Introduction
Conversation templates determine the structure and content of a conversation in Perform & Engage 365. A template is built using one or more elements, which define the information participants can view, provide, review, or discuss during the conversation.
Elements serve different purposes. Some elements collect information from participants, while others display existing information from Perform & Engage 365, summarize data, calculate ratings, or provide guidance and context.
By combining different element types, you can create conversation templates that support performance reviews, check-ins, development conversations, career discussions, and other review processes.
This article describes the available conversation template elements, what they do, and their typical use cases.
Choosing the right element
When designing a conversation template, choose elements based on the information you want participants to view, provide, review, or discuss.
Conversation template elements are organized into five categories based on their purpose.
| Element type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Automated elements | Display existing employee and review data. |
| Feedback elements | Collect responses and supporting information. |
| Slider elements | Capture ratings and calculate scores. |
| Analytics elements | Visualize and summarize data. |
| Static elements | Provide structure, guidance, and supporting content. |
By combining different element types, you can create conversation templates that gather meaningful feedback, support performance discussions, and provide a clear experience for participants.
Automated elements
Automated elements display information that already exists in Perform & Engage 365 or dynamically pull data into a conversation. These elements help reduce manual data entry and provide additional context during performance reviews, check-ins, career conversations, and development discussions.
Goals and OKRs
Use these elements to review existing goals and OKRs or create new development objectives during a conversation.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Goal planning | Enables participants to create, discuss, and plan goals directly within the conversation. | Establish goals for an upcoming review period or development plan. |
| OKR review | Displays objectives and key results (OKRs) associated with the employee. | Review progress against strategic objectives and key results. |
| OKR responses review | Displays responses, updates, or comments related to the employee's OKRs. | Discuss progress, achievements, and challenges related to OKRs. |
Competencies
Use these elements to review, assess, and discuss employee competencies during a conversation.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Competency review | Displays competencies associated with the employee, allowing reviewers to assess performance against defined competency frameworks. | Evaluate competency strengths and development needs. |
| Competency review (blind review) | Displays competencies for assessment while hiding responses from other participants until the review process is complete. | Gather independent competency assessments without influence from previous responses. |
Feedback and recognition
Use these elements to review feedback, recognition, and responses gathered from participants throughout the performance cycle.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Ad hoc feedback received | Displays ad hoc feedback that the employee has received through Perform & Engage 365. | Review feedback gathered throughout the review period. |
| Recognition review | Displays recognition, praise, or kudos that the employee has received. | Highlight achievements and positive contributions. |
| Question responses (all) | Displays all responses submitted for a selected question. | Compare feedback from multiple reviewers in one location. |
| Question response summary (text box) | Consolidates responses from a selected question into a single text summary. | Present an overview of collected feedback without displaying each individual response separately. |
| Person in reviewee's team or sub-team | Displays responses from people within the reviewee's team or sub-team. | Include team perspectives during review discussions. |
Learning and development
Use these elements to review training activity, discuss development opportunities, and plan future learning.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Training review | Displays completed and planned training activities associated with the employee. | Review learning progress, certifications, and development activities. |
| Training catalogue plan | Displays training items from a training catalogue and allows them to be incorporated into development planning activities. | Discuss future learning opportunities and development plans. |
| Training catalogue plan (read-only) | Displays training catalogue information without allowing participants to make changes. | Review recommended learning paths or development plans for discussion purposes only. |
Employee information
Use these elements to display employee information and profile data that can provide additional context during a conversation.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Text field (populated with employee property) | Displays information from an employee property as read-only text within the conversation. | Surface employee information, such as job title, department, location, manager, or other profile properties, to provide context during discussions. |
When to use automated elements
Automated elements are useful when you want to:
- Display existing employee, learning, goal, competency, feedback, or recognition data.
- Reduce the need for participants to enter information manually.
- Bring related information into a single conversation.
- Support more informed performance and development discussions.
- Create dynamic templates that automatically show relevant employee information.
Automated elements are commonly combined with feedback elements and slider elements to create comprehensive review and development conversations.
Feedback elements
Feedback elements collect information directly from conversation participants. These elements are typically used to gather comments, ratings, selections, supporting evidence, and follow-up actions throughout a conversation.
Written responses
Use these elements when participants need to provide written feedback or comments.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Text field (small) | A short free-text field designed for brief responses. | Capture concise comments, summaries, or short answers. |
| Text field (large) | A large free-text field designed for detailed responses. | Gather self-assessments, reflections, feedback, or development plans. |
Selection-based responses
Use these elements when participants need to select answers from predefined options.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Checkbox | Captures a yes/no or true/false response. | Confirm completion of an activity, acknowledge a statement, or answer simple questions. |
| Multiple choice | Allows participants to select one or more predefined options. | Gather standardized responses, preferences, or assessments. |
| Focus areas | Allows participants to select one or more focus areas from a configurable list. | Identify priorities, development areas, or objectives for the review period. |
Feedback collection
Use these elements to gather structured input from multiple participants.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| 360 feedback | Collects feedback from selected reviewers as part of a 360-degree feedback process. | Gather perspectives from peers, managers, direct reports, or other stakeholders. |
Supporting information
Use these elements when participants need to provide additional context or evidence.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Attachment upload and list | Enables participants to upload files and review uploaded attachments. | Share supporting documents, presentations, certificates, or examples of work. |
Follow-up actions
Use these elements to capture commitments and next steps arising from the conversation.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Action items - to do list | Allows participants to create and track action items during the conversation. | Record development actions, follow-up tasks, and agreed next steps. |
When to use feedback elements
Feedback elements are useful when you want to:
- Collect responses directly from participants.
