Setting up a formal review can be a daunting task. This support article provides you with guide on how to do this. To make things easier, the article will be split into 6 sections going over the different areas of setting up a formal review. 

Table of contents

• An overview of setting up a Formal Review
• Setting up Company Values
  • What are Values?
  • Creating Company Values
  • Setting up the default Value Outcomes
• Setting up Competencies
  • What are Competencies?
  • Creating Technical Competencies
  • Creating Behavioural Competencies
  • Assigning Competencies to Job Specifications
  • Setting Competency Outcomes
• Setting up Objective Categories 
  • What are Objectives?
  • Creating Objective Categories
• Setting up PDP's
  • What is a PDP?
  • Creating Development Types
  • Creating Development Programs
• Setting up the Review Questions
  • What are Review Questions?
  • Creating Review Questions
• Setting up the Performance Ratings
  • What is a Review Performance Rating?
  • Creating Performance Ratings

An overview of setting up a Formal Review

• First set up the Company Values
  1. Head to the admin cog and click on the option under General called Company Values.
  2. To add a new company value, click the Action button on the top right of the screen followed by Add a New Value.
  3. Fill in the title and the description.
  4. Click on Submit to save.
• Next set up Competencies
  • Creating new Technical Competencies
    1. First head to the admin cog and click on the option Technical Competencies under Reviews.
    2. To add a new technical competency, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by Add a New Technical Competency.
       

    3. Fill in the title, competency and description.

    4. Click Save.

  • Creating new Behavioural Competencies
    1. From the admin cog, click on the option Behavioural Competencies under Reviews.
    2. To add a new behavioural competency, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by Add a New Behavioural Competency.
    3. Fill in the title, competency and description
    4. Click Save.
• Setting up Objective Categories
  1. Head to the admin cog and click on the option Objective Categories under Reviews. 
  2. To add a new objective category, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by Add Objective Category.
  3. Fill in the title and click Save.
• Next set up PDP's
  • Creating new Development Types
    1. From the admin cog, click on the option Development Types under Reviews.
    2. To add a new development type, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by the option Add Development Type.
    3. Fill in the title and click Save.
  • Creating new Development Programs
    1. From the admin cog, click on the option Development Programs.
    2. To add a new development program, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by the option Add a New Development Program.
    3. Fill the title and select the type, then click Save.
• Set up Review Questions
  1. From the admin cog, click on the option Review Questions.
  2. To add a new question, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by the option Add a New Review Question.
  3. Fill in the new question text and select the access type, then click Save.
• Set up Performance ratings
  1. From the admin cog, click on the option Review Performance Ratings.
  2. To add a new performance rating, click the Action button on the top right of the screen, followed by the option Add a New Performance Rating.
  3. Add the rating title and description, then click Save.

  4. Click on Save

Setting up Company Values

What are Values?

Company values are the core values or standards that guide the way a company does business. These help sum up what your business stands for, influences the organizational culture, and also drives how and why you as an individual do things within your company. As part of the formal review process, we allow employees to measure themselves against these values to see if they feel they are adhering to them.

Creating Company Values

To create new values for your company, you first need to head to the Admin page of Immerse Works (the little cog in the top right of the page, or in the menu on the left). Once here, click on Company Values which is located under the General heading.

This brings you to the Values page, where you can view all values that are set up for the company. To add new ones, simply click on the Actions button in the top right, then click Add New Value.

This brings up a new page that allows you to create new value. Simply fill in the value title and description. Click Submit when you are done. 

Here are some examples of values that companies already use:

Performance: Sport is the foundation for all we do and executional excellence is a core value of our Group. - Adidas

Togetherness: Togetherness is at the heart of the IKEA culture. We are strong when we trust each other, pull in the same direction and have fun together. - IKEA

Focus on the user and all else will follow: Since the beginning, we've focused on providing the best user experience possible. Whether we’re designing a new Internet browser or a new tweak to the look of the home page, we take great care to ensure that they will ultimately serve you, rather than our own internal goal or bottom line. Our homepage interface is clear and simple, and pages load instantly. Placement in Search results is never sold to anyone, and advertising is not only clearly marked as such – it offers relevant content and is not distracting. When we build new tools and applications, we believe that they should work so well you don’t have to consider how they might have been designed differently. - Google

Cost-Conscious: Being cost-conscious is about keeping an eye on expenses and making smart, sustainable choices even in the small, everyday things.- H&M

Courage: You say what you think, when it’s in the best interest of Netflix, even if it is uncomfortable. You are willing to be critical of the status quo. You question actions inconsistent with our values. - Netflix

Champion The Mission: Prioritise work that advances the mission and positively impacts the community. Build with the long-term in mind. Actively participate in the community and culture. - Airbnb

Please note that as soon as you create a new value, it will appear in all reviews company-wide.

