When the process gets in the way, your people and your budget feel it.
Most performance review setups work just fine in the background. The workflows are connected, the data is there, and everything runs as it should.
But the experience on the surface is often a different story. Pages are crowded. Too many fields are shown at once, even when they only apply in certain situations. Key sections appear all at once instead of being revealed when they’re actually needed. And on mobile, it becomes even harder to navigate.
For employees, the current setup can feel clunky. For managers, it’s harder to scan and work with the information. Dashboards often feel cluttered or unclear, making it difficult to get a quick overview or focus on what really matters. Instead of supporting meaningful conversations, the whole process starts to feel like a task to tick off rather than a chance to make progress.
That friction adds up. Not just in frustration, but in time, admin effort, and cost. To help you see what that really means, we’ve added a simple Performance Review Cost Calculator to this article. It shows how much reviews can actually cost and where smarter design can save both time and money.
It’s not that the platform is broken. But when the experience isn’t clear or easy to follow, people lose interest. Employees postpone, managers get stuck, and HR spends more time chasing updates than focusing on what the reviews are meant to support.
In the end, that doesn’t just slow things down. It costs time, energy, and money.
The good news is that it doesn’t take a full rebuild to fix it. With better design and a structure that matches how people actually use the system, the process becomes faster, clearer, and more useful for everyone involved. And with tools like our Octily Content Editor (OCE), those changes are easy to roll out and manage.
When the experience gets in the way
No clear starting point
Employees aren’t always sure when a performance review is due, where to find it, or what they’re expected to do. Even inside the form, it’s not always clear what to fill in, what’s optional, or what the next steps are.
Not built for mobile
Pages often don’t adapt well to smaller screens. Text overlaps, buttons are hard to tap, and navigating between sections becomes frustrating. For employees trying to complete reviews on the go, it’s enough to give up.
Progress is hard to track
There’s often no clear indication of what’s been completed or what still needs attention. Sections can be buried or look the same, making it easy to get lost or miss something important.
Managers get stuck
Reviewing others should be quick and focused. But when the interface is cluttered or hard to scan, it’s difficult to know where to start. Managers often don’t have a clear overview of who has completed what, what’s still pending, or where to find the reviews they need to act on. Instead of supporting their team, they spend time digging through dashboards or trying to make sense of unclear layouts. That slows everything down and turns the process into just another admin task.
HR ends up chasing
Instead of using reviews to support development, HR teams often spend their time sending reminders and troubleshooting. When the experience doesn’t guide people, someone has to fill the gap, and it’s usually HR.
What Performance Reviews Are Really Costing You
A performance review process that’s clunky, manual, or not tailored to how your team works doesn’t just cause frustration, it costs time and money.
According to research by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), managers spend an average of 210 hours per year on performance management activities, including training, filling out evaluations, and delivering feedback.
McKinsey research highlights that companies focusing on their people’s performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform their peers, realizing an average of 30% higher revenue growth and experiencing attrition rates five percentage points lower.
While using a pre-built review tool is a step forward from manual processes, further customizing it to fit your team’s real workflows can make a significant difference.
What’s Really Taking Up Time?
Performance reviews aren’t just about the conversation. Behind every meeting is a long list of tasks that eat into everyone’s schedule, often without adding value.
Estimated Time Spent Per Review Cycle
| Role | Time Spent |
|---|---|
| Employee | ~3–4 hours total: completing the form, preparing, and attending the meeting. |
| Manager | ~2 hours writing the review and scheduling, plus 30–60 minutes for the meeting. |
| HR / People Team | ~0.5–1 hour for admin tasks (issuing forms, chasing completions), plus 1–3 hours for calibration, final reviews, and system close-out depending on complexity. |
Multiply this across every employee, every cycle, and it becomes one of the most time-intensive processes in any organization.
What Drives the Time Cost?
| Driver | How It Adds Time |
|---|---|
| Team Size | Bigger teams mean less time per person, but more time spent on calibration discussions. |
| Review Frequency | Shorter, more frequent check-ins take less time per round and help teams act while feedback is still fresh. This speeds up behavior change and leads to faster, visible impact. |
| Form Length & Rating Complexity | Longer forms and detailed rating systems mean more writing, longer meetings, and more HR checks. |
| Tech & Automation | Without tools to help, HR and managers spend more time on manual tasks. |
| Culture (Coaching vs. Compliance) | Turning feedback into a habit doesn’t just make reviews easier, it makes them more effective. The faster teams act, the faster you’ll see results. That can mean higher output, better quality, and long-term cost savings. |
| Rules & Regulations | Public or union rules can mean more HR involvement and extra paperwork. |
Can You Reduce the Time?
Yes, with the right changes.
Simpler forms, better guidance, clear role expectations, and automation tools can dramatically reduce admin time and prep work.
You won’t eliminate all the hours.
But you can focus them where they matter: real conversations, not logistics.
| What Can Be Reduced | How |
|---|---|
| Admin Time (HR) | Automate form issuance, reminders, and close-out. |
| Manager Writing Time | Use templates, clear rating scales, and comment suggestions. |
| Meeting Scheduling Time | Integrate scheduling tools or set fixed review windows. |
| Form Length | Shorten or remove low-value questions. | Calibration Overhead | Clarify rating guidance upfront to reduce back-and-forth. |
On average, teams that implement these changes can reduce total review time by 30–50%.
Ready to see what that means for your team?
Performance Review Cost Calculator
Performance reviews aren’t just time-consuming. They’re expensive. Especially when the process isn’t streamlined.
This calculator helps you estimate the true cost of your current review setup based on employee numbers, frequency, and time spent per review.
It also shows how much time and budget you could save by optimizing your workflow. That could mean customizing review forms, automating steps, or removing unnecessary manual tasks.
Use it to decide whether improving your process is worth the investment.
Performance Review Cost Calculator
What Better UX Looks Like
Good UX means the review process actually helps people get work done, instead of holding them back.
These are the elements that make a difference:
Clear calls to action
Everyone should know what to do next without needing to ask.
Logical page flow
Steps should follow a natural order, especially when tasks move between people.
Mobile-friendly layouts
Reviews should work just as well on a phone as on a desktop.
Smarter reminders
Helpful nudges, not spam. Sent at the right time, with the right message.
Custom layouts by role
Because learners, managers, and admins need different views and controls.
The goal isn’t to make it prettier. It’s to make it work better.
Employees should know where they are, what’s expected, and how to finish.
Managers should feel confident reviewing and approving.
HR should see progress, not panic.
Where Octily Comes In
Performance reviews work better when the experience is built around how your team actually uses the platform. That’s where smart design makes a difference.
What We Optimize
- Simplified layouts that reduce friction
- Mobile-friendly setup so reviews can be done anytime
- Branded styling for a consistent experience
- Visual hierarchy that brings the most important steps to the surface
- Prompts and helper text to guide users along the way
- Only showing the fields that matter, based on role, step, or status
How It’s Delivered
- Featuring review reminders on the Welcome Page
- Sending timely Browser Notifications
- Creating focused layouts that reduce clutter and increase clarity
- Applying logic to show the right content to the right person
- Supporting Custom Pages and Standard Pages
Let’s Make Reviews Work for You
Performance reviews don’t have to be a headache.
And improving them doesn’t mean starting from scratch.
Small changes to layout, timing, or guidance can make a big impact, for employees, managers, and HR.
A better experience means better outcomes.
More clarity. Less stress. And higher completion rates.
Curious what that could look like for your team?
Get in touch, send an email, or book a meeting. We would love to explore what we can create together.
