Performance Reviews: Sections

In this article, we will cover the different types of Review Sections that can be created and walk through how to create a new Review Section for your organization.

In this article:
Performance Reviews: Sections
Performance Reviews: Section Options
Performance Reviews: Navigating to Sections
Performance Reviews: Create a Performance Review Section
Performance Reviews: Edit a Performance Review Section
Additional Resources

Performance Reviews: Sections

A Section is comprised of questions and presents the performance standards that will make up the content of your performance review.

Standard Review vs. 360

Sections for both Standard Reviews and 360 Reviews live in the same place. Make sure that sections are created for each specific use and labeled correctly. For example, Standard Review Section vs. 360 Standard Section.

Performance Reviews: Section Options

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Standard Section

Description/Best Practices

In a Standard Section, questions are presented to the review participant(s) with a review scale for evaluation and an optional text box for comments.

Example:

Best Practices

1. Create custom questions that review participants should evaluate their performance against.

2. Clearly define the criteria that reviewers should consider when evaluating the section. These criteria should align with the goals and expectations for that section.
3. Be mindful of bias and potential conflicts of interest. Reviewers should be unbiased and impartial in their assessments.
4. Consider aggregating feedback from multiple reviewers to get a well-rounded perspective. This can help identify common strengths and weaknesses in the section.
5. Emphasize the importance of providing constructive feedback in the comments section. Reviewers should not only identify issues but also suggest potential solutions or improvements.
6. After the review process is complete, use the feedback to make improvements to the section or the review process itself. Continuous improvement is key to enhancing the quality of reviews.

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Q&A Section

Description/Best Practices

In a Q&A section, questions are presented to the review participant(s) and answered with free-form comments. Note, Review scales cannot be applied to Q&A Sections. 

Example:

Best Practices

1. Craft questions that encourage thoughtful and detailed responses. Open-ended questions provide employees with the opportunity to express themselves fully.
2. Tailor the questions to the specific roles, responsibilities, and objectives of each employee. This ensures that the feedback is relevant and meaningful.
3. Encourage employees to engage in self-reflection by asking questions about their achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement. This helps employees take ownership of their development.
4. Make it clear that the manager's role is to listen, understand, and support the employee's growth and development rather than just provide evaluations.
5. Encourage a dialogue between employees and managers. Responses from the employee can lead to further discussion and joint problem-solving.
6. Allow employees to provide feedback on the review process itself. Use this input to improve the review process for the future.

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Goal Review Section

Description/Best Practices

A Goal Review section will display the review subject's goals, related to the defined performance evaluation period, with an applied review scale and optional comment text box.

Example:

Best Practices

1. Encourage employees to provide regular updates on their progress toward achieving their goals. Periodic check-ins can help identify and address challenges in real-time.
2. Use consistent and relevant review scales for all goals. Ensure that the scale aligns with the nature of the goal (e.g., a scale from 1-5 or percentages).
3. Celebrate and acknowledge the successful achievement of goals. Positive recognition can motivate employees and reinforce good performance.
4. For goals that were not fully met, provide constructive feedback in the comments section. Focus on how to improve and achieve the goal in the future.
5. If goals require action plans for improvement, follow up on these plans and document progress in subsequent performance reviews.

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Goal Planning Section

Description/Best Practices

A Goal Planning Section allows the review participant to create new goals that will automatically flow into the Goals tool.

Example:

Best Practices

1. Ensure that the goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART). Well-defined goals provide a clear framework for assessment.
2. Ensure that individual goals are aligned with the broader organizational objectives. This helps employees understand how their contributions support the company's mission.
3. Use the Goal Planning section to discuss and plan for employees' development needs, including training and support to help them achieve their goals.
4. Ensure that managers and HR professionals review the newly created goals for consistency with the organization's values, ethics, and compliance standards.
5. Encourage employees to seek feedback from managers, colleagues, or mentors during the goal-setting process. Collaboration can help refine and improve goals.

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Role-Based Competency Review Section

Description/Best Practices

In a Role-based Competency Review section, competencies based on the review subject's role will be used in lieu of questions, with an applied review scale for performance evaluation and an optional text box for comments.

For more information on competencies, and to learn how to add them to your organization's roles, check out this article.