Setting up the default Value Outcomes 

When completing a review, the company values are graded against an outcome profile by both the user and the line manager. If you wish to change these outcomes, you can! To change the outcome, head to the system admin page and find the Custom Outcome Profile/Custom Outcomes link, located under the Reviews heading.

On this page you can see all available profiles on your system. Here you can set your default profile, edit profiles and create new ones. To change which outcome appears against your values during the review period, simply change the default. To do this, click on the Actions button opposite the profile and select 'Make Default. 

You can find more information about creating outcome profiles here: How do I create a custom outcome profile?

Setting up Competencies

What are Competencies?

Competencies are the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviours required by an individual to complete their role. Similarly to the company values, the formal review process will allow individuals to measure themselves against the skills and abilities they should have to complete their role successfully. This part of the article shows you how to set up both technical and behavioural competencies.

Creating Technical Competencies

To create a technical competency first head to the admin area of Immerse Works (the little cog in the top right of the page, or in the menu on the left). Next click on Technical Competencies which you can locate under Reviews. This will bring you to the technical competencies page, where you can find all the current technical competencies that are set up for the business.

To create a new technical competency, click on Actions in the top right-hand corner of the page. Then from the dropdown, click on Add a Technical Competency. 

This brings up the form to create a new technical competency. Simply insert a title, a competency level and the description for each competency. 

We have included some examples below to help out:

Web Design - Basic Level - Be competent in completing all  basic functions to support the company website

Phone System - Be competent in the use of the phone system -
- Know what to say when answering external calls
- Know how to put calls on hold
- Know how to transfer calls
- Know what to ask when taking messages for colleagues

Microsoft Office - Be competent in using  Microsoft Office - Be able to competently use:
- Google Mail
- Google Docs
- Google Sheets
- Google Slides

Excel Skills - Expert Level - Be able to do all the intermediary skill level plus:
- Know how to use V look-up to manipulate data
- Be competent to teach others in excel skills

Delivering Quality Code - Delivering Quality Code - Ability to deliver quality code adhering to best practices and principles with abstraction in mind and ensuring defects are not injected

Creating Behavioural Competencies

To create a behavioural competency, first head to the  Admin area of Immerse Works (the little cog in the top right of the page, or in the menu on the left). Next click on Behavioural Competencies, under the Reviews heading. This will bring you to the behavioural competencies page, where you can find all the current behavioural competencies that are set up for the business.

To create a new behavioural competency, click on Actions in the top right-hand corner of the page. Then from the dropdown, click on Add a Behavioural Competency. 

This then brings up the form to create a new behavioural competency. Simply insert a description and the descriptors. 

We have included some examples below to help out:

Business & commercial awareness -
- Manages, develops & implements processes to improve clients service within individual team or discipline
- Takes steps to develop a deep understanding of the clients marketplace and competitors
- Confidently presents/pitches to clients marketplace and competitors
- Effectively manages the communication strategy within their own portfolio and collaborates to ensure end to end service delivery
- Plans key negotiations in detail, considering the other party’s likely needs, objections and style to maximise the outcome for both parties
- Makes tough decisions when client work is no longer profitable

Communication & Influence - 
- Updates key Stakeholders in line with agreed milestones for projects & tasks without being reminded
- Participates in group situations & asks questions to gather information
- Uses appropriate levels of face to face, phone and email to influence others
- Demonstrates ability & will to follow instructions/briefings from others so as to achieve the task
- Takes pride in producing high quality work and is not afraid to challenge others or be challenged so as to stretch & continually improve what we deliver

Empowering People -
- Encourages others to learn from their mistakes as an important part of the development of a high performance culture
- Involves team members in reviewing their own performance, encouraging them to identify areas of improvement for themselves
- Creates a culture where performance departmental excellence is seen as standard and team members are highly self motivated to achieve greatness
- Takes regular opportunities to coach employees or sub contractors to improve skills or overcome issues
- Seeks opportunities to stretch and challenge high performers
- Encourage cross functional communication and team working

Assigning Competencies to Job Specifications

Once the competencies have been created, you can assign these to a job specification. This needs to be done so that competencies can appear in a user's review. You can do this by first heading to Job Specifications which is located under the General heading on the Admin page. This will bring you to an overview page showing all Jobs currently set up on the system. To add competencies to a job specification, you will need to have a job specification already created first. 

Find out how to set up new job specifications here: How do I create a new job specification? 

On the job specification page, find the job role you wish to edit. Click on Actions next to the role, then click on Edit. 

