Turn on Feedback and set who can read all feedback.

Feedbacks is on by default in every company that has Performance in its plan. Admins can turn Feedbacks off or on for the whole company, decide who gets company-wide read access to feedback, and keep manager relationships up to date, because managers' access depends on them. There are no feedback templates or questions to configure.
 

Before you start

• Check that your company has Performance in its plan. Feedbacks has no separate add-on.
• Make sure each employee's Manager field is filled in. Managers can only read the feedback of the employees they manage.

Steps

Confirm Feedbacks is available (admin)

1. In the sidebar, click Performance.
2. Check that the Feedbacks tab is visible.
3. If the tab is visible, every employee in the company can already give and read feedback.
4. If the tab isn't visible, check that Feedbacks is turned on in Settings > Performance > Feedbacks.

Turn Feedbacks on or off for your company (admin)

1. Go to Settings > Performance.
2. Click the Feedbacks tab.
3. Turn the Enable feedbacks switch on or off.
4. The change applies to everyone in the company right away.

Give company-wide read access to HR (admin)

1. Go to Settings > Permissions.
2. Open the permission group you want to change, for example your HR or Performance admins group.
3. Open the Reviews section.
4. Turn on Review Process Full Visibility.
5. Click Save changes.

Keep manager relationships up to date (admin)

1. Go to the employee's profile.
2. Check the Manager field.
3. Update it if it's wrong. The new manager can read the employee's shared feedback immediately.

Rules and behavior

• If your company has Performance in its plan, then Performance > Feedbacks is available to every employee. Feedbacks is on by default, so no admin action is needed.
• If an admin turns Feedbacks off, then it's hidden for everyone in the company: the Feedbacks page, the Feedbacks entry in the sidebar, the Past feedbacks tab and feedback emails all disappear.
• If Feedbacks is off, then links to feedback pages show a not found page.
• If Feedbacks is turned on again, then all existing feedback comes back. Nothing is deleted when Feedbacks is off.
• If a feedback email is still waiting to be sent when Feedbacks is turned off, then that email is never sent, even after Feedbacks is turned back on.
• If a person has Review Process Full Visibility, then they can read every feedback in the company except feedback with the visibility The employee only.
• Review Process Full Visibility also gives full access to performance review processes and their answers, not only to feedback.
• If an employee has a manager in their profile, then that manager can read the employee's feedback with the visibility The employee and their manager or Their manager only.
• If an employee has no manager, then only the author, the employee and people with Review Process Full Visibility can read their feedback.

Limitations

• You can't turn Feedbacks on or off for some employees or teams only. The Enable feedbacks switch applies to the whole company, and everyone with access to Performance can give feedback to anyone.
• You can't create feedback templates, questions or rating scales.
• You can't set a default visibility for the company. The form always starts on The employee only.
• You can't give admins access to The employee only feedback.
• You can't give Review Process Full Visibility for feedback only. It also covers performance reviews.
• You can't connect Feedbacks to Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: "Employees don't see Feedbacks under Performance." → Cause: the company's plan doesn't include Performance, or an admin turned Feedbacks off. → Fix: check Enable feedbacks in Settings > Performance > Feedbacks. If your plan doesn't include Performance, contact your Factorial account manager.
• Symptom: "A link to a feedback page shows a not found page." → Cause: Feedbacks is turned off for the company. → Fix: turn on Enable feedbacks in Settings > Performance > Feedbacks.
• Symptom: "A manager can't see their team's feedback." → Cause: the employees don't have that person in their Manager field, or the feedback is Employee only. → Fix: update the Manager field in each employee's profile. Employee only feedback stays private.
• Symptom: "An HR admin can't see all feedback." → Cause: their permission group doesn't have Review Process Full Visibility. → Fix: turn it on in Settings > Permissions > Reviews.
   

FAQ

1. How do I activate feedback for my company?

Feedbacks is on by default for every company with Performance. If an admin turned it off, turn on Enable feedbacks in Settings > Performance > Feedbacks.

2. Can I stop employees from sending feedback to their manager?

No. Every employee can give feedback to any colleague.

3. How can HR read all feedback?

Give HR the Review Process Full Visibility permission in Settings > Permissions > Reviews. They will see all feedback except Employee only feedback.

4. Can I create a feedback form with questions?

No. Feedback is free text. For structured questions, use performance review templates.

5. Can I export all feedback?

There's no export button in Performance > Feedbacks. Use the Feedbacks template in AI Reports to analyse feedback.

6. Can I turn off Feedbacks for my company?

Yes. Turn off Enable feedbacks in Settings > Performance > Feedbacks. Feedbacks is hidden for everyone in the company right away.

7. What happens to existing feedback if I turn Feedbacks off?

It's kept. All existing feedback comes back when you turn Feedbacks on again.