Reviews

Annual reviews

  • Typically held in March

  • We use the reviews app to write reviews for each other

  • Suggest a level for the reviewee

Mid-year reviews

  • Typically held in September

  • Written on google docs, or gitlab, or the reviews app

  • For mid-year unlike final year reviews, no levels are given; this is the time to give feedback without it having any impact on level or salary

Guidelines

  • Try to write reviews for everyone if possible

  • Definitely write reviews for people you have worked with closely

  • Ideally, nothing in the review is a surprise to the reviewee

  • Please feel free to have a conversation (in writing) on the feedback given. The idea is for this to be an open conversation among us

  • Incorporate client feedback (where available) in your self review

    • Client reviews offer useful insight that we can learn from

    • At the same time, we understand that it is difficult to compare reviews across clients as there is no common frame of reference

    • We also recognise that our clients may not prioritise the same things we do

    • We account for these factors in our reviews as well as level discussions

  • There is a short discussion (~30 minutes per person) to clarify any outstanding questions, summarise the reviews and note down actionable feedback. This generally happens over two days

We often recommend the retrospective starfish model for giving feedback. Basically think in terms of what someone should

  • start doing

  • do more of

  • keep doing

  • do less of

  • stop doing

This is more a guideline than anything else. The format doesn't really matter, free-flowing text is perfectly fine. Be honest, and professional. While critical feedback is great, a pat on the back is just as welcome, so don't forget to highlight the positives!

Last updated