Once on the edit page, scroll down and you will come across the competency section. This appears as a table with the first row populated with all available competencies. Relevant competencies can then be dragged to the adjacent columns. You will most likely assign the competencies to the Selected Competencies column, however, if you wish to make it so the competency is at a certain level for the job specification, drag the competency across to one of the other columns. Once you're done, click on the Submit button. 

Setting Competency Outcomes

Similarly to the company values, competencies are also graded against outcome profiles. Competencies can also be assigned unique outcomes per job role.

To assign an outcome to either a technical or behavioural competency, first open up the job you wish to assign the outcomes to. To do this, head to the Job Specifications page which is located under the General heading on the Admin page. Click on the Actions button next to the job, then Edit.

When on the jobs page, scroll down to where the competencies are located. There are dropdowns located above each of the competency sections. Simply click on the dropdown and select the outcome you wish to use for each of the competencies. 

You can find more information about creating outcome profiles here: How do I create a custom outcome profile?

Setting up Objective Categories

What are Objectives?

An objective is an aim for a user consisting of where the user wants to go in the future and their goals. Normally, they are a statement of purpose such as: "I want to develop my Excel skills". An objective is an excellent way to break a strategy down into a set of achievable targets. With a formal review, a user is able to assign objectives against themselves and mark their progress. These can be discussed with the line manager, who is able to edit these objectives and make comments. Whilst the objectives are made on a user level, as an admin you are able to create categories for objectives that allow for easier reporting. This part of the article is about setting up objective categories.

Creating Objective Categories

Whilst you don't necessarily need objective categories when it comes to creating your reviews, they are incredibly useful for reporting purposes. To create objective categories, go to the admin page and click on Objective Categories under the Reviews heading.

This opens up the objective categories page, where you can find all current categories on the system. Similarly to other parts of Immerse Works, you can edit and delete these categories by clicking on the Actions button next to the category.

To create a new category, click on the Actions button in the top right corner of the screen, followed by Add Objective Category. Add the new objective category title and click on Save. 

Some examples of objective categories can be seen below:

- Revenue and Financial Performance
- Activity Management 
- Client Management
- Business Development
- Project Management
- Supplier Management
- Financial Management

Setting up PDP's

What is a PDP?

A Personal Development Plan is a written account of self-reflection and improvement, which doubles up as a detailed action plan used to fulfil academic, personal, or career-based goals. As part of the formal review process, a user can work with their line manager to create a personal development plan, which can be checked upon and graded throughout the year. This part of the guide will explain how you create development types and development programs.

Creating Development Types

If you're looking for a way to categorize your PDP's, then development types are a great place to start.    

To create new development types on Immerse Works, first head to your Admin cog in the top right of the page. On the admin page, click on Development Types under the Reviews heading. 

The development types page will show all available development types currently on the system. To add more click on the Actions button in the top right and then click Add Development Types. Add the title and click Save. The new development type will now be available to select when creating your PDP.

Creating Development Programs

If you're looking for a way to categorise your PDP's further, then development programs are another great option.    

On the admin page, click on Development Programs under the Reviews heading. Similarly to the development types page, the development program page will show all available development programs currently on the system. To add new categories, click on the Actions button in the top right and then click Add a New Development Program. Fill in the title and select the type, then click Save. The new development program will now be available to select when creating your PDP. 

Setting up Review Questions

What are Review Questions?

These questions are asked at the end of the review and are normally used to summarise, allowing both the user and the manager to leave comments. This part of the guide will explain how to set up review questions.

Creating Review Questions

To create review questions, first head to the Admin cog in the top right corner. On the admin page, click on Review Questions under the Reviews heading.

The questions page will show all performance review questions that are currently on the system. To add new questions, click on the Actions button in the top right and then click Add a New Review Question. A modal will pop-up asking for the question text and access type (click on the ? for more information on the Access Type). Fill this information and click on Save Question when you're done. 

Review questions can be hidden or displayed in a performance review. To change the status, click on the three vertical dots  for the relevant question and click on 'Hide' to remove from performance review, or 'Restore' to display in performance review. 

Setting up the Performance Ratings

What is a Review Performance Rating?

At the end of the review process, there is the option to add a review rating. This rating is a way for managers to grade the overall performance of their direct report.

Creating Performance Ratings

To create a performance rating, head to the Admin cog in the top right corner. On the admin page, click on Review Performance Ratings under the Reviews heading. 

On the review performance rating page, you will find all of the performance ratings that are currently on the system, as well as having options to create a new rating or edit and delete pre-existing ones. 

To create a new performance rating, simply click on the Actions button in the top right corner of the screen, then on Add a New Performance Rating. Fill in the new rating title and description, then click on Save. 

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