Write or edit a review in a review cycle

In this article, you will learn...

• What types of reviews you may be asked to write in a Best-Self Review® cycle
• How to complete a review
• How to reopen a submitted review for editing
• I submitted my review...what happens next?

Types of reviews in a Best-Self Review® cycle

When a review admin creates a Best-Self® review cycle, they have the option to include any of the four following review types:

• Self: Review cycle participants are asked to fill out reviews about themselves.
• Manager: Managers of review cycle participants are asked to fill out reviews about their direct reports. Up to five additional managers per review cycle participant can also be asked to write manager reviews about them.
• Peer: Peers are nominated to write review about review cycle participants.
  • Participant initiated (default): Review cycle participants nominate peers to review them.
  • Peer initiated: Peers elect which review cycle participants they want to write peer review of.
• Upward: Directs reports are asked to write reviews of their managers (if their managers are review cycle participants).

You will only be asked to write a review about someone if they are a participant in the review cycle. For example— if your manager isn't a review cycle participant in a review cycle that includes upward reviews, you will not be asked to write an upward review about them. But if you are a manager with direct reports who are review cycle participants, you will be asked to write manager reviews of them.

Complete a review

Follow the steps below to write and submit a self, manager, peer, or upward review.

1. Click on Best-Self Review® in 15Five's main, left-hand navigation bar.
   
2. Click on the name of the review cycle you want to write a review in.
   
3. You're now on the review cycle's overview page. From here, click to open the 'Write reviews' tab at the top of the page.
   
4. At the left-hand side of the screen, click to open the review you want to write.
   
5. Refer to the 'Review details' section to the left of the review for information about the review milestone (i.e. due date) and review transparency information (i.e. who will be able to see your identify when viewing the review).
   
6. Fill out the review using the 'Resources for reviews'. To open resources, click on View resources in the bottom of 'Review details' box.
   
   Resources will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, and include High Fives, Wins & challenges, Objectives, Past Check-ins, Feedback, and Past reviews. Click the dropdown menu to navigate between resources.
   
   
   ✏️

   Note

   Only shared and finalized reviews from ended review cycles will appear in the resources for your review section.

7. You can draft your review and return to it at any point— your changes will save automatically. Once you're done, click Submit at the bottom of the review.
   

Help Center article 💡: When do reviews become visible to others?

Edit a submitted review

If you left out a piece of important feedback, or simply want to change one of your answers, you can edit a submitted review you wrote about a review cycle participant. A review that has been reopened for editing will temporarily be unavailable for anyone besides the review author to view. The review will also temporarily be removed from reporting. The review will reappear when resubmitted by the review writer.

Some scenarios to keep in mind...

• If you want to edit a review you wrote about a review cycle participant, but their manager has already shared review results with them, you will not see the option to edit your review. Either a review admin, a cycle collaborator, or the manager themselves must unshare review results before you'll see the option to edit your review.
• If you want to edit a review in a review cycle that's locked, a review admin or cycle collaborator will need to first unlock the review cycle to give you that ability. Locking a review cycle prevents any further reviews from being submitted or edited, as well as any changes from being made to review cycle settings.
• If you want to edit your self review, and your manager has already viewed it, you have to request to edit the review, and either your manager or a review admin must approve that request. They can do so by opening your self review and clicking the Allow editing button.
• If you're a manager who wants to edit your manager review, you can edit any portion of your manager review up until you share review results with your direct report. The exception here is that if your manager review is included in a calibration session you can only edit the non-Private Manager Assessment sections of the review once the calibration session is in progress. 
• If you're a manager who wants to edit your manager review, but you've already shared the review with your direct report, you can unshare review results, make the desired edits, then re-share review results.

1. Click on Best-Self Review® In 15Five's main, left-hand navigation bar.
   
2. Click on the name of the review cycle you want to write your self review for.
   
3. You're now on the review cycle's overview page. From here, click to open the 'Write reviews' tab at the top of the page.
   
4. At the left-hand side of the screen, click to open the review you want to edit.
   
5. At the top of the review, next to the participant's avatar, click Edit review. If you're editing a manager review, there will be multiple review tabs for the direct report you're viewing. Double check that you're on the 'Manager' tab. If you don't see the option to edit the review, you may be on the 'Summary' tab instead.
   
6. Make desired changes. When you're done, click Resubmit review at the bottom of the page.
   

I submitted my review...what happens next?

• Are you responsible for writing any other reviews? Go back to steps 1-4 of the 'Complete a review' section of this article to see if you are responsible for writing any additional reviews. If not, you're done for now! If you are a review cycle participant, once all reviews are submitted your manager will schedule a meeting to go over review results with you.
• Are you a manager in the review cycle? If so, once you submit your manager review, it's time to complete the review summary for your direct reports and hold final meetings to go over review results. Check out our "Complete, share, & finalize summaries" Help Center article for information and guidance.