Coordinating reviews in departments

The PDR process has been revamped for 2026. To understand the new framework and watch the introductory video, please refer to the Annual PDR overview.

Departmental coordination meetings

Departmental leadership teams should provide clear direction for the annual PDR process. This is an opportunity to clarify departmental priorities, cascade objectives and set expectations on what staff should focus on in the year ahead. The leadership team should also give clear guidance on how they wish PDR meetings to be conducted to ensure a fairness and consistency of approach.

At the start of the cycle the Head of Department (or Professional Services equivalent) will meet with all reviewers to confirm:

• departmental objectives and priorities for the year ahead
• expectations around the approach to work (Community Without Limits Framework)
• who is reviewing who (it is recommended that a reviewer has no more than 8 to 10 reviewees)
• when PDR meetings should take place. Consider if there needs to be sequencing to allow for cascade of objectives. What is the hard deadline? 
• how PDRs should be conducted. Confirm expectations on gathering feedback/ metrics, formal write up of the PDR form.
• expectations around more regular check-ins and avoiding surprises in the annual PDR. e.g quarterly or mid-cycle catch ups, regular 1-1’s. Provide clarity on how these conversations should be managed where there are large spans of control.

Scheduling reviews

Reviewers are responsible for arranging their PDR meetings. Aim to give staff two weeks' notice, and set aside 1 to 1½ hours.

Arrange a venue that is discreet and free from distractions. It should be welcoming and not overly formal.

Provide clear expectations on how you would like the reviewee to prepare for the meeting. You may prefer for them to capture some initial commentary on the PDR form and share this with you ahead of time. If so, make sure you give a couple of weeks notice and set a date for them to send this back.  In some cases you may wish to allow time for you and the reviewee to gather feedback from others, this is particularly important when you do not closely manage the individual on a day to day basis. Allow time for this process ahead of the scheduled meeting.