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Performance review survey template

Find out if reviews felt fair, and whether they were worth the time

Four questions for employees after review season: how fair the process was, how clear the criteria were, how useful the outcome is for growth and how many hours it took. Use it as it is or add an open question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this performance review survey tells you

A performance review survey asks employees what the review process itself was like, once review season is over. This template asks four questions in about 35 seconds: fairness and usefulness on 1 to 10 scales, a rating for how clear the criteria were, and the time the process took.

It is written for a link shared the week after review season ends, once every conversation has happened. Turn on Anonymous responses and share it by link or QR code, so Usertick stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID with the answers; it keeps the country and a salted hash of the IP address. Usertick can also email it to a contact list, with each answer then tied to the person's contact, or run it as a conversation, one question at a time.

Results shows the average and a column per step for the two 1 to 10 scales, the share who rated the criteria 4 or higher and the share of each time band, each compared with the period before. The template has no open question; add one and Usertick reads each answer and files it under a category such as managers and leadership or tools and processes.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
4
Time to answer
Under a minute
Written for
A link shared the week after review season ends
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, and a button in the email opens the survey on its own page. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 4 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 4 · Big scale

How fair was the review process?

Why ask it
Fairness decides whether people accept the outcome of a review, so it comes first, with room on a 1 to 10 scale for shades of opinion.
What you learn
The average on the 1 to 10 scale and a column per step, against the period before, so this season can be read against the last one.
Make it yours
Add a question on whether the person was reviewed, reviewed others or both, so you can compare the two sides of the process.
Question 2 of 4 · Stars

How clear were the criteria?

Why ask it
Clear criteria are the part of the process HR controls most directly, and a 5-point rating is quick to answer.
What you learn
The average out of 5, a bar per rating and the share who rated 4 or higher.
Make it yours
If the share is low, publish the criteria before the next cycle starts and ask again after it.
Question 3 of 4 · Big scale

How useful was the outcome for your growth?

Why ask it
A review that changes nothing for a person's growth costs time and goodwill, so usefulness gets its own scale.
What you learn
The average and a column per step. Select the low steps to see how the same people rated fairness and the time spent.
Make it yours
Read it next to fairness: a fair review that wasn't useful points to the conversation, and an unfair one points to the ratings.
Question 4 of 4 · Multiple choice

About how much time did the process take you?

Why ask it
Hours spent turn the cost of the process into a number you can weigh against how useful people found it.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count of each time band, compared with the season before.
Make it yours
Ask managers in a separate copy of the survey with wider time bands, since they write reviews for a whole team.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

How clear were the criteria?

The average rating and the share who gave 4 or 5 stars, against the period before.

About how much time did the process take you?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Performance review process in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Ask the week after reviews close

    Wait until every conversation has happened, then ask within a week, before people forget how the process felt.

  2. 02

    Add one open question

    The template has four scales and no written answer. Add What would make the next review better? as an optional last question, and Usertick reads each answer.

  3. 03

    Keep it anonymous by link

    Turn on Anonymous responses and share the link or QR code. A survey sent through Usertick email keeps each answer tied to the person's contact.

  4. 04

    Compare season with season

    Use the same survey for every cycle and keep the questions unchanged, so Results compares this season with the one before.

Customer effort scoreEmail surveysPerformance reviews questions

More customer effort templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

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RetentionTeam pulseA short, anonymous check on workload, support and whether people feel heard. Send it every week or two to the whole team.
OnboardingNew hire, day 30Check in with new hires after their first month: what's in place, what slowed them down and what the next person should know. Send it on day 30.
ChurnExit surveyUnderstand why people leave and what would have kept them, while they're still happy to tell you. Send it during the notice period, before the last week.
CSATTraining feedbackFind out whether a training was relevant, whether people can apply it and what to train on next. Send it at the end of the session or the next morning.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. How useful was your last performance review?Stars · Performance reviews
  2. Did your review cover the whole period, not just the last month?Yes / No · Performance reviews
  3. How much do you agree about your review?Matrix · Performance reviews
  4. Rate your manager on eachMatrix · Managers and growth
  5. How well does your manager support your growth?Big scale · Managers and growth
  6. Do you have regular one-on-ones?Yes / No · Managers and growth

Frequently asked questions

The week after review season ends, once everyone has had their conversation and the outcome is known.

Yes, in a separate copy of the survey or with a question that asks their role, since they write the reviews and see the process from the other side.

Four to six. This template asks four, all required, and takes about 35 seconds. Add one optional open question if you want reasons in people's own words.

Select the low scores in Results to see how clear those people found the criteria. Unclear criteria are the quickest part to fix before the next cycle.

Yes, by link or QR code with Anonymous responses on: Usertick stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID with the answers, and keeps the country and a salted hash of the IP address. A survey sent through Usertick email stays tied to each contact.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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