To get started:
Navigate to the "Performance Reviews" section in the left-hand menu.
Here you’ll find:
All review cycles.
Key details such as cycle name, timeline, status (draft, scheduled, running), creation date, and creator.
Creating a New Performance Review Cycle
Click the "Create New Cycle" button at the top of the page.
Choose from the following options:
Select previous performance cycle – ideal for repeating reviews (e.g., Q1, Q2).
Blank performance cycle – create a fully custom review.
Smart cycle generation – input key focus areas (e.g., talent development, employee ownership) with AI-assisted setup.
Customizing the Cycle
Once your cycle is created:
1. Edit the cycle name and guidelines.
Guidelines will be visible to all participants.
You can select a previous cycle to track past goals and help assess progress over time.
2. Customize review forms for employees, managers and peers:
You can build cycles using any mix of forms:
Employee self-review
Manager review
Peer review (assign as many peers as you want to each employee)
…or any combination (self + manager, self + peer, all three, etc.)
Edit forms using:
Pre-filled AI questions (fully customizable).
Drag-and-drop from the question bank.
Question types: long answer, rating scales, multiple choice, and more.
Sections and breaks to structure forms by topics.
Mark questions as 'required' to ensure key questions are answered.
3. Manager Form Visibility Settings:
Hide sensitive questions (e.g., “Would you rehire this employee?”) from employees, even after the review is published.
Selecting Participants
You can assign reviews to:
Entire organization
Specific offices
Teams
Individual employees
Finalizing & Launching the Cycle
Review the summary page:
Preview forms.
Check visibility.
Confirm participants.
Click "Save" to keep the cycle as a draft.
To launch:
Click "Launch Cycle".
Select start and end dates.
Participants will receive email notifications when the cycle begins.
Managing a Live Cycle
Once a cycle is live, click "Manage" to view:
Completion status for all employees and managers.
Whether reviews have been started, submitted, or published.
AI-generated summary insights for each participant.
Historical goal tracking, including:
Goal names and progress.
Goal weighting.
Performance Insights
Navigate to the "Insights" tab to access:
AI-generated cycle summary (company-wide).
Completion metrics broken down by employee and manager.
Response breakdown for single select, multi select and rating questions.
Hover over data visualizations for more detailed stats.
Reviewing Individual Performance
As a Super Admin, you can:
Go to an employee’s profile.
Open the Performance Reviews tab.
View:
All cycles they’re part of.
Submission status.
Their review responses.
AI summaries for a quick overview.
Please note: any employee that started working within 30 days of the cycle start date will not be included in the performance review cycle.
Managing Participants in Review Cycles
Add or remove participants after a cycle has been launched
Add peers to any participant once the cycle is live (managers can also do this for their reports)
Re-open employee or manager forms after they’ve been submitted
Change manager during the cycle
Admin Permissions
Admins can easily manage performance reviews from one central view, with quick access to all the employees they’re responsible for. Super Admins can enable this option for Admins through the permission role settings.
If you have questions about performance review cycles, please reach out to support@shapes.co