
10. Competence-Based Performance Reviews
Description: A competence-based performance review is a type of evaluation process that focuses on assessing an employee's abilities, skills, and behaviors relevant to their job role.
Purpose: To provide clear expectations, employees understand precisely what is expected of them in terms of skills and behaviors, leading to clearer performance goals.
Process: Typically conducted as a self review and manager feedback.
These feedback and review processes help companies maintain a high-performance culture, support employee development, and align individual goals with organizational objectives.
Next Steps
After successfully creating and launching a performance review cycle for an organization, there's now the need to visualize results and calibrate answers. Check out our article on How to Visualise Results and Calibrate Answers on Deel
Frequently Asked Questions
[ACCORDION] How to add Peer for performance review?
There'll be a task on the home screen saying 'nominate your peers' or click on 'feedback' on the home screen and find an active cycle, which will show the tasks of nominating peers. If feedback has been already submitted, an admin or manager can reopen the task.
[ACCORDION] Why are some peer nominations not saved?
If the peer nomination task is shown as completed, then ask an admin to reopen the peer nomination task.
[ACCORDION] When submitting performance review: does submit send all current reviews or only currently selected one?
When one review is submitted, it submits only for the current person been written for. This means that submission is always individual and not collective.
[ACCORDION] Can the self review be hidden from a manager?
No, visibility and anonymity is set by admin during performance cycle creation.
[ACCORDION] Who else can see the downward feedback of an employee?
Downward feedback can only be shared with:
1. Manager who writes the feedback
2. An Indirect manager
3. Admin
4. Employee themselves.