Downward evaluation is the stage where leaders (team leads, managers) evaluate their team members, and it is an important process that provides feedback on members' growth by combining performance and competency evaluation results.
This guide will walk you through the entire flow of creating and operating a downward evaluation.
1. Creating an Evaluation
Click [Evaluation] → [Create Evaluation] in the bottom left menu.
In [Basic Information], you can set the evaluation title, target period, and target members.
Evaluation Title and Target Period: Set the evaluation title and the evaluation period that evaluators will assess.
Evaluation Target Conditions: You can set the HR information reference date and the conditions for evaluation targets. For example, if you set the HR reference date to November 30, 2025, and select [Active] as the target condition, you can pull in members who were actively employed as of November 30, 2025, as evaluation targets.
Co-editors: You can select members who can co-edit and manage this evaluation. Of course, those with [Evaluation Management] permission have view/edit access to all evaluations regardless of whether they are included as co-editors.
In [Evaluation Elements and Stages], set which evaluation elements the evaluation targets will be assessed on and which evaluation stages will be used.
At the bottom, you can set the number of downward evaluation rounds in [Evaluation Detailed Settings]. Setting the downward evaluation to only 1st round means that only one downward evaluation will be conducted.
When conducting only a 1st-round downward evaluation, the evaluator is typically the evaluation target's 1st-level team lead (leader).
If you want the evaluation target's 1st-level team lead to evaluate first and then have the 2nd-level manager (department head or CEO, etc.) conduct a follow-up evaluation, please set the downward evaluation rounds to 2nd round.
In the [Evaluation Structure] stage, you can set which evaluation stage each evaluation element will be assessed in.
For example, you can set it so that performance evaluation is conducted only by the 1st-round downward evaluator, while the 2nd-round downward evaluator only conducts competency evaluation.
In the [Evaluation Items] stage, you can configure the competency and performance evaluation elements selected in [Evaluation Structure] in more detail. You can also set weights for each competency and performance element by activating [Enter Weights].
In [Evaluation Form by Stage], you can set the questions for self, peer, and downward evaluation forms, as well as whether to provide reference materials.
At the bottom of [Evaluation Form by Stage], click the [2nd-Round Downward Evaluation] stage, and in the [Evaluation Detailed Settings] on the right, you can choose whether to conduct the 2nd-round downward evaluation and beyond using [Detailed Evaluation] or [Downward Grade Adjustment].
However, if grades are not used in the previous downward evaluation stage, the [Downward Grade Adjustment] feature cannot be used in the 2nd-round downward evaluation.
When the [2nd-Round Downward Evaluation] method is set to [Detailed Evaluation], the 2nd-round evaluator can conduct individual evaluations for each evaluation target based on questions preset by the administrator. On the other hand, when [Downward Grade Adjustment] is selected, the 2nd-round downward evaluator can conduct the evaluation by 'adjusting' the grade or score results from the 1st-round downward evaluator.
In the [Evaluation Detailed Settings] on the right, you can configure the following detailed settings.
[Adjustment Unit]: Set whether to adjust by grade or score.
Through [Adjustment Range Limit] settings, you can enter the allowable range of grade (score) adjustment when the 2nd-round downward evaluator adjusts grades or scores.
Example: If set to downward 0 and upward +10, downward adjustment is not allowed, and upward adjustment can be made within a maximum range of +10.
The adjustment range limit number can only be entered as an integer, and there are no restrictions on the input value. However, if the entered value exceeds the maximum range of grades/scores, the adjustment limit will automatically be set to the maximum range.
[Comment] requirement: You can set whether the 2nd-round downward evaluator is required to write a comment when adjusting grades (scores).
[Reference Materials]: You can set whether the 2nd-round downward evaluator can view other stage evaluations while conducting the evaluation, and whether to display previous evaluators' information anonymously.
If you have activated grade usage in [Evaluation Form by Stage], you can set which grades to calculate and how to calculate them in the [Grade Calculation] stage.
Click the [Grades to Calculate] tab to see the list of evaluation elements for which grades were set to be used in [Evaluation Form by Stage].
For example, if you set grades to be used only for the [Competency] evaluation element in the 1st-round downward evaluation form, only [Competency Grade] will be displayed under [Grades to Calculate].
Conversely, if grades are activated for all evaluation elements, all selected evaluation elements will appear under grades to calculate.
In [Calculation Method Settings], you can set the criteria for calculating grades for each selected evaluation element.
Reflect the last downward evaluation grade: Instead of combining results from each stage, only the grade result from the final downward evaluation is directly reflected.
Calculate weights for grades by stage: Set weights for each evaluation stage such as self, peer, and downward, and reflect the results calculated according to those weights as the final grade.
However, if there is no downward evaluation stage, all evaluation elements default to the [Calculate weights for grades by stage] option.
