Cycle insights turn a completed review cycle's results into four visualizations: Heatmap, Distribution, Radar chart, and N-box. This article explains how to open insights, filter by segment and group, and read each view. Use the view that matches the question you want to answer.

Before you begin

You must be:

• An admin with access to Engage > Reviews
• Working with a review cycle that has submitted feedback

Open cycle insights

Step 1 – Open the Insights page

• Click Insights in the cycle header to open the Cycle insights page.
• Read the info panel. The final score is a weighted average across feedback types, normalized to the scale set in the organization settings. The panel shows the feedback type weight distribution for this cycle, for example Self review 0%, Downward feedback 100%, Upward feedback 0%.
• Click View settings to adjust the normalization scale in global Review Settings.

Step 2 – Prepare for the analysis

• Decide on one clear question for the analysis, for example: Which departments need attention? Who is a candidate for promotion? Are there manager-level dynamics driving outliers?
• Review the cycle's settings to refresh your memory of the rating scale, question list, and configuration. These details change how you interpret results.

Note: Starting without a focus question makes the data feel overwhelming.

Step 3 – Choose a view

• Click Change view in the top-right corner.
• Select the view that fits your question, using the list below.

• Heatmap: A quick score overview of your full population. Use it to spot outliers and who has no score yet. Start here before moving to other views.
• Distribution: How scores cluster across your rating scale. Use it to compare score spread before and after calibration and check alignment with your company's target distribution curve.
• Radar chart: Question-level analysis. Use it to compare strengths and gaps across all form questions, or to compare reviewees side by side.
• N-box: Talent mapping. Use it to plot your population across two performance dimensions and categorize people into quadrants that match your talent framework.

Filter with Segment and Group

The Segment and Group control is the most powerful filter in Cycle Insights. It is available in the Heatmap and Radar chart views and works across two independent dimensions.

Step 1 – Select how to segment

• Select Segment by to define how to slice the population, shown as rows. Options: Reviewee, Manager, Department, or Feedback type.

Step 2 – Select what to group

• Select Group by to define the metric to plot against the segments, shown as columns. Heatmap options: Final score (weights, normalization and calibration applied), All questions (including competencies), All questions (actual scores), Competency categories, Competencies, Review cycles, Goal cycles, Goals, Goal categories, and Feedback types.
• Use the Radar chart options listed in the Radar chart section.

Tip: Start with Segment by Department and Group by Feedback types. This shows how each department scored across self review, downward, upward, and peer feedback without the noise of every question.

Analyze results in the Heatmap

The Heatmap is the default view.

Step 1 – Read the heatmap

• Review each row, a reviewee or segment depending on your Segment by setting.
• Read the cell colors: green for high scores, orange for mid-range scores, and red for low scores.
• Find reviewees or segments without submitted feedback. They show "No score".

Step 2 – Compare downward and upward feedback

• Compare downward feedback and upward feedback in the same department.
• Investigate a large gap. For example, managers rated their direct reports 8.9 on average while direct reports rated their managers 5.0. This can point to a communication dynamic, a mismatch in how questions were framed across forms, or a manager relationship issue.

Step 3 – Compare self review and peer scores

• Compare self-review scores with peer scores.
• Flag employees who consistently rate themselves lower than others rate them. This may signal stress, feeling underrecognized, or lacking confidence. Treat it as an engagement signal, not just a calibration signal.

Step 4 – Drill down

• Start with Department and Feedback types for the big picture.
• Re-segment by Manager, filtered to a specific department, to isolate which team is driving an issue.
• Switch to Reviewee and a single feedback type to go question by question for individual deep dives.

Analyze results in the Distribution view

The Distribution view is a bar chart showing how many reviewees fall at each score point on your rating scale. Light bars show the number of reviewees before calibration. Dark bars show the number after calibration.

Step 1 – Read the chart

• Review the dashed Company distribution curve. It follows the configuration in your org-level review settings.
• Hover over a bar to see the percentage before calibration, the percentage after calibration, and the target percentage from the company curve.
• Filter by Department, Relationship, or Reporting level.

Step 2 – Compare before and after calibration

• Open the view before and after you run calibration.
• Check that the distribution moves in the right direction. Most organizations aim for a bell curve, with most reviewees in the middle of the scale and fewer at the extremes.

Analyze results in the Radar chart

The Radar chart is a spider chart where each axis represents one question from the feedback form. Each reviewee or selected segment is plotted as a colored line showing their average score across all questions.

Step 1 – Select segments

• Select Segment by: Reviewee, Manager, Department, or Feedback type.
• Check the segments to display in the legend on the left.

Tip: Select a focused subset, for example four departments you want to compare. Patterns are easier to read.

Step 2 – Select a Group by option

• Select a Group by option: All questions (including competencies), Competency categories, Competencies, Review cycles, Goal cycles, Goals, Goal categories, Feedback types, Reviewees, Department, Country, Relationship, or Reporting level.

Step 3 – Apply the chart as an admin or manager

• As an admin, Segment by Department and Group by Competency categories to see which departments are weakest on specific competencies across the company.
• As a manager, compare your direct reports question by question to spot where performance is most uneven.
• Look for axes where your whole population scores consistently low. Those are learning and development priorities for the next cycle.

Analyze results in the N-box

The N-box is a talent-mapping grid that plots reviewees across two performance dimensions.

Step 1 – Configure the axes

• Select the feedback type to pull from for each axis, for example Downward feedback.
• Select one or more questions for each axis. The axis score is the average of all selected questions.
• Assign questions that measure current performance to one axis and questions that measure potential to the other, for a standard talent map.

Step 2 – Set the grid and name the boxes

• Select the grid size: 2x2, 3x3, 5x5, or Custom, with rows and columns set independently.
• Click the pencil icon on a box to rename it, for example "High Performer", "Developing", or "Needs Improvement". Click Apply to save.
• Read each cell for the percentage of reviewees and their avatars. The questions mapped to each axis show at the bottom of the chart.

Step 3 – Interpret the grid

• Check the top-right box. A realistic company distribution has around 10–20% of the population there.
• Open calibration when a much larger share lands there before calibration. This can indicate managers scored too generously. Re-run the N-box after calibration to confirm the distribution shifted.
• Filter by Country, Relationship, or Reporting level.

Tip: After you identify who lands in a box, go back to the Heatmap, filter to those reviewees, and review their question-level scores before making promotion or improvement plan decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions