Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Performance.
Overview: What is Ratings Preview?
Ratings Preview is an optional feature in a Calibration view that helps HR Business Partners (HRBPs) and Performance Admins collect early feedback on employee ratings from selected "calibrators" before a calibration session. This provides better visibility into agreement and disagreement ahead of time—so you can lead more focused and efficient calibration discussions. Read the science behind ratings preview
Ratings Preview also helps ensure that all calibrators have a chance to provide input before the live session—minimizing the risk of louder voices dominating and surfacing potential disagreements early. This makes the conversation more balanced and inclusive.
Why Use Ratings Preview
More Efficient Calibrations: Reduce session time by identifying key discussion points in advance.
Data-Driven Conversations: Ground your calibration discussions in concrete feedback and identify areas of agreement or divergence.
Systemized Process: Move away from manual spreadsheets with an integrated platform experience.
Targeted Discussions: Easily pinpoint individuals where there's widespread agreement or significant differences in views among calibrators.
Flexibility: Use this optional feature to complement your existing calibration workflows.
Reduce Bias and Improve Experience: Ratings Preview ensures every calibrator has a voice. By collecting feedback ahead of time, you’ll avoid sessions where only the most vocal participants drive decisions—and instead guide conversations based on diverse input.
How to Enable Ratings Preview
You can enable Ratings Preview while creating or editing a calibration view.
Create a Calibration View with Ratings Preview
Go to Performance > Calibrations (admin view).
Click Create New Calibration View
You’ll see an introductory page outlining the steps.
Fill in the Calibration Name and select one or more Performance Cycles
Under "Include Ratings Preview," check the box to enable it. You can enable this now or after the calibration view has been created.
Set a due date and time for calibrator submissions
You can adjust this later if needed
Note: Once the due date passes, calibrators can no longer submit
Confirm your timezone
Continue with the standard setup: select employees and click Create to save the draft
How to Add Calibrators
Once your calibration view is created with Ratings Preview enabled, you’ll see two tabs:
Calibration overview: The standard calibration view
Ratings preview: A tab where you can track calibrator responses and manage the process.
Under the Ratings preview tab:
Click + Add Calibrators
Search and select the individuals who should review and provide feedback
Recommended: 5–7 calibrators per session for efficiency
Click Submit to confirm
Calibrators will receive an email invitation to begin their task.
Note: When you add calibrators to the Ratings Preview, they won’t automatically see the Calibration Overview tab—unless you share that with them separately.
Monitor Calibrator Progress
In the Ratings Preview tab, you can:
See a list of calibrators and track who has submitted
Click the dropdown beside List of Calibrators to manage or remove calibrators.
Use the progress bar to gauge overall completion
Review Calibrator Responses
Feedback is grouped by each employee and categorized as:
I support
I abstain (default option)
I have questions (includes required written comments)
You can:
Use filters (e.g. demographics) to filter by employee demographics and refine your focus further.
Use the Response filter to view employees by response type (Support, Abstain, Questions)
Click an employee name to view comments from those who selected “I have questions.”
Use the flag icon to to highlight employees you want to prioritize during the live calibration session.
Example: Use filters to quickly identify employees flagged as “top performers” where multiple calibrators selected “I have questions.” This helps you focus time where scrutiny is most valuable—ensuring fairness in high-impact decisions.
Note: Calibrator comments are only visible to the facilitator—they are not shared with other calibrators or observers.
During the Calibration Session
Use the Calibration Overview tab to guide the meeting conversation.
Bring in insights from the Ratings Preview tab to focus discussion and make final rating decisions as needed.
Prioritize flagged employees and those with multiple "I have questions"
Skip discussion for employees with alignment (e.g., all "I support" and "I abstain")
Follow up asynchronously with calibrators before or after the session if needed.
Use the feedback to guide a fair, structured, and informed discussion.
Example: You might find, for example, that employees like Adam—with full alignment and no questions—require little or no discussion. In contrast, someone like Abby—who’s rated as a top performer but received multiple “I have questions” responses—should be prioritized for deeper review.
