Cognition Knowledge Base
Set Your Review Workflow
- Debra Jensen
- aseguin
- Sam Fellerer
You will set up your performance review workflow on the Workflow tab of your Performance Review where you can:
Add review workflow steps including associate self-reviews, supervisor reviews, and HR steps
Manage permissions for reviewer groups to determine what actions they can take on the review
Add Due dates for various steps that will show in the timeline
For more information on setting up Performance Check-ins or enabling the Goal Workflow, please see these articles:
Determining Your Workflow
Before completing the settings on this page, it is useful to consider the following questions to help determine what configuration you will need for your review. If you are having trouble determining what’s right for your review, reach out to your Cognition Service Representative!
Does the Associate need to fill out a self-evaluation?
Are multiple levels of review needed either from managers in the associate’s pyramid or from special reviewer groups?
Will HR need to complete a review of the supervisor’s responses?
Will data from other systems or compensation data need to be included and communicated to the associate at the time of the performance meeting?
Associate Self Review
These settings determine which fields are shown and are required for the associate to fill out during their self-evaluation. If you do not need to enable the Associate Self Review, uncheck this and continue on to the next section!
Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
Enable Associate Self Review | When checked, the associate will be required to do a self-evaluation. Unchecking will remove the self-evaluation step. |
Overall Rating [Hidden/Manual/Calculated] | This determines if the associate is required to give themselves an overall rating on their performance. There are 3 options for this setting:
|
Accomplishments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the associate to describe their accomplishments in their overall evaluation. If required, the associate will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Opportunities Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the associate to describe their opportunities in their overall evaluation. If required, the associate will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Focus Next Year Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the associate to describe their focus for the next year in their overall evaluation. If required, the associate will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Comments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | This displays a comments field in the overall evaluation section for the associate to provide comments on their overall performance. To control comments on individual goals, use the Evaluation controls on the Goals Tab. |
Associate Self Review Label Settings
These settings control the labels that will appear for the associate review step when viewed in reports and on the review timelines.
Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
Ready Status Label | Controls the status label for when the evaluation is ready to be reviewed by the associate. This will default to “Ready for the Associate to Review”. |
In Progress Status Label | Controls the status label for when the associate has started their self-evaluation but not yet finished. This will default to “Associate Review In Progress”. |
Associate Timeline Label | This label will show in the associate’s timeline underneath the marker for their step. This will default to “Self Review”. |
Management Timeline Label | This label will show in the management timeline underneath the marker for the associate’s step. This will default to “Associate Review”. |
Due Date | This will show underneath the step in both the associate and management timeline. |
Management Review Settings
These settings determine which fields are shown and are required for management to fill out when they evaluate the associate.
Note: These settings will apply to any management role (Level 1, Level 2, etc.) that is given the ability to edit the review.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Overall Rating [Hidden/Manual/Calculated] | This determines if management is required to give the associate an overall rating on their performance. There are 3 options for this setting:
|
Accomplishments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the reviewer to describe the associate’s accomplishments. If required, the reviewer will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Opportunities Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the reviewer to describe the associate’s opportunities. If required, the reviewer will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Focus Next Year Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | Add an open text field for the reviewer to describe the associate’s focus for the next year. If required, the reviewer will not be able to submit without filling this field out. |
Comments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | This displays a comments field in the overall evaluation section for the reviewer to provide comments on the associate’s overall performance. To control comments on individual goals, use the Evaluation controls on the Goals Tab. |
Associate Timeline Label | This label shows on the Associate’s timeline and encompasses all management steps (Level 1, Level 2, HR, etc.). This will default to “In Review.” |
If you have the Progressive Development feature enabled in Cognition, you can show an associate’s Progressive Development records at the top of their performance review. Managers can reference these records to help inform their evaluation. These will not be visible to the associate during their self review or during the review meeting.
To add Progressive Development records, take note of these additional settings:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Progressive Development Categories | Determines which Progressive Development categories appear to management. 
|
Progressive Development Records | This date range determines the Progressive Development records that will show. A record must have occurred during this date range and be completed. Records that are still in progress will not show.
|
Progressive Development Instructions | These instructions will appear above the Progressive Development section. Include any directions on how you want management to review these records.
|
Level 1 Review
The Level 1 review is the review completed by the Direct Supervisor of the associate. These settings control what the Level 1 reviewer will have to fill out as part of their assessment as well as what options they will have available during their assessment.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Enable Level 1 Review | Enables Level 1 Review as a part of the workflow. If Unchecked, this will remove the Level 1 Review step from the workflow. |
Reviewer Label | This label is used by the system to name this reviewer group. It will default to “Supervisor”. |
Ready Status Label | This is the status that is used when the evaluation is ready for the Level 1 Reviewer. It will default to “Ready for Supervisor Review”. |
In Progress Status Label | This is the status that is used when the Level 1 Reviewer has started but not yet finished their evaluation. It will default to “Supervisor Review In Progress”. |
Show Progressive Development | If you have the Progressive Development feature enabled within Cognition, this setting determines whether the Progressive Development Record section shows to this reviewer group. |
Allow Finalize while in Associate Statuses | Checking this will allow management to finalize their evaluation before the associate has finished with their evaluation. This means that the associate will be locked out of their evaluation. Keeping it unchecked will ensure that associate finishes their self-evaluation and Level 1 must wait before they can submit their evaluation. |
Management Timeline Label | This label shows on the Management timeline underneath the Level 1 step. It will default to “Supervisor Review”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in the Management timeline. |
Reviewer | For the Level 1 Review, this will always be the associate’s direct supervisor. |
Level 2 Review
The Level 2 review can be completed by either a pyramid supervisor (Level 1’s supervisor) of the associate or someone from a reviewer group that you have defined using a position. A Level 2 Reviewer may review a supervisor’s comments and evaluation, evaluate an associate in place of the Level 1 Reviewer, or provide their own additional feedback to the associate.
