Review admins can use this article to create a lifecycle review workflow that automatically launches performance review cycles when employees meet a milestone trigger. When complete, the workflow appears under Automated Reviews with a status of Active, Inactive, or Draft depending on the save option selected.
> 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 permissions. See Add or remove Review administrators for instructions.
- Lifecycle Reviews must be enabled for your account. Confirm availability under Admin > Performance > Reviews. This feature is available on the Perform and Total Platform pricing packages.
Steps
- Go to Reviews in the left navigation.
- Click the Automated Reviews tab.
- Click Add review cycle.
- Select Send Automatically.
- Click Next: Customize.
- Select an automatic review template:
- 30-day — triggers 30 days after hire date
- 60-day — triggers 60 days after hire date
- 90-day — triggers 90 days after hire date
- Anniversary — triggers on the employee's work anniversary
- Probationary — triggers at the end of a probationary period
- Custom — define your own trigger and timeline
- Enter a name for the workflow.
- Select a lifecycle trigger from the dropdown (for example, 60 days after hire).
- Adjust the number of days in the trigger if needed.
- Choose cohort grouping and configure when cycles are sent. The default launch day is Monday, but this can be customized.
- Set the audience: select All employees, specific groups, or exclude groups.
- Select one or more review types: Self, Manager, Peer, or Upward.
- Select collaborators, if applicable.
- Enable Calibrations if needed.
- Enable Objectives if needed.
- Enable Ratings if needed.
- Set the number of days for each timeline stage: writing, calibrations, sharing, and finalization.
- Review your configuration, then select a save option:
- Save as draft — appears under Draft automatic cycles; no reviews launch.
- Save and confirm — appears under Active automatic cycles with status Inactive; reviews do not launch until you resume the workflow.
- Save and activate — appears under Active automatic cycles with status Active; reviews launch automatically when employees meet the trigger.
What You Should See When Complete
- Save as draft: The workflow appears in the Draft automatic cycles section. No cycles are generated.
- Save and confirm: The workflow appears in the Active automatic cycles section with status Inactive. No cycles launch until you resume it.
- Save and activate: The workflow appears in the Active automatic cycles section with status Active. Individual review cycles generate automatically on the configured launch day (default is Monday) after an employee meets the trigger condition.
If Something Goes Wrong
| Issue | Check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow does not appear after saving | Confirm you clicked a save option and were not navigated away before saving completed | Return to the Automated Reviews tab and check both the Active and Draft sections |
| Workflow shows status Inactive but you expected Active | Confirm you selected Save and activate, not Save and confirm | Open the three-dot menu on the workflow and select the option to resume or activate it |
| No individual cycles appear under an Active workflow | Confirm at least one employee in the selected audience has met the trigger condition | Check that the trigger date (hire date or anniversary) is correctly populated in employee profiles under Manage People |
| Trigger condition met but cycle did not launch | Confirm the trigger condition was met on or before the configured launch day | Cycles launch on the configured day of the week (default is Monday). If the condition was met after that day, the cycle launches the following week. |
Not Covered Here
This article does not cover how lifecycle review cycles work after launch, cycle statuses, or what admins can see inside a generated cycle. See Understand Lifecycle Reviews (Automated Reviews).