Admins can apply one of 15Five's pre-built default question templates when creating a review cycle. When complete, the selected template appears in the Question template field of the cycle configuration.
> Note: Your organization may have renamed this feature. If you don't see Reviews in your navigation, check with your admin for the name used in your account.
Before You Begin
- You must have Review admin access and Template configuration permissions.
- Performance Reviews must be available on your pricing plan (Perform or Total Platform).
- To review template contents before selecting, see Understand performance review question templates.
- If you plan to select Enable 15Five AI for the cycle, preview the self and manager template before continuing. AI drafting is available for open-text questions in self, manager, and additional-manager reviews. Peer and upward reviews can be part of the cycle but do not receive AI drafting.
- A self or manager template needs at least one open-text question to use Enable 15Five AI. If the selected template contains ratings or scores only, 15Five shows an error and you must add an open-text question, select a template with one, or choose Disable 15Five AI or the legacy experience instead.
Steps
- Go to Reviews > Template configuration.
- Scroll to the Recommended section.
- Click Preview on any template to review its questions before proceeding.
- Go to Reviews and click Add review cycle.
- Complete the cycle details until you reach the Question template section.
- Select the name of the default template you want to use. If you select Enable 15Five AI for the cycle, confirm that the self and manager template includes at least one open-text question before you continue.
- Complete the remaining cycle configuration and launch the cycle.
If Something Goes Wrong
| Issue | Check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No default templates appear in the Recommended section | Confirm you are on the Template configuration tab, not the Active question templates tab | Navigate to Reviews > Template configuration and scroll to Recommended |
| The Question template field does not appear during cycle creation | Confirm the review type selected supports question templates (self, manager, peer, or upward) | Return to the review type selection step and confirm a supported type is selected |
| A default template is not available for selection | Confirm the template has not been archived | Go to Reviews > Template configuration and check the Archived section; restore the template if needed |
| Enable 15Five AI cannot be selected after choosing a template | Check whether the self or manager template contains at least one open-text question | Add an open-text question, select a template that includes one, or choose Disable 15Five AI or the legacy experience |
What Success Looks Like
After saving the cycle configuration, the selected template name appears in the Question template field of the review cycle details. Participants and review writers see the template's questions when the cycle opens.
Not Covered Here
This article does not cover customizing or cloning a default template. See Understand performance review question templates.