These settings control what the Level 2 reviewer or group will have to fill out as part of their assessment as well as what options they will have available during their assessment.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Enable Level 2 Review | Enables Level 2 Review as a part of the workflow. If Unchecked, this will remove the Level 2 Review step from the workflow. |
Reviewer Label | This label is used by the system to name this group. It will default to “Level 2 Reviewer”. |
Review Status Label | This is the status for when the evaluation is in the hands of the Level 2 Reviewer. It will default to “In Level 2 Review”. |
Show Progressive Development | If you have the Progressive Development feature enabled within Cognition, this setting determines whether the Progressive Development Record section shows to this reviewer group. |
Send Back to Associate | Determines whether this reviewer group can send the review back to the associate to request updates. This would allow the Level 2 Reviewer to request updates directly from the associate on their self-evaluation. |
Send Back to Level 1 | Determines whether this reviewer group can send the review back to Level 1 to request updates. |
Edit Review | Determines whether this reviewer group can remove Level 1’s review and/or leave their own evaluation. This determines whether this reviewer group can edit the assessment. |
Comments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | This displays a comments field in the overall evaluation section for the reviewer to provide a comment for the associate. |
Management Timeline Label | This label shows on the Management timeline underneath the Level 2 step. It will default to “Level 2 Review”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in the Management timeline. |
Reviewer | This determines who the Level 2 Reviewers are. You can either specify Level 2 Supervisor or a custom reviewer group by using a Position. |
Level 3 Review
The Level 3 review can be completed by either a pyramid supervisor (Level 1’s supervisor) of the associate or someone from a reviewer group that you have defined using a position. A Level 3 Reviewer may review a supervisor’s comments and evaluation, evaluate an associate in place of the Level 1 Reviewer, or provide their own additional feedback to the associate.
These settings control what the Level 3 reviewer or group will have to fill out as part of their assessment as well as what options they will have available during their assessment.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Enable Level 3 Review | Enables Level 3 Review as a part of the workflow. If unchecked, this will remove the Level 3 Review step from the workflow. |
Reviewer Label | This label is used by the system to name this group. It will default to “Level 3 Reviewer”. |
Review Status Label | This is the status for when the evaluation is in the hands of the Level 3 Reviewer. It will default to “In Level 3 Review”. |
Show Progressive Development | If you have the Progressive Development feature enabled within Cognition, this setting determines whether the Progressive Development Record section shows to this reviewer group. |
Send Back to Associate | Determines whether this reviewer group can send the review back to the associate to request updates. |
Send Back to Level 1 | Determines whether this reviewer group can send the review back to Level 1 to request updates. |
Send Back to Level 2 | Determines whether this reviewer group can send the review back to Level 2 to request updates. |
Edit Review | Determines whether this reviewer group can edit the Supervisor’s review and/or leave their own evaluation. |
Comments Field [Hidden/Optional/Required] | This displays a comments field in the overall evaluation section for the reviewer to provide a comment for the associate. |
Management Timeline Label | This label shows on the Management timeline underneath the Level 3 step. It will default to “Level 3 Review”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in the Management timeline. |
HR Review
The HR review allows those designated as an HR Group Manager to complete a review or upload additional evaluation data such as compensation information and scorecard results. For more information on how to incorporate additional evaluation data, go to the Meeting Data Tab section.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Enable HR Review | Enables the HR Review step as a part of the workflow. If Unchecked, this will remove the HR Review step from the workflow. |
Reviewer Label | This label is used by the system to name this group. It will default to “HR Reviewer”. |
Review Status Label | This is the status for when the evaluation is in the hands of the Level 3 Reviewer. It will default to “In HR Review”. |
Show Progressive Development | If you have the Progressive Development feature enabled within Cognition, this setting determines whether the Progressive Development Record section shows to this reviewer group. |
Management Timeline Label | This label shows on the Management timeline underneath the Level 3 step. It will default to “HR Review”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in the Management timeline. |
Ready for Meeting
Once the Performance Review is set to Ready for Meeting, this means that the Level 1 Reviewer and the associate can now have a meeting to discuss the Performance Review results in detail. Both the Level 1 Reviewer and the associate are required to acknowledge that the meeting occurred as part of this step.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Management Timeline Label | This label shows on the Management timeline underneath the Performance Meeting step. It will default to “Ready for Meeting”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in the Management timeline. |
Sign Offs
These settings control the text and acknowledge verbiage that will display to the associate and the Level 1 Reviewer when the acknowledgement is done.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Associate Timeline Signing Label | This label will show in the associate’s timeline underneath the marker for the sign-off step. This will default to “Sign Offs”. |
Management Timeline Signing Label | This label will show in the management timeline underneath the marker for the sign-off step. This will default to “Sign Offs”. |
Management Sign Off Box Label | This controls the label that appears above the Management Sign off box. It will default to “Supervisor/HR”. |
Due Date | This will show in underneath the step in both the management and the associate timelines. |
Effective Date | This date determines when the results of the review become effective. |
Refusal Witness Required | Checking this will require a witness to be designated when an associate refuses a meeting acknowledgment. |
Refusal Confirmation Text | This is the message that will show when a supervisor indicates that an associate has refused to acknowledge their Performance Meeting. The message will default to the following: By pressing "Confirm," I am stating that I had a meeting with this associate regarding their Performance Review and the associate refused to acknowledge this meeting. I understand that I may be contacted regarding this refusal. |
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