Step-by-step guides for CPOs, Heads of People and HR managers at growing companies. Each one answers a specific question, links to a free tool you can run on your own process, and builds on the performance management framework.
Goal cascade worked example: VP Product to five product squads
A VP Product owns 30-day retention across five squads: squad and individual goals, goal vs roadmap, Jira epic-linked goals and mid-quarter changes.
Why the 9-box grid is dead
Why performance-vs-potential grids bring bias back, what to use instead, removing bias at manager and calibration level, and standardising across departments.
Measuring performance in subjective roles
Scorecard examples for product designers, juniors and interns, and how to turn yes/no statements into a fair grade.
Performance management rollout and adoption checklist
Owners, getting busy line managers to set goals, accountability, goal coverage by team, approval flow and pitfalls. PDF, Excel and CSV.
How to run a calibration meeting for a 500-person startup
A practical plan for calibrating performance ratings at around 500 employees: session structure, who attends, pre-reads, the three checks, timings and what to record.
Calibration meeting template for mid-market tech companies
A copy-ready calibration meeting template for 150 to 1,000-person tech companies: invite, pre-read, agenda, discussion prompts, decision log and follow-up checklist.
Performance review cycle timeline for a 200-person company
A week-by-week performance review cycle timeline for a 200-person company: set-up, self-assessments, manager reviews, calibration, sign-off and feedback, with owners.
How to reduce manager rating bias in performance reviews
Seven practical steps to reduce manager rating bias in performance reviews: written standards, separate ratings, evidence notes, second raters, calibration and distribution checks.
Switching from spreadsheets to performance management software
When to move performance reviews out of spreadsheets, what to fix first, how to choose software, a 10-week migration plan and the mistakes that slow the switch.
OKR and performance review alignment for engineering teams
How to connect OKRs and performance reviews for engineering teams without turning OKRs into a scorecard: what to measure, how to rate, a worked example and common mistakes.
How long should a performance review cycle take?
How long a performance review cycle should take from launch to feedback, how often to run it, what makes cycles slow, and how to estimate your own cycle time.
Performance review checklist for HR managers
A complete performance review checklist for HR managers: design, set-up, launch, manager reviews, calibration, sign-off, feedback and close-out, with what to check at each step.
Guides to the free tools
Every free tool has a full guide on its own page: why the problem matters, how to use the tool, how to read the result, a worked example and FAQ.
- Guide to measuring what your review cycle costs
- Guide to the performance management health check
- Guide to spotting and reducing review bias
- Guide to deciding whether to switch HR systems
- Guide to budgeting for performance management software