> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.gowindmill.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sharing Reviews

> Share finalized review packets with managers and employees in Windmill, control which questions are visible, lock reviews for edits, and release results safely.

After managers complete their reviews, cycle admins can share the packets with the right people at the right time. This page explains how to share review packets with managers and employees.

## How sharing works

Sharing a review packet makes it visible to someone. The flow depends on how you configured sharing when [creating the cycle](/features/performance-reviews/cycles#configuring-sharing-settings):

**If cycle admins enable sharing (default)**

1. Managers submit their reviews (cycle admins may choose to lock after all reviews are in)
2. Cycle admins enable sharing (usually after calibration)
3. Managers share packets with their direct reports
4. Employees view their packets

**If managers share directly**

1. Managers submit their reviews
2. Managers can immediately share packets with their direct reports
3. Employees view their packets

## What employees see in their packet

When you share a review packet with an employee, they'll see:

* Final ratings from their manager's review
* Post-calibration ratings (if you did calibration)
* The feedback and responses from their manager

Employees only see questions marked as **Visible to employee** during [cycle setup](/features/performance-reviews/cycles#controlling-what-employees-see). Questions you disabled for employee visibility stay private to managers and cycle admins.

Employees won't see calibration comments, recommendations, History, or internal rating changes—only their final results and feedback. See [Who sees what](/features/performance-reviews/visibility) for the full breakdown across every review type.

## Sharing with managers

After calibration is done, share packets with managers so they can review them before sharing with their teams.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the review cycle">
    From **Performance Reviews**, open the relevant cycle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Admin → Configuration">
    Click **Admin** in the top right, then open the **Configuration** tab. This is where sharing is managed for the cycle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select employees">
    Choose which employees' packets you want to share with their managers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Share">
    Click **Share** (also labeled **Enable Sharing**) to release the packets. They'll appear in each manager's To-Do page.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  You can share all packets at once or select specific employees to share one
  manager at a time.
</Tip>

You can track which managers have shared their packets from the Admin Dashboard.

## Managers sharing with employees

Once a cycle admin enables sharing — or as soon as a manager submits their review, if your cycle uses "managers share directly" — managers can share each packet with their direct report whenever they're ready. Sharing happens one review at a time, so managers stay in control of the timing and can share each packet individually as they finish their conversations.

Managers can share packets only with their own direct reports — anyone outside a manager's team is shared directly by a cycle admin (see [Cycle admins sharing directly with employees](#cycle-admins-sharing-directly-with-employees) below).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Review the packet">
    Managers can view each direct report's packet in their To-Do page. Use **Preview as Employee** to see the exact packet the employee will receive, including only the questions marked as visible to employee.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Have a conversation (recommended)">
    We recommend managers discuss the review with their direct report before
    sharing the packet. This gives employees a chance to ask questions and
    understand the feedback.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share with employee">
    When ready, click **Share with Employee**. The employee receives a notification and can view their packet in their To-Do section and download it as a PDF.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Performance conversations matter. Managers should talk through the review with
  their team members before sharing the packet, so employees have context and
  can ask questions.
</Note>

## Cycle admins sharing directly with employees

Cycle admins can skip the manager step and share packets directly with employees when needed.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the review cycle">
    From **Performance Reviews**, open the relevant cycle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Admin → Configuration">
    Click **Admin** in the top right, then open the **Configuration** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select employees">
    Choose which employees to share with.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Share with Employees">
    Employees will be notified on Slack and can access their packets immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

This is helpful when:

* A manager is out of office or unavailable
* You need to speed up the process
* An employee's manager has left the company

## Locking reviews

Locking a review prevents its manager from editing it. Facilitators can still propose calibrated ratings. You can lock reviews separately from sharing them.

If a calibration sends recommendations or unresolved comments back to managers, unlock those reviews so managers can respond, edit, and submit. You can lock them again after follow-up. See [Submit a calibration](/features/calibrations/submit#locking-and-unlocking-manager-reviews).

**Lock without sharing** - Freeze manager reviews to prevent edits during calibration. Employees can't see their packets yet, but reviews are locked so managers can't make changes while cycle admins calibrate ratings.

**Share without locking** - Employees can view their packets, but managers can still edit. Any changes managers make will appear in the employee's packet the next time they view it. Good for more lightweight or continuous feedback cultures.

**Lock and share** - Freeze reviews and share them at the same time. Use this if you haven't locked yet and want to prevent further edits before employees see them.

<Warning>
  If you share without locking, any new submissions managers make will appear in the employee's packet immediately. Lock reviews before sharing if you want employees to see a fixed, finalized version.
</Warning>

## Tracking who has viewed packets

From the Admin Dashboard, you can see:

* Which packets have been shared with managers
* Which managers have shared packets with employees
* Which employees have viewed their packets

This makes it easy to follow up with managers who haven't completed shares, or check if employees have seen their reviews.

## Updating reviews after sharing

If reviews are **locked**, employees see a fixed version. To update what they see, you'll need to unlock, make changes, and either revoke and re-share, or leave unlocked so changes appear automatically.

If reviews are **not locked**, any new submissions will appear in the employee's packet the next time they view it.

