Review Admins can create custom answer templates to replace the default opinion scale on performance review questions. When complete, the new template appears in the Answer templates section of Template configuration and is available to apply to any opinion-scale question.
Before You Begin
- You must have the Review Admin role. See Roles in a performance review cycle for access details.
- Answer templates apply to opinion-scale questions only. Other question types do not support custom answer templates.
Create an answer template from Template configuration
- Go to Reviews > Template configuration.
- Scroll down to the Answer templates section.
- Click Add answer template.
- Enter a name in the Answer template name field.
> Note: This name appears in the dropdown when applying a template to a question. Use a name that clearly identifies the scale.
- To make this the account default, check Make this my default answer template.
> Note: To set the default after creation, see Set a default answer template for performance reviews.
- Under the scale labels, click the X next to any label to remove a scale point, or click + Add label to add one.
> Note: Scales must have between 3 and 7 points. The leftmost label corresponds to the lowest rating.
- Enter a label name for each scale point.
- Review the answer preview to confirm the scale appears as intended.
- Click Create answer template.
Success state: You are returned to Template configuration. The new template appears in the Answer templates section.
Create an answer template from within a question template
- Go to Reviews > Template configuration.
- Open an existing question template from the Question templates section, or click Create question template.
> Note: Default and in-use question templates cannot be edited. See [Why can't I edit or delete a question template?] for details.
- Add or edit an opinion-scale question.
- Click Show advanced options.
- Click Add a new answer template.
- Enter a name in the Answer template name field.
- To make this the account default, check Make this my default answer template.
- Click the X next to any label to remove a scale point, or click + Add label to add one.
> Note: Scales must have between 3 and 7 points. The leftmost label corresponds to the lowest rating.
- Enter a label name for each scale point.
- Review the answer preview to confirm the scale appears as intended.
- Click Create answer template.
Success state: You are returned to the question editing screen. The new template is now available in the Select an answer template dropdown.
If Something Goes Wrong
| Issue | Check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Create answer template button is not visible | Confirm your role is Review Admin | Ask your HR Admin to grant Review Admin access |
| Scale has fewer than 3 points and cannot be saved | Verify at least 3 labels are present | Click + Add label until 3 or more points exist |
| Scale has more than 7 points and cannot be saved | Verify the label count | Click X on excess labels until 7 or fewer remain |
| New template does not appear in the Answer templates section after creation | Refresh the page | Hard-refresh the browser (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) |
| Template name already exists | Check existing templates in the Answer templates section | Enter a unique name before saving |
Not Covered Here
This article does not cover setting a template as the default or applying a template to a question. See Set a default answer template for performance reviews and Apply an answer template to a performance review question.