writing-performance-reviews
Scannednpx machina-cli add skill dzhibas/engineering-manager-plugin/writing-performance-reviews --openclawWriting Performance Reviews
Review Drafting Workflow
- Gather all context about the person: notes from 1:1s, project contributions, peer feedback
- Search project tracker for completed work during the review period
- Search chat for recognition, kudos, and feedback about this person
- Check for accomplishments and challenges during the review period
Review Structure
Draft every review with these sections:
Summary (2-3 sentences): Overall assessment and trajectory. Start with impact, not effort.
Key accomplishments: 3-5 specific, measurable achievements. Each should follow the pattern: "Did [what] which resulted in [measurable impact]."
Strengths: 2-3 demonstrated competencies with concrete examples from the review period.
Growth areas: 1-2 development opportunities framed constructively with actionable suggestions. Avoid vague feedback like "improve communication" — be specific about what and how.
Goals for next period: 2-3 specific, measurable objectives aligned with career trajectory.
Rating recommendation: Based on company rubric if available.
Feedback Aggregation
When aggregating peer feedback from multiple sources:
- Group themes across all feedback providers
- Identify patterns mentioned by 2+ reviewers — these carry the most weight
- Flag contradictions for the manager to investigate directly
- Preserve specific quotes as supporting evidence (with attribution)
- Summarize in a balanced, constructive tone
- Separate signal from noise: one-off comments may reflect a single interaction, not a pattern
Self-Assessment Prompts
Generate tailored self-assessment prompts based on the person's role and level:
- "Describe your most significant technical contribution this period and its business impact"
- "What was your biggest challenge, and what did you learn from it?"
- "How did you contribute to the team beyond your individual deliverables?"
- "What support or resources would help you grow in the next period?"
- "What feedback have you received that you've acted on?"
Calibration Preparation
When preparing for calibration meetings:
- Compile comparative data across direct reports in a summary table
- Show the distribution of proposed ratings
- Flag any potential bias patterns (recency bias, halo effect, similarity bias)
- Prepare a 2-3 sentence justification narrative for each rating
- Identify borderline cases that need discussion
- Note any significant changes from the previous review cycle
Source
git clone https://github.com/dzhibas/engineering-manager-plugin/blob/main/skills/writing-performance-reviews/SKILL.mdView on GitHub Overview
Finds and drafts comprehensive performance reviews by collecting context (1:1 notes, project contributions, peer feedback), consolidating feedback, and outlining structured sections (Summary, Key accomplishments, Strengths, Growth areas, Goals, Rating). This skill also supports feedback aggregation and calibration prep to ensure fair, evidence-based evaluations across a review cycle.
How This Skill Works
Technically, it gathers context from 1:1 notes, project contributions, and peer feedback; it then searches the project tracker for completed work and scans chat history for recognition and informal feedback. It checks for accomplishments and challenges to inform the Summary and Key Accomplishments, then assembles a draft with the standard sections: Summary, Key accomplishments, Strengths, Growth areas, Goals, and Rating recommendation.
When to Use It
- Write a performance review for a team member
- Draft a review or aggregate feedback from multiple sources
- Prepare for calibration and ratings discussion in a review cycle
- Evaluate eligibility for promotions or career progression
- Create self-assessment prompts or collect self-evaluation input
Quick Start
- Step 1: Gather all context about the person from 1:1 notes, project contributions, and peer feedback
- Step 2: Search the project tracker for completed work and scan chat for recognition and feedback
- Step 3: Draft the review using the standard structure: Summary, Key Accomplishments, Strengths, Growth areas, Goals, and Rating recommendation
Best Practices
- Collect context from 1:1 notes, project contributions, and peer feedback before drafting
- Build 3-5 Key accomplishments using the Did [what] which resulted in [measurable impact] pattern
- Write the Summary as 2-3 sentences focusing on impact and trajectory
- Make Growth areas specific and actionable with concrete steps and metrics
- For aggregation and calibration, group themes across sources, preserve quotes with attribution, show rating distributions, and flag contradictions for manager review
Example Use Cases
- Drafting a mid-year performance review for a software engineer
- Aggregating peer feedback for a team member after a sprint
- Preparing calibration notes and rating distributions for a review cycle
- Creating a self-assessment prompt for a senior engineer
- Compiling growth areas and goals for the next quarter
