What will your year-end review rest on: twelve months of facts, or what you remember in December? This page sets out the process step by step. Six inputs, collected during the year. One AI draft. Your review of every line. AI drafts. You set the scores, make the judgment and hold the conversation.
Why a process, not a prompt
Managers already use AI for reviews. In a survey by Highwire reported by HR Dive (8 October 2026), 78% of 300+ US people managers used AI for employee feedback or a performance review in the past 12 months. Only 16% of 700+ individual contributors were told AI played a role in their most recent review.
A prompt written in December can only work with what you still remember. The quality of the draft is set by the inputs, and most of them have to be collected during the year. Whether to use AI at all, and the risks, are covered in the guide Should managers use AI to write performance reviews? This page is the how-to.
The six inputs
1. Yearly objectives, agreed earlier in the year
Agree the objectives with the team member at the start of the year. Cover both work objectives and personal development items, so the person grows. At year end, you rate each objective on this scale:
| 1 | Not reached |
| 2 | To be improved |
| 3 | Achieved |
| 4 | Beyond expectations |
| 5 | Exceptional |
The score is yours. Set it before you open any AI tool.
2. Notes from the year’s weekly 1-1s
Keep short, dated notes from every weekly 1-1: what happened, what was decided, what was agreed. Use AI to prepare each 1-1 from last week’s notes, so the notes exist when the review comes. A named skill with a written standard gives you the best evidence: the four-week drill in the week 4 note, Name the skill, then the drill, produces dated reps reviewed against that standard.
3. Your tone of voice and template
Decide the format once: for example a one-page text or 4 slides. Describe how you write, or paste a review you wrote before with the personal details removed. The draft should read like you, in the format the team member will receive.
4. Alignment with company strategy, if there is one
If your company has a strategy or yearly priorities, include them, so the review connects the person’s work to them. If there is none, say “none” in the prompt.
5. Last year’s review, if available
Add the previous review to track progress: which development points were addressed, and which remain open.
6. An agent that knows your role and your team’s roles
Describe your manager role and each team member’s role once, in the agent’s instructions, so every draft assesses the work against the right job. Update it when a role changes.
When to collect each input
| Start of the year | Agree the objectives, work and development (input 1). Note the company strategy or priorities (4). File last year’s review (5). Set up the agent with the roles (6). Choose the template (3). |
| Every week | Prepare the 1-1 with AI. Keep dated notes the same day (2). |
| Mid-year | Review the objectives with the person against the notes. If priorities changed, agree the change in writing. |
| One month before the review | Score each objective yourself, 1 to 5. Gather the six inputs in one place. |
| Review week | Run the prompt. Review every line. Hold the conversation. Tell the person how AI was used. |
Draft, review, conversation
Give the agent the six inputs and let it draft. Then review the draft yourself before you share it: check every statement against your notes, remove anything vague or unsupported, and confirm the scores are the ones you set. The scores, the judgment and the conversation stay with you. Tell the person how AI was used.
For a second pass, use the review check in the performance reviews guide. Then edit by hand and read the review aloud as if the person were in front of you.
Checklist
- Objectives agreed at the start of the year, work and development.
- Dated notes from the weekly 1-1s.
- Template chosen: one-page text or 4 slides.
- Company strategy pasted, or “none”.
- Last year’s review pasted, or “none”.
- Agent set up with your role and the team member’s role.
- Every objective scored by you, 1 to 5, before any AI tool.
- Approved tool only. No other names, health, salary or disciplinary details.
- Every line of the draft checked against your notes.
- The person told how AI was used.
Free kit
Get the free AI kit for managers: one-page tools you can use this week. AI prepares, you decide.
FAQ
When should I start preparing the year-end review?
At the start of the year, when you agree the objectives. The weekly 1-1 notes are collected all year. One month before the review, you score each objective and gather the six inputs.
What rating scale should I use?
Use your company’s scale if it has one. This process uses five levels: 1 Not reached, 2 To be improved, 3 Achieved, 4 Beyond expectations, 5 Exceptional. The manager sets every score, before any AI tool is opened.
What if I have no notes from the year?
Mark the objectives without evidence as “no evidence” and say so in the conversation. Do not let the AI fill the gap. Start dated 1-1 notes now for next year.
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