Tip: Use filters to focus on disagreement or flagged questions. You’ll spend less time rehashing consensus and more time where it counts.
After the Session
When you're ready, click Publish Calibration View.
A confirmation pop-up will appear.
If you'd like to notify the employee’s direct and indirect managers about any changes, check the box labeled Notify managers of changes to performance ratings or notes.
This gives them access to:
Any updates to performance ratings
Any calibration notes (Overview tab only)
Note: The Publish button applies to the entire calibration view—not just the tab you're on. This action finalizes both the Ratings Preview and Calibration Overview tabs.
After publishing:
Facilitators can no longer add or remove calibrators
Calibrators retain access to the Calibration view from their Calibrations section
Calibrators can no longer edit their responses—they now have read-only access. This applies to both the Calibration Overview and Respond to Ratings tabs (if both were shared)
Calibrators can no longer access the Manager Reviews in the Ratings Preview tab
If calibrators had access to the Calibration Overview tab, they lose access to view employee profile data from that tab
Best Practices
Use the flag icon to prioritize discussion
Encourage calibrators to submit early (the due date is strict!)
Extend the due date if needed—only calibrators who haven’t submitted will be notified if you do so.
Avoid more than 7 calibrators per session to keep discussions manageable
FAQs
Can I include Ratings Preview in a multi-cycle calibration?
Yes, which means you can link multiple review cycles in one calibration session. This is especially useful for those orgs who want to calibrate across different groups or timeframes. While the current experience is functional, please note it’s still being refined—so some elements may feel a little unpolished.
Here’s how employees will appear based on the selected cycles:
Employees are distinct for each cycle: Each employee will be represented as an individual row for the respective cycle.
Some overlapping employees across cycles: Overlapping employees will be represented in multiple rows relative to each linked cycle. Distinct employees will still be listed individually.
All employees overlap: All overlapping employees will be represented in multiple rows relative to each linked cycle.
Can I enable Ratings Preview after creating the calibration view?
Yes. You can enable Ratings Preview at any time by editing the calibration view—up until it’s published.
Can I remove Ratings Preview after enabling it?
Yes. You can remove the Ratings Preview capability, but doing so will delete all submitted responses. If you enable it again later, previous responses won’t be restored. You’ll need to re-add calibrators and request new submissions.
Is there a limit to how many calibrators I can add?
There’s no system-enforced limit, but we recommend adding no more than 5–7 calibrators to maintain quality and clarity in decision-making.
Will calibrators see the employee profile?
For the initial release of ratings preview, calibrators will not have access to the full employee profile. They’ll only see the manager’s review. This helps protect privacy. We’re exploring future options that could allow facilitators to optionally share more context with calibrators. Facilitators and HR teams will continue to have full access.
Why are percentages not shown for support/abstain/question figures?
To avoid confusion—especially in cases with smaller numbers of calibrators—we show numerical counts instead of percentages. This provides clearer, more straightforward data.
How does the Ratings Preview due date work across timezones?
The due date and time will automatically adjust to each calibrator’s local timezone. For example, if an admin sets the due date as 10 AM, July 9 (AEST), someone in New York will see the equivalent in EDT—so everyone sees the same deadline in their own local time.
Can a direct report see their manager’s rating if they’re added as a calibrator?
Yes. If a direct report is added as a calibrator in a session that includes their manager, they’ll be able to see the manager’s rating. While this setup isn’t common—and we haven’t seen it happen often—it’s something to be aware of when assigning calibrators.
Can someone see their own rating if they’re both a calibrator and included in the calibration view?
No. If an employee is selected to be included in the calibration view, they can’t be added as a calibrator. The system automatically excludes them from the list of people who can be selected as calibrators—so no one can view or provide feedback on their own rating.
Can Admins include themselves in a Calibration View as an employee? Will they see their own data?
No. Admins can’t add themselves to a Calibration view as an employee—even if they were part of the performance cycle being used. They won’t appear in the list of selectable employees and won’t see their own data in the Ratings Preview.
➡️ Next Steps
Finalize your calibration view setup
Invite calibrators and communicate expectations
Use Ratings Preview insights to prepare for a focused session
💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.