Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Performance.
Probation Reviews helps you manage new hire probation periods with structured checkpoints and automated reminders. Use it to create consistent probation processes, track manager and employee feedback at key milestones, and ensure no probation review is missed.
How Visibility and Participation Works
Before configuring your first probation process, it is important to understand how different roles interact with this module:
HR Business Partners: Users with Performance (Limited Permissions) can view live process lists, subject dashboards, and completed reviews scoped strictly to their assigned demographic boundaries. They cannot create, edit, or delete processes.
Managers: Direct and indirect people managers automatically receive review tasks and automated reminders near their direct reports' relevant probation milestones.
Employees: Individual contributors are automatically enrolled as subjects when they match a process's demographic inclusion rules and will see tasks only when a Self Reflection step opens.
Before You Begin
Ensure employee records include:
Start date
Manager assignment
Setup Workflow
1. Create your process
You create a probation process to define the structure, timing, and questions for all employees who match your enrollment criteria.
Navigate to Performance > Probation processes
Click Create probation review
Enter a Probation review name (up to 255 characters).
Choose a default language and any additional languages you want to support. (maximum 20 languages). Subjects and managers see the process in their preferred language if it is configured.
Select the preferred Timezone. This determines when steps open and close for all subjects in this process.
Note: Once your default language has been set and you progress from the settings page, it cannot be changed. Make sure to choose carefully.
2. Configure inclusion rules
Inclusion rules determine who is automatically enrolled in the process.
Set the date field to Include employees who start after a certain date
Input format: dd/mm/yyyy
Choose to include:
All new employees
Specific groups
Manually add new employees
If you choose specific groups you can select a demographic (such as Location or Department) and choose the values to include (such as Australia or Sales).
Add multiple rules if needed. Criteria within a single rule use OR logic, while separate rules use AND logic.
3. Add review steps
Steps are the checkpoints in your probation process. Each step has a specific timing offset from the subject's start date (for example, +30 days, +90 days, +180 days), type, and set of questions.
You can choose to use the default set of steps available, customize them to suit, or delete or add new steps of your own. Adjust the timing to suit your organization's process. Learn more about how step timing works in Culture Amp and see some worked examples.
To add a step:
In the Steps section, click Add step.
Enter a Step name (such as 30-day review or 60-day review).
Select the Step type:
Manager Review: The manager completes questions about their direct report.
Self Reflection: The employee completes questions about their own experience.
Configure the Step opens timing:
Enter the number of days after the probation period start date when the step opens.
Select the time of day the step opens (such as 9:00 AM).
Configure the Step closes timing:
Enter the number of days the step remains open after it starts.
Select the time of day the step closes (such as 5:00 PM).
Click Update step to Save. The step is added to the process.
Note: You can add up to 6 steps per probation process. The Add step button is disabled when the limit is reached.
4. Review and customize questions in a step
You can choose to use the default set of questions or customize them to suit your organization.
To add a question:
On the Questions page, expand the step you want to add questions to.
Click Add question.
Select a question type:
Open-ended - Collect feedback in the reviewer's own words
Rating - Create a custom set of ranked options for the reviewer to choose one answer
Single select - Offer a list of options for the reviewer to choose one answer
Multi-select - Choose multiple answers from a list of options
Click Add
Enter the Question text.
If you selected Rating, Select, or Multi-select, enter the options for the question.
Repeat this process to add all questions needed for the step. Each step must have at least one question before you can launch the process.
The probation decision question
The Final review step automatically includes the Probation decision question by default. You can only have this question appear once per process, and it allows managers to assign a final decision for the employee's probation period to inform reporting.
The final manager review (or the only manager review, if you're running a single step) automatically includes the probation decision question alongside the other questions you've designed for that step.
The recommended question is What is the outcome of this person's probation? and offers three options:
Passed
Failed
N/A
These options are fixed, but each has an editable title that the manager sees when completing the review.
Our people scientists recommend using these standard titles, however you can edit any of them to match your organization's preferred language. For deeper insights, see our People Science guidance for designing and implementing probation reviews.
