--- title: "A performance review cycle" description: "Run a review cycle as one campaign: eight short messages over three and a half weeks that tell employees what to do and when, give managers what they need, and thank everyone at the end. About an hour." sidebar: order: 1 area: flows feature: campaign-templates appPath: /activity/home lastVerified: 2026-10-22 version: "2026-10-16" audience: admin video: flows-campaign-templates-tutorial-reviews related: - flows/campaign-templates/create-a-campaign - flows/campaign-templates/duplicate-a-campaign - flows/steps/add-a-button-to-a-message - library/content intercom: - id: "6024079" title: How to customize the performance reviews packet url: https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/6024079-how-to-customize-the-performance-reviews-packet note: "Pyn 1 article, kept for reference" --- **Goal:** everyone in the cycle knows what is asked of them a few days before it is due, managers hear first, and nobody gets more than two messages a week. **Time:** about an hour to build; the campaign then runs for three and a half weeks. **You will end up with:** one campaign, `Mid-year reviews`, with a reference date of the day the cycle opens and eight steps: three to managers, four to everyone, one to both, each with a button to the right page. ## Before you start - You are a Power User, Admin or Owner, and an email sender exists. - Two groups exist: everyone in the cycle (for example **Everyone**) and **People managers**. See [Employee Groups](https://support.pynhq.com/directory/employee-groups/). - Your review tool's links: the self-review form, the 360 request page, the manager review form and the calibration guide. If some of these are documents, publish them in [Library](https://support.pynhq.com/library/content/) first. - The cycle's dates. The plan below uses day 0 as the day self-reviews open. [Video: Create a review-cycle campaign and its first step on the Campaigns calendar.](https://support.pynhq.com/media/flows/campaign-templates/flows-campaign-templates-tutorial-reviews.mp4) ## 1. Create the campaign 1. In Pyn, open **Activity** in the left navigation, then select **Campaigns**. 2. Select **Create new**. Title it `Mid-year reviews`, set the **Date** to the day the cycle opens, pick a colour and an emoji, and select **Create**. 3. In the sidebar the campaign appears with **Add Step** beneath it. ## 2. Tell managers first (day -1) 1. Select **Add Step**, then **Send Email to Employee**. 2. Set **Scheduled date** to the day before the cycle opens, **at** 09:00, **in** the **Recipient Time Zone**. Under **From**, choose your sender; under **To**, select **People managers**. 3. Write it: > **Subject:** Mid-year reviews open tomorrow > > Hi @recipient.preferredName. Self-reviews open tomorrow and close in two weeks; manager reviews are due a week after that, and conversations happen in the final week. The calendar, the rating scale and what good looks like are in the guide below. > > Two asks today: tell your team the dates in your next team meeting, and block an hour per report in week three for the conversation. 4. Select **Insert widget**, **Link To Library Content**, choose your manager guide, label it `Read the manager guide`, keep **Track Action** ticked, and **Save**. 5. Select **Preview**, **Send a test to yourself**, then set the state button to **Automated**. ## 3. Open the cycle for everyone (day 0) 1. Open the step you made, select its menu, then **Duplicate**. Set the **Scheduled date** to day 0, turn **Keep Recipients** off, and select **Duplicate**. 2. In the copy, set **To** to **Everyone** and rewrite it: > **Subject:** Your self-review is open > > Hi @recipient.preferredName. Mid-year reviews start today. Your part is a self-review: three questions, about 30 minutes, due on [date]. Write about what you did, what you learned and what you want next; your manager reads it before they write theirs. > > After you submit, you can ask up to three colleagues for feedback from the same page. 3. Replace the content button with a **Link Button** to the self-review form, labelled `Start your self-review`, with **Track Action** on. Set it to **Automated**. ## 4. Help managers write well (day 3) 1. Duplicate the day -1 step to day 3, keeping the recipients (**People managers**). 2. Rewrite it: > **Subject:** Writing reviews that land > > Self-reviews are coming in. Before you write yours, two reminders: rate against the role, not against the strongest person on the team, and give one specific example for every rating. Managers who do this get fewer questions in the conversation. > > Manager reviews are due on [date]. Here is the form. 3. Point the button at the manager review form, labelled `Open the manager review`. Set it to **Automated**. ## 5. Nudge before the deadlines (days 10 and 17) 1. Duplicate the day 0 step to day 10 (**Everyone**): > **Subject:** Self-reviews close on Friday > > A reminder that self-reviews close on [date]. If yours is done, thank you; if not, 30 minutes this week is all it takes. Anyone you asked for feedback has until the same day. 2. Duplicate the day 3 step to day 17 (**People managers**): > **Subject:** Manager reviews due Friday > > Manager reviews close on [date], and calibration is the following Tuesday. Please have every review submitted before then; a review that misses calibration cannot change afterwards. 3. Set both to **Automated**. > **Tip:** A campaign step cannot carry reminders of its own, which is why the nudges are steps in their own right. Everyone receives them, including people who have finished; the wording above acknowledges that. ## 6. Prepare the conversations (days 20 and 21) 1. Duplicate a manager step to day 20: > **Subject:** Before your review conversations > > Conversations start Monday. Open with their self-review, not your rating; spend most of the time on the next six months; and end with one thing you will do for them. The guide has a one-page plan for the hour. Point the button at the calibration and conversation guide. 2. Duplicate an everyone step to day 21: > **Subject:** Your review conversation this week > > Your manager will book an hour with you this week. Bring your self-review and one question about where you want to go next. Ratings are shared in the conversation, not by email. 3. Set both to **Automated**. ## 7. Close the loop (day 24) 1. Duplicate an everyone step to day 24 and set **To** to both **Everyone** and **People managers**: > **Subject:** Thank you, and what happens next > > That is the mid-year cycle done. Thank you for the time you put in. Any pay changes that come out of it are confirmed in writing by [date] and take effect from [date]. If something in your review did not sit right, talk to your manager first, then to your HR partner. 2. Set it to **Automated**. ## What you should see On **Activity**, **Campaigns**, the campaign shows eight dots across three and a half weeks. Select a date to confirm which message sends that day and to whom. As the cycle runs, **Activity**, **Actions** lists each tracked button with **Actioned**, **Clicked** or **Unactioned** per person, which is your live picture of who has started their self-review. When the campaign reads **Complete**, duplicate it for the next cycle with **Recalculate Step Dates** on. ## Next steps - [Duplicate a campaign](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/campaign-templates/duplicate-a-campaign/) for the year-end cycle. - [Add a button to a message](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/add-a-button-to-a-message/) for Link Button versus Link To Library Content. - [Actions](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/actions/) to export who has and has not submitted. ## Related - [Create a campaign](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/campaign-templates/create-a-campaign/) for the step panel in detail. - [Library](https://support.pynhq.com/library/content/) for publishing the guides the buttons point to. - [Employee Groups](https://support.pynhq.com/directory/employee-groups/) for the **People managers** group. ## Related Intercom articles - [How to customize the performance reviews packet](https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/6024079-how-to-customize-the-performance-reviews-packet) — Pyn 1 article, kept for reference