If there is only one evaluation element in the evaluation form by stage, the grade calculation method for that evaluation is automatically fixed to reflect the grade from that evaluation stage. For example, if performance evaluation is conducted only in the 1st-round downward evaluation, the calculation method is automatically set to [Reflect the 1st-round downward evaluation grade].
If you have activated [Comprehensive Evaluation] grade in the evaluation form by stage -> downward evaluation form settings, and set the comprehensive evaluation grade to [Matrix Combination], you can configure whether to calculate the comprehensive grade using weights or by combining grades for each evaluation element in a matrix.
However, if only a comprehensive grade is being calculated, the 'matrix combination method' cannot be used. This is because individual evaluation elements must be evaluated based on grades in order to apply the matrix combination or weighted grade calculation per evaluation element to derive a comprehensive grade.
In the [Grade System] stage, you can set the grade system and matrix grades to be calculated in this evaluation.
(Example: Grade S = 95 points or above)
In the next Grade Distribution stage, you can set the percentage of members per grade, such as 'Grade S is within the top 10%'.
By adding a [Grade Distribution Group] within the [Grade Distribution Table], you can set members belonging to a specific organization to have a different distribution criteria than the default group.
For example, you can set it so that only 10% of all members receive Grade S in this evaluation result, while only 5% of members in the [Development Division] belonging to the technical job group (group name) can receive Grade S.
Click [Distribution Table Settings] → [Distribution Apply Grade] at the top right of the grade distribution table to set which evaluation elements the grade distribution will be applied to.
For example, if you want to distribute Grade S to only 5% of all company members in the comprehensive grade distribution, please select 'Comprehensive' as the distribution apply grade.
Grade distribution table settings screen without nth-round downward evaluationGrade distribution table screen with nth-round downward evaluation
When conducting N rounds of downward evaluation, you can apply different distribution rates for each downward stage by enabling [Distribution Table Settings] → [Split by Stage].
If configured as shown below, it means distributing Grade S to only 10% in the 1st-round downward evaluation and only 5% in the 2nd-round downward evaluation.
Turning OFF [Split by Stage] means that all downward evaluations will distribute each grade equally. If configured as shown below, it means distributing Grade S to only 5% in both the 1st and 2nd-round downward evaluations.
If you turn off the 1st-round downward evaluation toggle in [Distribution Table Settings], it means that grade distribution will not be applied to the 1st-round downward evaluation, and grades will be distributed only in the 2nd-round downward evaluation.
The [Adjustable Range] and [Submit Restriction When Exceeded] features within [Grade Distribution] are as follows.
Adjustable Range: You can set the number of members assigned per grade to be adjustable within a ± range.
You can select from options ranging from ± 1 person to ± 10 persons.
Please refer to the FAQ below for calculation examples based on the adjustable range settings.
Submit Restriction When Headcount Is Exceeded
When this feature is activated, evaluators can only submit the evaluation if they strictly follow the number of members according to the grade distribution rate.
When this feature is deactivated, evaluators can still submit the evaluation even if they do not strictly follow the headcount based on the grade distribution rate — only a [Warning] notification will appear to make them aware.
In the final [Weights] stage, you can set weights for each evaluation stage and element.
2. Operating the Evaluation
Once you have finished creating the evaluation, go to the evaluation operations screen by selecting the evaluation you just created from the left menu [Evaluation]!
The following features are available on the Evaluation Operations Home and Evaluation Progress Status screen.
Evaluation Item Notice: Operate a period during which members can directly select the (optional) competencies or performance areas they will be evaluated on.
Set Evaluation Targets/Evaluators: Confirm the final list of evaluation targets and assign evaluators for each stage automatically or manually.
Start Evaluation and Set Period: Set the start/end dates for each evaluation stage and begin the evaluation.
However, for downward evaluations, the writing period can only be set after evaluation targets have completed submitting their evaluation items.
Progress Monitoring: Check in real time who has completed the evaluation and who is still in progress, and send reminder notifications.
Close Evaluation: Once all evaluations are complete, finalize and close the evaluation.
The [Evaluation Targets] menu automatically loads evaluation targets based on the HR information reference date and target conditions set earlier in the evaluation. After reviewing the list of evaluation targets, if there are members who need to be removed, click the left checkbox and then click the [Delete] button at the bottom.
In the [Evaluators] menu, you can assign evaluators for each evaluation target. You can assign evaluators using the [Auto-Assign Evaluators] feature in the top right, or the administrator can manually assign evaluators.
Before using the downward evaluator auto-assignment feature, you can set the evaluator assignment conditions.
Default value for downward evaluator assignment conditions: The team lead of the organization the evaluation target belongs to (based on their primary organization) is automatically assigned as the evaluator.
When a downward evaluation target belongs to two or more organizations: You can set whether to assign both the primary organization lead and the concurrent organization lead as evaluators, or only the primary organization lead.
