Cycles

Cycle Phases Explained

1 min read

Every review cycle in Nami progresses through six distinct phases. Understanding each phase helps you plan timelines, communicate expectations, and keep the process on track.

Phase Overview

1. Goal Setting

Participants define or update their goals for the review period. Goals set here are linked to the cycle and visible during later assessments.

Best practice: Allow 1-2 weeks. Encourage managers to align individual goals with team and company objectives.

2. Self Assessment

Each participant reflects on their own performance, rating themselves against competencies and writing narrative responses.

Best practice: Allow 1 week. Share guiding prompts so people know what depth is expected.

3. Peer Review

Selected peers provide feedback on the participant. Peers are assigned by managers or HR during cycle setup.

Best practice: Allow 1-2 weeks. Limit to 2-4 peers per person to avoid survey fatigue.

4. Manager Review

Managers assess each direct report, incorporating self-assessment data, peer feedback, goal progress, and their own observations.

Best practice: Allow 1-2 weeks. Managers should review all inputs before writing their assessment.

5. Calibration

Leadership and HR meet to review and adjust ratings across teams to ensure consistency and fairness. Nami provides heatmaps and distribution charts to support the discussion.

Best practice: Schedule 1-3 sessions depending on organization size. Use the competency heatmap as a starting point.

6. Results Communication

Final ratings and written feedback are released to employees. Managers conduct 1-on-1 conversations to discuss outcomes.

Info

Phases run sequentially. A phase must be completed (or manually advanced by an admin) before the next one begins.

Tip

For a standard annual cycle, plan 6-8 weeks total across all phases.

Run this in Slack with Nami

Reviews, goals, surveys, and calibration — in the DM thread your team already reads. Free for teams of 10 or fewer.

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