5. Preview and customize translations
If you have enabled additional languages for your probation review, you can either manually add translations or use the Auto-translate button.
If selected, Google Translate will translate your questions from the cycle's default language to the chosen languages.
We still recommend that you review any automated Google translations for style, tone, and meaning.
6. Preview the employee and manager experience
Before publishing, preview how each step will appear to employees and managers.
Review and confirm the probation review summary setting details.
Click Preview next to each step.
Review the questions as they will appear during response completion.
Preview the list of communications and notifications.
Note: You can customize the content of cycle emails, but not system notifications (such as Slack or Microsoft Teams alerts). For step-by-step guidance, see Customizing Performance Cycle Communications.
7. Launch the probation process
When you are ready to activate the process, click Finish to Launch.
Launching the process activates automated enrollment and sends notifications to subjects and managers.
The process status changes to Published (or Scheduled if you set a future start date).
New employees who match the inclusion rules will be automatically enrolled and their review schedules calculated.
Enable AI features for probation reviews
Culture Amp offers AI-powered features to help managers and employees create more effective feedback during probation reviews. You can enable these features at any time, before or after launching a process.
Go to Performance > Probation processes
Click the AI settings icon
The Performance cycles and Probation reviews - AI Settings modal opens
Toggle On
Changes take effect immediately for all active and future probation reviews.
Available AI features
Feature | What it does | Who it helps |
Generates instant summaries of feedback responses to help managers identify key themes and patterns | Managers completing reviews | |
Provides suggested improvements while writing feedback to help create clearer, more actionable responses | Employees and managers writing responses |
Manage Active Probation Reviews
After launching a process, you can view and manage all subjects enrolled in that process.
Navigate to Performance > Probation processes
Click the process name to view the list of subjects.
Each subject row shows:
The subject's name and manager.
The current status: Overdue, Not open yet, In progress, Completed, Closed
The number of completed steps
The number of days until the probation process ends
Probation outcome: active, passed, failed or N/A.
Optionally select Edit columns to adjust fields shown, or Add filters to refine the employee list by demographic.
Edit a live probation process
Once a process is live, you can still make limited changes. Some details lock at launch, while others remain editable.
Go to Performance > Probation processes
Locate the probation process
Click the actions menu (three dots)
Select the page to update
What you can update
Page | Element | Editable After Launch? | Notes |
Settings | Probation review name | Yes |
|
Settings | Selected languages | No | Locked at launch |
Settings | Timezone | No | Locked at launch |
Settings | "Include employees who start after" date | No | Locked at launch |
Settings | Employee inclusion criteria | Yes | All employees, Specific groups, or Manually add |
Settings | Demographic selections | Yes | Only for Specific groups |
Steps | Cannot add new or edit existing process steps | No | Cannot edit step type, timing offset, or duration. Duplicate the cycle if structural changes are needed |
Questions | Question content | Yes | Changes to existing questions won't affect review steps already in progress. They only apply to new steps that start after you save. |
Question Translations | Translation text | Yes | Affects active and completed reviews after saving |
Review setup | Email communications | Yes | Updates will be visible in any future communications. See Customizing Performance Cycle Communications. Emails support en-US locale only |
Review setup | Teams/Slack notifications | No | Cannot be customized during creation or after launch |
Edit Questions and Translations
Edit question content
When you change the actual question text (adding, removing, or modifying questions in the default language), the updates apply only to new review steps starting after you save. Review steps already in progress continue using the original questions.
If your process uses multiple languages, changing a question in the default language, creates a new version that clears the old translations. You must add new translations for the updated question:
Click Edit questions
Edit the default language question first.
Update each language version with the new translated text.
Review all language versions to ensure consistency.
Edit translations only
If you need to update a translation without changing the question itself (for example, to improve clarity or fix an error), the translation change affects all reviews immediately, including active and completed reviews.
Click Edit translations
Edit all language versions at the same time.
Start with the default language if you need to refine the wording, then update translations to match.
Verify all language versions are aligned before saving.