When the primary organization has changed: If the primary organization changed before the HR information reference date, you can set whether the evaluation should be conducted by the current organization lead, the previous organization lead, or the organization lead of the organization the member belonged to the longest based on the transfer date.
If evaluators were assigned before setting the downward evaluator auto-assignment conditions, you can configure whether to overwrite existing evaluators through the [When an evaluator is already assigned] option in the detailed settings at the bottom after completing the assignment condition settings.
In [Evaluation Progress] stage -> [Progress Status by Evaluation Target], you can check in real time the evaluation content received by each evaluation target from each evaluator, or view the evaluation completion rate.
In [Progress Status by Evaluator], you can view the evaluation writing and submission rates of evaluators for each evaluation stage, as well as the content they have written.
Click the download button at the top right of the [Progress Status by Evaluation Target] and [Progress Status by Evaluator] tabs to check the progress status as an Excel file.
While checking the submission status of evaluators in the [Progress Status by Evaluator] tab, click the checkbox on the left of an evaluator and use the [Send Deadline Reminder] feature to send a reminder notification.
Also, click the [Change Deadline] button to extend the evaluation writing period for a specific evaluator.
If you need to extend the evaluation writing period overall, click the [Home] - [Extend Period] button to extend the evaluation writing period for each evaluation stage.
Also, in the evaluation operations home stage, click the bell icon to set evaluation deadline reminder notifications, and you can configure reminders to be sent to both non-submitters and their 1st-level team leads.
If all evaluators have completed submitting their evaluations before the deadline, you can close the evaluation before the deadline by clicking the [Close Writing] button in the [Home] - [Close Evaluation Writing] tab.
In the [Evaluation Results] tab, you can view the evaluation results for each evaluation target. You can also click the [Download] button in the top right to download the final grade results of the evaluation as an Excel file.
However, evaluation results cannot be downloaded as Excel if grades or scores are not used in the evaluation.
FAQ
A member on leave or a former employee appears in the evaluation target list! Are they not excluded automatically?
A member on leave or a former employee appears in the evaluation target list! Are they not excluded automatically?
If you set the HR information reference date to September 30, 2025, and selected [Active] as the target condition in the basic settings when creating the evaluation, all members who were actually employed as of September 30, 2025, will be pulled in as evaluation targets. Therefore, members who resigned after September 30, 2025, or who are on leave may also be included in the evaluation target list depending on the HR information reference date and the target conditions set.
For this reason, the evaluation target screen shows information such as employment status and errors in the status and error columns so that administrators can be sufficiently aware of this. For members who need to be excluded from the evaluation targets, click the left checkbox and then click the [Delete] button at the bottom to remove them from the evaluation target list.
I'm curious about what the screen looks like when conducting a downward evaluation as a detailed evaluation.
I'm curious about what the screen looks like when conducting a downward evaluation as a detailed evaluation.
Once the evaluation starts, evaluators are notified via email and in-product notifications, and evaluators can check the evaluations they need to complete from [To-Do].
Questions and detailed answers can be selected and entered.
For performance evaluations, if the evaluation target has linked the performance (i.e., 'goals') to be assessed, the evaluator can click the [Linked Goals] button to view the detailed content of those goals while conducting the evaluation.
Once writing is complete, click the [Submit] button at the bottom to submit the evaluation. Submitted evaluations can be checked by going to [To-Do] - [To Do] - setting the [Evaluation Writing Request] filter to find the evaluation writing requests assigned to the evaluator before the evaluation closes. Click on an evaluation that needs to be modified and click [Edit Evaluation] at the bottom to edit and resubmit the evaluation.
I'm curious about what the screen looks like when conducting a downward evaluation using downward grade adjustment.
I'm curious about what the screen looks like when conducting a downward evaluation using downward grade adjustment.
When conducting a downward evaluation using downward grade adjustment, the downward evaluator can view the evaluation results (grade and score) of the previous downward evaluator and adjust the grade.
If the [Performance] evaluation is not conducted in the final round of the downward evaluation, grade adjustment is only possible for evaluation elements other than performance, such as competency or custom evaluation elements.
The final round downward evaluator can view the distribution of the currently adjusted grades (comprehensive, competency, etc.) while adjusting grades. When grades are adjusted, the evaluator can also see how many grade levels have been adjusted compared to the previous results.
Once grade adjustment is complete, click [Submit] in the top right to submit the evaluation results.
What is the formula for the adjustable range in grade distribution?
What is the formula for the adjustable range in grade distribution?
For example, if there are 17 evaluation targets, Grade S is set to be given to only 15%, and the adjustable range is set to ± 1, the calculation is as follows:
17 * 0.15 = 2.25, and based on the integer value of 2, ± 1 is applied, resulting in a range of 1 to 3 persons who can be given Grade S. That is, a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 persons can be given Grade S.