Creating a cycle

Set up and launch a new performance review cycle in Worknice.

Introduction

Performance review cycles allow you to structure and manage reviews across your organisation. Using review cycles, you can:

• Run Self Reviews, Manager Reviews and Finalisation phases

• Select participants and assign managers

• Attach review templates that will be followed by participants

• Configure due dates

This article walks through how to create and configure a new review cycle.

Before You Get Started

Before creating your cycle, ensure you have:

• Self and Manager review templates prepared

• Correct manager relationships set on employee profiles (although you can override these in the cycle)

• Due dates confirmed (Self, Manager), and a decision on whether everyone shares one date or each person's is worked out from when they were added

Getting Started

1. From the left-hand menu, navigate to Performance.

2. Select Review cycles.

3. Click Create new cycle.

Step 1: Enter Initial settings

• Cycle name (e.g. 2026 Annual Review — Companywide)

• Description (optional)

• Scope Self review and / or manager review

• Leave the status as Draft while configuring

Step 2: Map Review Templates

Attach the appropriate templates to each phase:

• Self Review template

• Manager Review template

Templates may include:

• Free text questions

• Multiple choice questions

• 5 point likert questions

Mark critical questions as Required where necessary.

Step 3: Set the Due Dates

Choose how due dates work for this cycle, then set them. You can only choose while the cycle is in draft. Once it launches the choice is fixed, though the dates themselves can still be changed.

There are two options:

• Set for all. Everyone shares the same fixed due date regardless of when they joined. This is the default, and it is how every cycle created before September 2026 works.

• Based on when added to cycle. Each person's due date is worked out from when they were added, so a cycle can run continuously and each person still gets a sensible deadline. Use this for probation and anniversary reviews.

Whichever you choose, you set a Self review due date and a Manager review due date, and both are required. On Set for all these are calendar dates. On Based on when added to cycle they are a number of days after being added to cycle, from 1 day to 1,825 days.

A relative due date counts from the later of the cycle launching and the person being added to it. Someone added before launch counts from the launch date, and someone added afterwards counts from when they were added. Dates are worked out in your organisation's timezone.

Step 4: Select Reviewees

Choose who will be reviewed in this cycle:

• All employees

• A group of employees

• A single employee

Step 5: Confirm and Launch

Launching the cycle will issue the reviews and send email notifications to employees and their managers.

Best Practices

• Standardise templates for consistency

• Keep reviews concise to improve completion rates

• Train managers on rating scales and feedback expectations

• Double-check manager mappings before launch

• Use 5 point likert scales as much as possible to aid insights

Quick Launch Checklist

Before launching, confirm:

• ✔ Cycle name and description set

• ✔ Due date option chosen, and the dates configured correctly

• ✔ Participants selected

• ✔ Manager mappings validated

• ✔ Templates attached

• ✔ Required questions configured

• ✔ Comment fields configured

• ✔ Communication plan prepared

You're All Done!

Your performance review cycle is now ready to launch.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our support team at help@worknice.com or through the help section within Worknice.