### To update a locked review

<Steps>
  <Step title="Unlock the review">
    From the Admin Dashboard, unlock the review so it can be edited.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your edits">
    Managers can edit their own reviews, or cycle admins can make updates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide how to proceed">
    You have two options:

    * **Leave unlocked**: Changes will appear in the employee's packet automatically. Good if you expect ongoing updates.
    * **Lock again**: If you want to freeze the updated version, lock it. Note that locking alone doesn't push changes to employees who already viewed the old version. You may need to notify them to check again.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Revoking access

If you need to completely remove an employee's access to their packet (for example, to make significant corrections before they see it), use **Revoke Access** from the Admin Dashboard.

<Warning>
  When you revoke access, employees immediately lose access to their packet. They'll notice it's gone, so communicate with them if you're making updates.
</Warning>

## Sharing multiple packets at once

All sharing actions work for multiple employees at the same time:

* **Share all with managers** — Send all packets to managers at once
* **Share all with employees** — Cycle admins can share packets directly to all employees if needed
* **Revoke access from multiple** — Revoke access to several packets at once

This makes it easy to manage large review cycles.

## Best practices: When to lock and share

Here's our recommended workflow for most companies:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Managers complete their reviews">
    Let all managers finish writing their reviews and submit them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Lock all manager reviews">
    Once reviews are submitted, lock them all. This prevents accidental edits
    during calibration.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Complete calibration">
    Calibrate ratings across the company. Since reviews are locked, managers can't change them during this process, which keeps calibration fair and consistent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable Sharing">
    After calibration is done, share the finalized packets with managers. They can
    review the final ratings and feedback before sharing with their teams.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Managers share with employees">
    Managers have conversations with their direct reports, then share the packets. Since reviews are already locked, the feedback won't change after employees see it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Why lock before calibration

Locking reviews before calibration ensures:

* Managers can't edit reviews while calibration is happening
* Calibration is based on the same set of reviews for everyone
* No last-minute changes that might affect fairness
* A clear "finalized" state before cycle admins review everything

### Skipping locking

Yes. Some companies prefer a more flexible approach where managers can update reviews even after sharing. This works well for:

* Continuous feedback cultures
* Companies that do reviews more frequently
* Teams that want ongoing conversations rather than a final "grade"

If you choose this approach, managers can keep editing reviews after sharing them. Any changes will appear in the employee's packet the next time they view it.

### Making changes after locking

If you need to edit a locked review:

1. Unlock the review from the Admin Dashboard
2. Make your changes and submit
3. If the review has already been shared, the new submission will appear in the employee's packet automatically (since it's now unlocked)
4. Lock again when ready if you want to freeze the updated version

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What happens if I share a review that hasn't been submitted?">
    You can't share a review that hasn't been submitted. The system will show you a warning that the review is locked but has no content. The manager needs to submit their review first.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can managers see employee packets before sharing them?">
    Yes. Managers can always view their direct reports' review packets, whether or
    not they've been shared with the employee. This lets them review the final
    packet before having the conversation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between locking and sharing?">
    Locking prevents edits. Sharing makes the packet visible to someone. They're independent actions. You can lock without sharing (review is frozen but employee can't see it yet), or share without locking (employee can view the packet and will see any new submissions from managers).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do employees get notified when their packet is shared?">
    Yes. Employees receive a Slack notification when their manager (or cycle admin) shares their review packet with them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a review packet be downloaded as a PDF?">
    Yes. Anyone with access to a shared review packet can download it as a PDF:

    * **Employees** — Once a manager or cycle admin shares a packet, the employee can view it in their To-Do section and download the PDF from there.
    * **Managers** — In a submitted manager review, click the three dots in the top right to download a draft of the review as a PDF.
    * **Cycle admins** — When sharing reviews from the Admin Dashboard, cycle admins can view packets and download PDFs directly.

    Access to download a PDF follows the [sharing flow](#how-sharing-works): either a cycle admin enables manager sharing, or a cycle admin shares packets directly with employees.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I share some employees' packets but not others?">
    Yes. You have complete control over which packets to share and when. You can
    share them one at a time, in groups, or all at once. This is helpful if some
    reviews are ready before others.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if a manager leaves the company before sharing reviews?">
    Cycle admins can share packets directly with employees, skipping the manager step. This ensures employees still get their reviews even if their manager is no longer with the company.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I make changes to a review after it's been shared with employees?">
    Yes. Unlock the review (if locked) so the manager can make edits and resubmit. If cycle admins need to change ratings, create a new calibration. If the review stays unlocked, the new submission will appear in the employee's packet the next time they view it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I don't lock reviews before sharing?">
    If reviews aren't locked, employees will see the latest version whenever they view their packet. This means if a manager submits an update or calibration changes are made, those changes appear immediately in the employee's packet. Lock reviews before sharing if you want employees to see a fixed, finalized version.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can't my manager share my review yet?">
    If your company uses "cycle admins enable sharing," a cycle admin needs to enable sharing first, usually after calibration is complete. Check with your People team on timing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why don't I see all the questions in my review packet?">
    Some questions may be marked as not visible to employees. These are internal questions (like promotion readiness) that your company uses for managers and cycle admins only.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related reading

* [Performance Reviews](/features/performance-reviews) - Overview of the complete review process
* [Cycles](/features/performance-reviews/cycles) - Set up review cycles and configure sharing settings
* [Manager reviews](/features/performance-reviews/manager-reviews) - How managers write and submit reviews
* [Calibrations](/features/calibrations) - Review and adjust ratings before sharing
* [Progress tracking](/features/performance-reviews/tracking-progress) - Monitor review completion