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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.gowindmill.com/llms.txt

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A performance review cycle coordinates self reviews, peer feedback, upward reviews, manager assessments, and calibration into a single workflow. In Windmill, you configure each stage independently and create a complete cycle in minutes.

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Cycle admins

Cycle admins manage a cycle end-to-end — creating it, configuring stages, monitoring progress, and enabling sharing. Cycle admin is scoped per cycle, not a global role: being a cycle admin on one cycle gives no access to others. Someone becomes a cycle admin by:
  1. Creating the cycle — the person who creates a performance review cycle is automatically a cycle admin for it.
  2. Being added in the Configuration tab — existing cycle admins can add other members to the cycle from the cycle’s Configuration tab.
Cycle admins can see all review artifacts in their cycle, except feedback written about themselves. See Who sees what for the full visibility model.

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Creating a new cycle

1

Go to Performance Reviews

Navigate to Performance Reviews and click Create new cycle.
2

Configure cycle basics

Set up the cycle overview:Name — A descriptive name for this cycle (e.g., “Q4 2024 Performance Reviews”)Description — Optional context about this cycle’s purpose or focusTest cycle — Toggle this on to run a test cycle with a limited group before rolling out org-wideReview period — The start and end dates for the period being reviewed (e.g., Oct 1 - Dec 31)Who participates — Choose which employees are included in this cycle using filters (departments, teams, or specific employees)
3

Select review stages

Choose which review types to include in this cycle:
  • Self Review — Employees reflect on their own performance
  • Peer Feedback — Employees nominate peers and provide feedback
  • Upward Feedback — Direct reports share feedback about their manager
  • Manager Review — Managers draft performance assessments
You can include all stages or just a subset. Each stage runs independently with its own timeline.
4

Configure each stage

For each stage you’ve selected, configure:Name and description — Customize the stage name and add context for participantsQuestions — The questions Windy will guide employees through (for self, peer, and upward reviews) or the questions managers will answer (for manager reviews). All review types support text, rating, and yes/no question types.Schedule — When this stage opens and when it’s dueWho participates — Optionally filter to a subset of employees for this specific stageAs you configure each stage, a preview shows how employees will experience the conversation with Windy in Slack.
5

Review and launch

Review your cycle configuration to confirm:
  • All stages are scheduled in the right order
  • Questions match your company’s review process
  • Deadlines allow time for thoughtful responses
  • Employee filters are applied correctly
Click create cycle to start. Windy will automatically notify participants as each stage opens.
Windmill supports multiple of the same review type for a cycle. This allows for different departments to run cycles with different questions at the same time.

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Configuring questions

For all review types—self reviews, peer feedback, upward feedback, and manager reviews—you configure questions in the cycle creation wizard. All review types support the same question types:
  • Text questions — Open-ended written responses
  • Rating questions — Single-select ratings (e.g., 1-5 scale, Exceeds/Meets/Needs Improvement)
  • Yes/No questions — Boolean responses

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Creating questions

You configure questions directly in the cycle creation wizard when setting up each stage. Example self review questions:
  • Describe the impact or outcomes from the last 6 months you believe have had the greatest impact on your team.
  • What would you consider your clearest areas of improvement or growth opportunities to drive stronger outcomes in the future?
  • How do you want to grow next quarter? Any specific steps or resources you’re thinking about to get there?
Example peer feedback questions:
  • What are this person’s greatest strengths when collaborating on projects?
  • Can you share a specific example of this person’s impact on a recent project or outcome?
  • What’s one area where this person could grow or improve?
Example upward feedback questions:
  • How does your manager support your growth?
  • What could they do more (or less) of?
  • How effectively do they communicate and prioritize?
Example manager review questions:
  • Overall performance rating
  • Key accomplishments and impact
  • Areas for growth or development
  • Goal progress and alignment with company values
  • Promotion readiness
Text fields in the cycle setup wizard—including the cycle description, stage descriptions, and question text—support markdown for hyperlinks. Use this to link out to rubrics, company values, planning docs, or any other resource you want participants to reference. Use standard markdown syntax: 
[link text](https://example.com)
For example, in a self review question: 
Reflect on your progress against the goals in our [Q4 planning doc](https://notion.so/company/q4-planning).
The link text renders as a clickable hyperlink both in Slack and on the Windmill platform.

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Best practices for questions

  • Keep it conversational — Write questions as if you’re asking them in person
  • Focus on specifics — Ask for examples, projects, or outcomes
  • Limit to 3-5 questions — Windy will follow up naturally based on responses
  • Ask constructive questions — You want team members to improve, so try to ask questions that lead to constructive responses
Windy is trained to ask follow-up questions if responses are vague, so you don’t need to include every possible follow-up in your question set.

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Controlling what employees see

Each manager review question has a Visible to employee toggle. This controls whether employees see that question and its answer when their review packet is shared with them.
  • Enabled (default) — Employees see this question and its answer in their review packet
  • Disabled — The question stays private to managers, skip-levels, and cycle admins. Employees won’t see this question at all.
This is useful for internal discussion items—like promotion readiness or calibration notes—that you want managers to complete but don’t want to share directly with the employee.
This setting is configured when creating the cycle and cannot be changed afterward. Make sure to review question visibility before launching.

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Configuring sharing settings

When setting up the manager review stage, you’ll also configure how review packets get shared after they’re complete.

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Sharing options

Choose who controls when employees receive their review packets: HR enables sharing (default) With this setting, a cycle admin must enable sharing for each employee before their manager can share the review packet. This gives admins a checkpoint to review packets after calibration before they go out. The setting is labeled “HR” because HR teams typically take on the cycle-admin role for this step. Managers share directly with their direct reports Managers can share packets immediately after submitting their review—no cycle-admin approval needed. This works well if you’re skipping calibration or want managers to have full control over timing.
Use “HR enables sharing” if you’re doing calibration. This ensures packets don’t go out before ratings are finalized.

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Test vs. live cycles

Test cycles let you validate your review process with a small group before rolling out org-wide. When you toggle “Test cycle” on:
  • You manually select which employees participate
  • The cycle is marked as a test for tracking purposes
  • You can iterate on questions based on feedback
Live cycles include all employees matching your filters. Use live cycles for your regular quarterly or annual review processes.
Test cycle data isn’t brought into the rest of the platform (1:1s, etc.)

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Review period vs. deadlines

Review period is the time range being assessed (e.g., Q4 2024: Oct 1 - Dec 31). This sets the context for what work Windy will surface. Stage deadlines are when each review type must be completed. For example:
  • Self reviews due: Jan 10
  • Peer feedback due: Jan 15
  • Manager reviews due: Jan 25
Windy automatically sends reminders as deadlines approach.

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Employee filtering

You can filter who participates at two levels: Cycle-level filter — Applies to the entire cycle (e.g., “All employees in Engineering”) Stage-level filter — Optionally narrows participants for specific stages (e.g., “Only senior managers provide upward feedback”) Filters support:
  • Departments
  • Teams
  • Specific employee lists
  • Custom employee tags
The participant count updates in real-time as you adjust filters.

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After launching

Once you launch a cycle:
  • Windy notifies participants in Slack when their stage opens
  • Employees complete self, peer, and upward reviews in Slack threads
  • Managers draft reviews in the Windmill Platform
  • Cycle admins track progress in the All Employees view; managers track their direct reports in My Team