Creating Evaluation Periods

Evaluation periods define the timeframes for conducting performance reviews in your organization. System administrators and organization administrators can create and manage these periods to align with your review cycles.

Role Requirements

You need one of these roles to create evaluation periods:

System Administrator - Full system access
Organization Administrator - Organization management access

What Are Evaluation Periods?

Evaluation periods establish:

Start and end dates for performance reviews
Active status for current review cycles
Organizational structure for evaluation scheduling
Reporting periods for performance data

Creating a New Evaluation Period

Navigate to System Admin → Subdivisions → Evaluation Periods
Click Add Evaluation Period
Enter the required information:
- Name: Clear identifier for the period
- Start Date: Beginning of the evaluation period
- End Date: End of the evaluation period
- Active: Check if this is the current period
Click Save

Evaluation Period Properties

Name Field

Use descriptive names that clearly identify the time period
Examples: "2024-2025 School Year", "Fall 2024 Semester", "Q1 2024 Reviews"
Names must be unique within your organization

Date Fields

Start Date: When the evaluation period begins
End Date: When the evaluation period concludes
Dates define when performance reviews can be conducted for this period

Active Status

Only one evaluation period should be active at a time
The active period appears as the default when creating new performance reviews
You can change which period is active by editing the settings

Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming patterns for easy identification:

School Districts:

"2024-2025 School Year"
"Fall 2024 Semester"
"Spring 2025 Term"

Corporate Training:

"Q1 2024 Reviews"
"Annual 2024 Evaluations"
"Mid-Year 2024 Assessment"

Multi-Term Periods:

"2024-2025 Term 1"
"2024-2025 Term 2"
"Summer 2024 Session"

Managing Evaluation Periods

Editing Periods

Find the evaluation period in the list
Click Edit
Update the name, dates, or active status
Click Save

Setting Active Status

Only one period can be active at a time
Setting a new period as active automatically deactivates others
The active period becomes the default for new performance reviews

Deleting Periods

You can delete periods that haven't been used for performance reviews
Periods with existing reviews cannot be deleted to preserve data integrity

Best Practices

Planning Ahead

Create evaluation periods before they begin
Allow time for administrators to set up performance review schedules
Communicate period dates to evaluators and staff

Timeline Management

Plan periods to align with your organization's review cycles
Consider overlap periods for completing reviews that span date boundaries
Build in buffer time at the end of periods for review completion

Status Management

Update the active period promptly when transitioning between cycles
Verify the correct period is active before conducting performance reviews
Monitor completion rates as periods near their end dates

Data Organization

Use consistent naming to make periods easy to identify in reports
Align period dates with your organization's fiscal or academic calendar
Keep historical periods for reference and trend analysis

Common Use Cases

Annual Reviews

Set up yearly periods aligned with your performance review cycle:

Start Date: Beginning of review year
End Date: End of review year
Active during the review season

Semester Reviews

Create shorter periods for more frequent evaluations:

Fall and Spring semesters for academic institutions
Quarterly periods for corporate training environments

Probationary Periods

Establish specific periods for new employee evaluations:

90-day probationary reviews
First-year teacher evaluations
New hire assessment periods

Evaluation periods provide the foundation for organizing your performance review process and ensure consistent timing across your organization.