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Upward reviews give direct reports a structured way to share feedback about their manager. When the upward feedback stage opens, Windy reaches out in Slack and guides employees through discussion topics.

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How upward reviews work

The conversation happens entirely in Slack, just like self and peer reviews. When the upward review stage opens:
  1. Windy reaches out in Slack with a personalized message
  2. Direct reports respond to discussion topics about their manager
  3. Windy asks follow-up questions to ensure feedback is specific and actionable
  4. Progress is saved automatically throughout the conversation

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Example topics

Example upward feedback topics:
  • How does your manager support your growth?
  • What could they do more (or less) of?
  • How effectively do they communicate and prioritize?
The interactive conversation ensures feedback is constructive and grounded in concrete examples rather than vague generalizations.

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Privacy and visibility

Upward feedback is not visible to the manager being reviewed. It goes to the manager’s manager or to HR/admins, ensuring employees can share honest feedback.

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Who sees upward feedback

  • Manager’s manager — If the manager being reviewed reports to someone, their manager sees this upward feedback
  • HR/admins — HR and admin users have access to upward feedback
  • NOT the manager being reviewed — The manager does not see upward feedback from their direct reports
If the manager doesn’t have a manager (e.g., the CEO), upward feedback is visible only to HR/admins. Once complete, upward feedback is uploaded into Windmill as part of the Performance Review Packet. If the manager being reviewed has direct reports of their own, their manager will see this upward feedback when drafting that manager’s performance review. Employees can edit upward feedback in the Windmill Dashboard up until the deadline.

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Configuring upward reviews

When creating a performance review cycle, you configure the discussion guide for upward feedback—the topics Windy will guide employees through.

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Creating discussion topics

Discussion topics are open-ended prompts that Windy uses to guide the conversation. You configure them directly in the cycle creation wizard when setting up the upward feedback stage. Example upward feedback topics:
  • How does your manager support your growth?
  • What could they do more (or less) of?
  • How effectively do they communicate and prioritize?

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Best practices for discussion guides

  • Keep it conversational — Write topics as if you’re asking them in person
  • Focus on specifics — Ask for examples, behaviors, or outcomes
  • Limit to 3-5 topics — Windy will follow up naturally based on responses
  • Avoid yes/no questions — Open-ended prompts lead to richer feedback
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 discussion guide.

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Scheduling and participants

When configuring the upward feedback stage:
  • Schedule — Set when the upward feedback stage opens and when it’s due
  • Who participates — Optionally filter to a subset of employees for this stage (or use the cycle-level filter)
Note: Only employees who have a manager will receive upward feedback prompts. Individual contributors without direct reports are not asked to provide upward feedback about themselves.

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Editing responses

After completing upward feedback in Slack, employees can still edit their responses in the Windmill Dashboard up until the stage deadline. To edit:
  1. Go to Performance Reviews
  2. Find the active cycle
  3. Click into the upward feedback
  4. Make changes and save
Once the deadline passes, responses are locked.

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FAQs

Upward feedback is not visible to the manager being reviewed. It goes to the manager’s manager or to HR/admins, ensuring employees can share honest feedback without concern.If the manager doesn’t have a manager (e.g., the CEO), upward feedback is visible only to HR/admins.Employees do not see upward feedback for their own manager—it’s used exclusively for leadership and development conversations.
Yes. After completing upward feedback in Slack with Windy, employees can still edit their responses in the Windmill Dashboard up until the review deadline.This allows employees to:
  • Refine answers after reflecting further
  • Add examples they remembered later
  • Adjust phrasing for clarity
Once the deadline passes, responses are locked.
When collecting upward feedback, Windy is trained to ask for more specific, constructive input. If responses are vague, Windy follows up with prompts focused on behaviors and outcomes rather than personalities.For example, during upward feedback, Windy might ask:
  • “Can you share a specific example of when your manager supported your growth?”
  • “What specific actions could they take to improve in that area?”
  • “How has this impacted your work or development?”
By encouraging feedback focused on specific behaviors and concrete examples, Windmill ensures that upward feedback is more actionable and constructive.
Yes. When creating a cycle, you configure discussion topics for upward feedback. These are the prompts Windy uses to guide the conversation in Slack.Discussion topics are fully customizable to match your company’s review process.Learn more in Cycles.
If a deadline passes and upward feedback is still not submitted:
  • The review status changes to overdue in the tracking views
  • HR/admins can see who’s behind in the All Employees view
  • The employee can still submit after the deadline
However, late submissions may delay calibration or review sharing. HR can follow up with individuals who are overdue to understand blockers and adjust deadlines if needed.Windmill sends automated reminders before and on the deadline to minimize late submissions.