Submit a calibration

Submission turns the committee’s proposed changes into an outcome. A facilitator reviews the pending changes, chooses whether to apply or recommend them, decides what happens to unresolved comments, and confirms the result. Submitting completes the calibration and makes it read-only. Review the choices carefully; a completed calibration cannot be reopened.

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Choose how answer changes land

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Apply changes

Apply changes when the committee has authority to finalize the calibrated answers. The proposed answers update the manager reviews immediately. This works well for a final calibration round where the committee’s decisions are binding. Applying changes does not lock or unlock reviews by itself; each review keeps its existing lock state.

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Recommend changes

Recommend changes when managers should make the final decision. Existing answers stay unchanged until the reviewing manager approves a recommendation. Managers can approve or reject each recommendation in their manager-review workflow. Approving a recommendation applies that answer immediately; it does not require the manager to resubmit the review. Windmill automatically unlocks a locked review when that exact review receives a recommendation. Use this flow when the committee wants to preserve manager ownership or needs the manager to add context before a final round.

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Decide what happens to comments

At submission, choose one option for all unresolved comments:

• Keep comments private — Unresolved comments remain with the calibration committee. Managers are not notified about them.
• Share comments with managers — Managers can access the unresolved comments associated with their reviewees and can respond by updating the review or resolving the comments. A locked review receiving a shared comment is unlocked automatically.

Resolved comments are never sent. Resolve any internal-only discussion before submission if you plan to share unresolved comments. Answer-change handling and comment handling are independent. For example, you can apply structured-answer changes and still share comments asking managers to improve the written feedback.

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Understand manager notifications

Windmill emails managers who have at least one applied or recommended answer change. The email links them back to Performance Reviews and summarizes the relevant changes. Sharing unresolved comments by itself does not send an email. The comments still appear in the relevant manager-review workflow, and any locked reviews receiving them are unlocked automatically. If a manager also receives an applied or recommended answer change, the rating-change notification directs them back to the same workflow.

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Locking and unlocking manager reviews

Locks control whether managers can change their reviews. They do not prevent facilitators from calibrating submitted answers.

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Before calibration

Lock submitted manager reviews when you want the committee to work from a consistent baseline. This prevents a manager from changing a rating while the committee is discussing it.

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At submission

Submitting a calibration never locks reviews. Applying changes leaves the existing lock state unchanged unless the same review also receives shared unresolved comments, in which case Windmill unlocks it for follow-up. Windmill also unlocks each locked review that receives a recommendation. Reviews that receive neither recommendations nor shared comments keep their existing lock state. After managers finish, a cycle admin can lock the reviews again before sharing them with employees or starting another calibration round.

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Respond to recommendations as a manager

When a facilitator sends recommendations or shares comments, the reviewing manager handles them in the manager review.

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Review and submit

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Run another calibration round

Each round is a separate calibration. After managers respond—or when a second committee needs to review the outcome—duplicate the earlier calibration from its Actions menu. For example:

1. A functional leadership committee sends recommendations to managers.
2. Managers approve or reject recommendations and address shared comments.
3. The People team duplicates the calibration for an executive review.
4. The executive committee reviews the updated packets and applies final ratings.

Update the duplicated calibration’s roster, participants, visible questions, and pre-read for the new round.

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After submission

The completed calibration preserves its Discussion and History for participants. Applied answers appear in manager reviews. Recommendations and shared comments appear in the relevant manager workflows. Once manager follow-up and any additional rounds are complete, lock the final reviews as needed and continue to Sharing reviews.

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FAQs