Example:

Best Practices

1. Tailor the competencies to each specific role within your organization. Avoid using generic competencies that may not be relevant to the job in question.
2. Ensure that each competency is clear, well-defined, and measurable. This clarity helps both reviewers and review subjects understand the expectations.
3. Include behavioral indicators or examples for each competency to help reviewers and review subjects understand the expected behaviors or outcomes associated with each level of performance.
4. Emphasize the importance of ongoing learning and development. Use the competencies as a basis for identifying areas where employees can improve.
5. Acknowledge and celebrate achievements in alignment with the competencies. Positive recognition can motivate employees and reinforce good performance.
6. Use the data collected through the Role-based Competency Review to inform organizational actions, such as training programs, resource allocation, and performance improvement initiatives.

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Company Competency Review Section

Description/Best Practices

In a Company Competency Review section, competencies based on the defined company values will be used in lieu of questions, with an applied review scale and an optional text box for comments.

Example:

Best Practices

1. Ensure that your organization's core values are well-defined and communicated to all employees. Clear understanding of these values is the foundation of the competency review.
2. Tailor the competencies to each of the defined company values. Each value should have associated competencies that reflect the behaviors and attributes that align with that value.
3. Ensure that reviewers have a clear understanding of what each level of the review scale represented in the context of the company values. Offer guidelines for rating.
4. Allow review subjects to self-assess their alignment with the company values. Self-assessment can provide valuable insights and promote self-awareness.
5. Encourage reviewers to provide constructive feedback in the comments section. Focus on how employees can further align with the company values.

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Navigating to Sections

Navigation

1. Begin by heading to Setup in your Tools menu.
2. Select Templates from Performance Setup.
   
3. Click on the Review Sections tab.
4. Here we can edit or create a new section.

Performance Reviews: Create a Performance Review Section

Create New

1. From the Review Sections Tab, select Create New Section. Select Performance Section.
2. Create your Section
   • Title
   • Type
   • Applied Scale* If Applicable
   • Depending on the Type selected, there are other options available. (See below)

3. When you are satisfied with the section, click SAVE SECTION.

Option	Description
Standard Section	To add additional questions to this section, click ADD ANOTHER QUESTION. Requires an Applied Scale. Note: - If comments are Enabled, and a question is marked as Required, then by default, comments are also Required. - In contrast, if the question is marked Optional, the ability to leave a comment is also Optional.
Q&A Section	Does not have an Applied Scale option. If you would like a scale for the questions use a standard section instead. In the QUESTIONS section, type to create the questions your review participants should answer and that this scale will be applied to. Note: - If comments are Enabled, and a question is marked as Required, then by default, comments are also Required. - In contrast, if the question is marked Optional, the ability to leave a comment is also Optional.
Goal Review Section	ClearCompany does not support running multiple sections that pull in the same goal categories. If you have multiple sections that pull in a user's goals, please make sure to use different goal categories for each section.
Goal Planning	Use the Comments Enabled toggle to either allow or prevent participants from leaving a comment on the goal review questions during the time of the review. Goals will be created in lieu of questions.
Role-Based Competency Review Section	Use the Applied Scale dropdown to select the appropriate Review Scale. Use the Comments Enabled toggle to either allow or prevent participants from leaving a comment on the goal review questions during the time of the review.
Company Competency Review Section	Use the Applied Scale dropdown to select the appropriate Review Scale. Use the Comments Enabled toggle to either allow or prevent participants from leaving a comment on the goal review questions during the time of the review.

Performance Reviews: Edit a Performance Review Section

Edit

1. Navigate to the Tools menu and select  Setup.

   

2. Within the Performance Setup column, select Templates and then click the Sections tab.

   

3. To modify an existing section, click EDIT THIS SECTION, located on the right side of each review section.

4. Important Note:

   If you are editing a Section that has been used in the Legacy version of our Performance cycles, a window will appear stating the impact your edits will have on any active or historical data.

   

5. As a best practice, if you see this message for a section you wish to edit, we recommend creating a new section to accommodate these changes instead.

6. Make your changes to the section. Once satisfied with your edits, click SAVE SECTION.

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Additional Resources

Introduction to Performance
Performance Reviews: Workflows
Performance Reviews: Templates
ClearCompany's Performance Review Best Practices