Impact review writing - guidelines & examples

Delivering feedback in writing to fellow teammates during our impact review process is just one of the ways in which we put into practice Sourcegraph's value of Continuous Growth. On this page, you'll find suggestions on how to write clear, actionable feedback.

This page contains guidance on:

Tips for writing great reviews

• No surprises: what you write in your review should never be a surprise to the teammate receiving the feedback. We believe in direct and continuous feedback, so please ensure you don’t wait until the impact review process to share feedback on how a teammate should improve.
• Be specific: focus on specific and concrete examples to support your ratings and feedback. This will make your review more impactful and memorable. You should never give feedback without providing supporting examples. The SBI model can be helpful to leverage in delivering great feedback.
  • Situation: what did you or the teammate do? Begin by describing the situation or context in which the performance took place. What were the expectations and goals for the task or project? Be specific and clear in setting the context for the review.
    • Example: "During the third quarter, the team was tasked with increasing sales in the Northeast region by 15%. The team's goal was to identify new prospects, deepen relationships with existing clients, and close deals."
  • Behavior: how you or the teammate did it(what you observed directly, not your interpretation or bias). Describe the behavior and actions in the situation. What was done to achieve the goals and expectations? Were there any specific tasks or responsibilities that you/they took on that stood out? Use specific examples to illustrate your points.
    • Example: "[Teammate name] took a proactive approach to identifying new prospects, conducting in-depth research to target high-potential clients. They also established strong relationships with key clients, resulting in several successful contract renewals. They consistently met or exceeded their sales targets, and their efforts helped the team achieve its overall goal."
  • Impact: what was the impact or ROI of the work product or action? Describe the impact of the behavior on the team or company. What positive results or outcomes did the actions generate? Be specific and use data or metrics to support your claims whenever possible.
    • Example: "Thanks to [Teammate name]'s efforts, the team was able to exceed our sales target for the quarter by 20%. Their contributions helped to build stronger relationships with our clients, resulting in an increase in repeat business and higher customer satisfaction ratings."
• Provide balance: when providing a self-review, it's important to be specific and provide concrete examples to support your rating, and to strike a balance between being confident and self-assured, and being humble and open to feedback. When writing reviews on other teammates, strike a balance between being positive and constructive. Acknowledge your teammate's strengths and successes, while also providing constructive feedback & specific areas for improvement.
• Make it actionable: use language that is clear, concise, and non-judgmental. Avoid using negative or accusatory language, and instead, focus on objective and actionable feedback.
• Be concise: reviews don’t have to be long to be impactful. We recommend anywhere from 300-1000 words max. Anything longer is unnecessary.
• Don’t overthink: the time it takes to write a review can vary depending on the person. Some teammates can write a review in 15-minutes, and others need an hour. If you are taking more than an hour to write one review, please reach out to your People Partner for support. It is likely that you are writing too much or overthinking the review.
  • Please feel free to use technology, like ChatGPT and Anthropic, to help speed up the review writing process!
• Rating scale: you can read more about our rating scale definitions in the handbook here.

Writing an effective self review

A self review is your chance to celebrate and reflect on your performance over the past six months. It is also an opportunity to showcase ways in which you live our values through your work, communicate how you’d like to grow in the next six months, and indicate to your manager where you need support.

Example - self review

Please provide examples in the comment field that support your rating. | I would rate my performance over the past 6-months as: ____. [Rating Scale: 1 Distinguished Performance, 2 Superior Performance, 3 Meets Performance Expectations, 4 Partially Successful Performance, 5 Unsuccessful Performance].

At a high level, I have demonstrated my ability to contribute to the company in a meaningful way and have accomplished several projects that I’m proud of and have contributed to the success of the business. Here are some key areas where I feel I successfully achieved my commitments in the past 6-months:Example 1 • Situation: [Explain the situation] • Behavior: [Provide concrete example of how you achieved the goal, project, etc.] • Impact: [explain the impact or significance of the accomplishment] Example 2 • Situation: [Explain the situation] • Behavior: [Provide concrete example of how you achieved the goal, project, etc.] • Impact: [explain the impact or significance of the accomplishment] Overall, I feel that I have effectively fulfilled my commitments and demonstrated my ability to contribute to the company in a meaningful way. Despite facing some challenges and obstacles such as [insert challenges], I overcame them by [insert any actions taken]. I am confident in my abilities and open to feedback to continue growing and improving in my role. | | Goal Setting: What goals are you setting for yourself over the next 6 months to be successful? | Over the next review period, my goal is to continue to grow and develop my skills and knowledge in line with my role and level expectations.Specifically, I aim to:

1. [Insert specific goal, e.g. enhance my technical skills by completing relevant training programs and seeking out challenging projects].
2. [Insert specific goal, e.g. contribute to the success of cross-functional teams by effectively collaborating with colleagues and bringing new ideas to the table].
3. [Insert specific goal, e.g. meet or exceed performance targets by utilizing my time management and organizational skills to effectively prioritize and manage my responsibilities].To be successful over the next review period, I need support and/or training in the following ways: [insert anything your manager or the People Team can do to support you]. | | Additional Feedback (Optional): Please share any additional feedback that may be helpful for your manager to review as a part of your self-review assessment. | As part of my self-review assessment, I would like to provide some additional feedback that may be helpful for my manager. • [Insert any additional feedback or insight not covered in questions above]. |

Writing effective peer reviews

Feedback from teammates we work closely with is some of the most valuable we will give, and receive, during the impact review process. We encourage teammates to give each other direct and actionable feedback regularly throughout the year, but the bi-annual impact review is a chance to give specific feedback in a more formal way.

Example - peer review

Please provide specific examples in the comment field that supports how this Teammate contributed to the success of a project, team, or initiative over the past review period. ** Note: Response is only visible to this teammate’s Manager.* | [Teammate name] consistently delivers quality work that aligns with their role. Below are some examples that help explain why I rated them as a _____. [Rating Scale: 1 Truly Oustanding, 2 Exceeds Expectations, 3 Meets Expectations, 4 Partially Successful Performance, 5 Below Expecations]Example 1 • Situation: successful completion of [specific accomplishment or goal] • Behavior: [provide concrete example of how they achieved the goal] • Impact: [explain the impact or significance of the accomplishment] Example 2 • Situation: successful completion of [specific accomplishment or goal] • Behavior: [provide concrete example of how they achieved the goal] • Impact: [explain the impact or significance of the accomplishment] | | Goal Setting: How can this teammate better support you, your team, and the company over the next 6 months?

** Note: Response is visible to this teammate.* | In general, [Teammate name] is a great teammate and is very collaborative and supportive. This[Teammate name] could better support me by:Example 1 • Situation: [insert a way in which this teammate can better support you] • Behavior: [provide concrete example of how they can support you] • Impact: [explain why this is important to you and the impact it will make if they begin supporting you in this way] Example 2 • Situation: [insert a way in which this teammate can better support you] • Behavior: [provide concrete example of how they can support you] • Impact: [explain why this is important to you and the impact it will make if they begin supporting you in this way] | | Additional Feedback (Optional): Please share any additional feedback that may help this teammate grow in the next review period. ** Note: Response is visible to Reviewee.* | [Insert any additional feedback or insight not covered in questions above that will help this teammate grow]. |