- Gather qualitative and quantitative feedback.
- Capture evidence that supports performance discussions.
- Enable multi-rater feedback processes.
- Record agreed actions and development plans.
- Standardize information gathered across conversations.
Feedback elements are commonly combined with automated elements to provide context and slider elements to capture ratings, helping create a complete conversation experience.
Slider elements
Slider elements allow participants to provide ratings using a configurable scale. They can be used to assess performance, measure frequency or effectiveness, collect 360-degree feedback ratings, or calculate overall scores across multiple rating elements.
Rating elements
Use rating elements when participants need to evaluate performance, behaviors, skills, or achievements using a rating scale.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical rating | Allows participants to provide a numerical rating using a configurable rating scale. | Evaluate performance, achievement, or progress using a simple numeric score. |
| Assessment rating | Allows participants to assess an employee, goal, competency, or topic using a configurable rating scale and descriptive values. | Measure performance, competency, or achievement against defined criteria. |
| Frequency rating | Allows participants to indicate how frequently a behavior or activity occurs using a configurable rating scale. | Assess behaviors, habits, or activities that are expected to occur over time. |
Calculated rating elements
Use calculated rating elements when you want to automatically aggregate scores from other rating elements.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Rating total | Calculates and displays an aggregate score based on selected rating elements within the conversation. | Present an overall performance, competency, or review score. |
| 360 total | Calculates and displays an overall score based on ratings collected through 360 Feedback elements. | Provide a consolidated view of multi-rater feedback results. |
When to use slider elements
Slider elements are useful when you want to:
- Collect consistent ratings across participants.
- Standardize performance and competency assessments.
- Measure behaviors, achievements, or progress using a defined scale.
- Gather rating-based feedback from multiple reviewers.
- Calculate overall scores without requiring manual calculations.
- Support calibration and comparison across conversations.
Slider elements are commonly combined with Feedback Elements and Automated Elements to provide both qualitative feedback and quantitative ratings within the same conversation.
Adjusting rating scales
The rating scale used by slider elements can be customized within the conversation template. This allows administrators to configure scales that align with their organization's review methodology, whether using numerical ratings, competency assessments, frequency-based ratings, or custom scoring models.
When multiple rating elements use the same scale, calculated elements such as Rating total and 360 Total can be used to summarize results and provide a consolidated score for discussion.
NOTE
Slider elements collect and calculate rating data. To gather written feedback alongside ratings, consider combining slider elements with feedback elements such as Text field (large) or 360 feedback comments.
Analytics elements
Analytics elements help participants understand feedback and review data by presenting information in a visual format. Rather than collecting responses, these elements summarize and display existing data to help identify patterns, trends, and areas for discussion.
Feedback analytics
Use analytics elements to visualize responses and support more informed conversations.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Question response chart (rating) | Displays rating responses for a selected question in a chart format, providing a visual summary of participant feedback. | Identify trends, compare ratings across reviewers, and support discussions using summarized feedback data. |
When to use analytics elements
Analytics elements are useful when you want to:
- Present feedback data in a visual, easy-to-understand format.
- Help reviewers identify trends or patterns in responses.
- Support discussions with summarized rating data instead of reviewing individual responses.
- Provide additional context alongside feedback and automated elements.
- Compare feedback from multiple participants or review groups.
Analytics elements are commonly used alongside automated elements and feedback elements to help participants interpret feedback and discuss results more effectively.
NOTE
Analytics elements display existing conversation data. They don't collect responses from participants.
Static elements
Static elements help structure a conversation and provide participants with context, guidance, and supporting information. Unlike feedback or automated elements, static elements don't collect responses or display dynamic data. Instead, they improve the layout, readability, and usability of a conversation template.
Layout and structure
Use these elements to organize content and guide participants through the conversation.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | Displays a section heading within the conversation. | Divide the conversation into logical sections, such as goals, competencies, feedback, or development planning. |
| Paragraph | Displays informational or instructional text. | Provide guidance, instructions, expectations, or additional context for participants. |
Visual content
Use these elements to enhance the appearance of the conversation and provide visual guidance.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Image | Displays an image within the conversation. | Add branding, diagrams, process illustrations, or other visual content that supports the conversation. |
Reference information
Use these elements to provide access to supporting information outside the conversation itself.
| Element | Description | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Link to employee files tab | Provides access to files stored on the employee's Files tab. | Allow participants to quickly access supporting documents, evidence, certificates, performance records, or other employee-related files during the conversation. |
When to use static elements
Static elements are useful when you want to:
- Structure a conversation into clear, easy-to-follow sections.
- Provide guidance or instructions to participants before they respond to questions.
- Include images, diagrams, or branded content within a conversation.
- Give participants access to relevant supporting documents and employee files.
- Improve the overall readability and navigation of complex conversation templates.
Static elements are commonly used alongside automated elements, feedback elements, analytics elements, and slider elements to create a clear and structured conversation experience.
NOTE
Static elements are intended to provide context and organization. They don't collect responses or generate ratings.
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