Admin | Create a Competency Review Cycle

The competency framework is the yardstick. The review cycle is when you take the yardstick out and measure. This article walks through an entire cycle, from creation to reading the results.

The competency framework is the yardstick. The review cycle is when you take the yardstick out and measure. This article walks through an entire cycle, from creation to reading the results.

Before creating a cycle

  1. There is a competency framework for the job title to be reviewed (article B13-04).
  2. Every skill in the framework has all five behavioral levels written (article B13-03).
  3. The framework has a required level selected for each skill (article B13-05).
  4. You have decided who reviews whom and the weight of each reviewer.

Step 4 is the step most often skipped. Opening the cycle first and only then thinking about who will rate is the fastest way to have a review cycle drag on for two months without finishing.

Review cycle list

Talent › Reviews › Competencies
Talent › Reviews › Competencies

Go to Talent › Reviews › Competencies and select the Reviews tab. The list is grouped by period and has these columns:

ColumnContent
NameName of the review cycle
Job titleJob title of the competency framework used in the cycle
Created byWho opened this cycle
Start dateOpening date
StatusFor example Published

At the top of the page there is a search box, an All statuses filter, an Export File button and an Add New button.

Step 1 — choose the method

Create review model — choose method
Create review model — choose method
MethodUse when
New reviewA new review based on a competency framework. Choose this the first time
Re-reviewContinue reviewing with the old competency framework and update new scores. See article B13-07

Step 2 — enter the cycle information

Create review model form
Create review model form
FieldNotes
Name *Should include the job title and period — `Store Manager Competency Review - Q4 2026`
Description *The purpose of the cycle. The people being reviewed will read this line
Competency framework *Select a framework built in Settings
RepeatDon't repeat · 1 month · 3 months · 6 months
Start date *The date the cycle opens
Review deadlineThe deadline by which raters must finish
ImageIllustrative image, optional
Reviewees *Select employees. Use the Add button below to add people

You can only select a competency framework that matches the reviewee's job title. If no one appears in the employee selection box, check the job title in their profile — without a job title they are not within the scope of any framework.

Always set a deadline. A cycle without a deadline is a cycle that never finishes. Practical experience: give raters about two weeks, no longer.

Step 3 — set up reviewers

Review settings — reviewers and weights
Review settings — reviewers and weights

Click Settings on the row of each reviewee. The system reminds you right at the top: the total reviewer weight must equal 100%.

FieldMeaning
Reviewer *Who rates this person
Weight %What percentage of the result this rater's score accounts for
AnonymousThe reviewee doesn't see the rater's name

Click + Add to add a rater. Click Save when the total reaches 100%.

Three common ways to split weights

ApproachConfigurationSuits
Manager onlyLine manager 100%First rollout, small teams
Self-review + managerSelf 30% · manager 70%When you want employees to participate
Multi-rater reviewSelf 20% · manager 50% · peers 30%Once you're used to the system

Turn on Anonymous for peer and subordinate raters. Don't turn it on for the line manager — employees have the right to know how their manager rates them, and hiding the name here only takes away the opportunity for discussion.

Don't run a multi-rater review in the very first cycle. In the first cycle, let the line manager rate alone, see whether the results make sense, and only then expand in the next cycle.

Reading the results

Results screen of a review cycle
Results screen of a review cycle

Click the cycle name to open the results. The left column is the list of reviewees; select a person to see the details.

ElementMeaning
Total tabCombined results from all raters according to their weights
Tab with the rater's nameEach rater's individual scores
Total scoreOverall score against the job title's required level
Fit levelTwo bars compared: Employee competency and Target
Bar chartScore for each skill on a 0–5 scale, grouped by competency type
Radar chartThe shape of competencies by group — a quick view of strengths and weaknesses

The thing most worth reading isn't the total score but the gap between the two bars for each skill. Any skill where the Employee competency bar is clearly shorter than the Target bar is exactly what this person's training plan for the next cycle should cover.

Publishing the results

The cycle has its own status, and the button in the top-right corner of the results screen shows whether the cycle has been published. Only publish once all raters have finished — publishing midway will produce incomplete scores.

  1. Check that each reviewee has scores from all raters.
  2. Skim the results for anyone unusual — scores far too high or too low compared to the general impression.
  3. Publish.
  4. Schedule a results discussion with each person. This is the part that creates value; a scoresheet by itself doesn't change anyone.
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