Note: Because translation changes apply to all reviews, updating all languages together ensures questions and responses remain matched across all language versions.
Editing communications
You can edit email communications on a live process. Only email communications can be customized, however. Microsoft Teams and Slack probation review notifications can't be customized during creation or while the process is live.
Click Review setup
Select the pencil icon to edit
Adjust to suit
Save changes to update
Note: Edited emails only support a single locale (en-US). Therefore recipients will always receive the email in the same locale. For step-by-step guidance, see Customizing Performance Cycle Communications.
Manually add a subject
If an employee was not automatically enrolled (for example, they do not match inclusion rules or were hired before the process was published), you can add them manually.
Click on the probation process to open.
On the process page, click Edit process > Add employees.
In the modal that appears, search for employees by name or email
Select the employees you want to add
Click Add. The employee is enrolled in the probation process and receives notifications when the steps open.
Edit an individual subject's schedule
If you need to adjust review dates for a specific employee (for example, to accommodate leave or shift timing), you can edit their schedule.
Find the subject in the list and click the actions menu (three dots)
Select Edit schedule
You will see a timeline of all steps with their current start and due dates.
For each step you want to adjust:
Click the step to expand it
Use the date pickers to change the start date or due date
Click Save to apply the changes
Note: You cannot set dates in the past. All schedule changes must result in future dates.
Close an individual probation review
When a probation review is complete or no longer needed, you can close it manually.
Find the subject in the list and click the actions menu (three dots)
Select Close review
Confirm the action. The subject's status changes to Closed, and no further steps are sent to the subject or manager
Close a probation process
When a probation process cycle is complete or no longer needed, you can close it.
Locate the probation process
Click the actions menu (three dots)
Select Close
Click Close to confirm
Employees currently in this process will continue their probation review as scheduled. Closed processes cannot be reopened.
Duplicate a probation process
To create a new process based on an existing one:
Locate the probation process
Click the actions menu (three dots)
Select Duplicate
Click Duplicate to confirm
The duplicated process is created in Draft status with the same configuration (steps, questions, inclusion rules, timing) but no enrollment data. Review and adjust the duplicated process as needed, then publish it to begin enrolling subjects.
Delete a probation process
To permanently remove a probation process:
Locate the probation process
Click the actions menu (three dots)
Select Delete.
Type DELETE to confirm, then click Delete
Note: Once deleted, all associated data is also deleted. This action cannot be undone and your data will not be recoverable.
Complete a Probation Review Response
Managers and employees receive notifications when a step is due. They complete the step by answering the questions assigned to that step.
For managers
Click the link in the notification email or go to Performance > Tasks and select the probation review.
Alternatively, navigate to Performance > Probation reviews
Find the direct report with an open step and click their name.
Answer all questions in the step.
Click Submit. The responses are saved, and the step is marked as complete. The manager can view the completed step in the subject's review history.
For employees
Click the link in the notification email or go to Performance > Tasks and select the probation review.
Answer all questions in the Self Reflection step.
Click Submit. Your responses are saved, and the step is marked as complete.
Note: Managers receive notifications 3 days before a step is due and 24 hours after a missed deadline. Employees receive notifications when a Self Reflection step opens.
Important Details and Behaviors
Probation processes run indefinitely. Once launched, the process automatically enrolls new employees who match the demographic criteria as they join the organization.
Employees are enrolled on their start date. If an employee's start date is in the future, they are enrolled on that date, not immediately.
Managers automatically take over probation reviews when an employee's manager changes. The new manager can view the history of previous steps completed by the old manager.
Employees can view their own completed self-reflections in read-only mode within the product, but cannot see their manager's review answers. Managers can manually export a completed review by using the browser's print function (Ctrl + P or Cmd + P) and choosing Save as PDF to download and share it with the employee outside the platform.
You can edit a probation process after it is launched. Changes to questions are preserved through question versioning, so historical responses remain accurate.
Subjects and managers receive notifications via email. If your organization uses the Slack or Microsoft Teams integration, notifications are also sent through those channels.
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