How to Run Talent Reviews in ClickUp

Using ClickUp for talent reviews helps HR leaders and managers run consistent, data-driven performance conversations without wrestling with spreadsheets or scattered documents.

This step-by-step guide walks you through setting up a simple, scalable talent review process using features inspired by the templates and workflows described in the ClickUp talent review resource.

Why Use ClickUp for Talent Reviews

Before you build your workspace, it helps to understand what a strong talent review system needs. The approach described on the ClickUp talent review templates page focuses on three big goals:

• Creating a consistent review structure for every team
• Capturing performance and potential in one place
• Turning review data into clear development actions

ClickUp gives you the building blocks to support this: tasks, custom fields, views, and templates that keep data standardized across teams and cycles.

Plan Your Talent Review Process in ClickUp

Start by defining how your organization will run reviews. Then translate that flow into your workspace.

Step 1: Define your review cycle

Decide how often you want to run talent reviews and who will participate. Many teams use quarterly or biannual cycles.

1. Identify which departments and roles are included.
2. Choose your review dates and deadlines.
3. Decide who owns the process (HR, People Ops, or managers).

Document these choices in a ClickUp Doc so everyone can reference the process and timelines.

Step 2: Choose your evaluation criteria

The ClickUp blog outlines common talent review dimensions, such as:

• Current performance against role expectations
• Future potential or readiness for promotion
• Key skills, strengths, and risk factors

Turn each dimension into a clearly defined scale. For example:

• Performance: 1–5 rating
• Potential: low, medium, high
• Retention risk: low, moderate, high

These criteria will later become custom fields in your ClickUp talent review list.

Create a ClickUp Space for Talent Reviews

Next, build a dedicated area in ClickUp that holds all your talent review data and makes it easy to re-use the structure every cycle.

Step 3: Set up a Talent Review Space or Folder

Create a new Space or Folder named something like “Talent Reviews” so HR can manage everything centrally.

• Add a separate list for each review cycle (for example, “2025 Q1 Talent Review”).
• Keep all review tasks for that cycle in the same list.
• Use naming conventions that make it easy to search later.

Within this Space, you can also store supporting ClickUp Docs, such as your calibration guidelines and manager instructions.

Step 4: Build your talent review task template

Use a single task per employee to track their review. Inspired by the structure in the ClickUp article, include:

• Task name: employee name and role
• Description: role summary and goals
• Assignee: the manager responsible for filling the review

Then add custom fields that reflect your criteria, such as:

• Performance rating (number or dropdown)
• Potential rating (dropdown)
• Retention risk (dropdown)
• Key strengths (text)
• Development focus areas (text)
• Succession plan notes (text)

Once you set this up, save it as a task template in ClickUp so you can reuse it every review cycle without rebuilding fields.

Configure ClickUp Views for Clear Insights

Views transform your raw review data into something managers and leaders can use for decisions and calibration.

Step 5: Create list and table views

In the talent review list, configure a List or Table view with all key custom fields visible:

• Show employee name, department, and manager.
• Include columns for performance, potential, and risk.
• Sort or filter by department for easier calibration sessions.

This makes it easy to scan all employees in a single screen and compare ratings across teams.

Step 6: Add ClickUp board views for calibration

Board views help you visualize trends and clustering, similar to a nine-box grid. For example:

• Create a Board view grouped by performance rating.
• Create another Board view grouped by potential rating.
• Use drag-and-drop to adjust employees during calibration meetings.

These visual boards make it easier to spot patterns, over-ratings, and talent gaps.

Run the Talent Review Cycle in ClickUp

Once your workspace and templates are ready, you can run the full cycle from manager input to leadership decisions.

Step 7: Duplicate your ClickUp template for each cycle

At the start of each cycle:

1. Duplicate the previous cycle list or use your saved list template.
2. Update the list name and dates.
3. Bulk-create tasks for each employee using the task template.

This keeps your structure consistent while keeping data separate by cycle.

Step 8: Assign reviews and set due dates

Next, assign each employee’s review task to their manager and add clear due dates:

• Use bulk editing to assign tasks by department.
• Set start and due dates for manager input, calibration, and final sign-off.
• Add subtasks for steps like “Manager draft,” “Calibration,” and “Employee conversation.”

Use ClickUp reminders and notifications so managers stay on track.

Step 9: Collect ratings and comments in ClickUp

Managers complete the custom fields and add context in the task description or comments. To keep data clean:

• Provide rating guidelines in a pinned ClickUp Doc.
• Ask managers to fill in all required custom fields.
• Use comments for questions or clarifications, not ratings.

Once managers submit their input, HR can review tasks in bulk using filters to find missing or inconsistent ratings.

Use ClickUp Data for Development Planning

The real value of talent reviews comes from turning insights into action. ClickUp makes it easier to connect review outcomes with ongoing development work.

Step 10: Highlight high-potential and at-risk employees

Use filters in your talent review list to focus on key groups, such as:

• High performance and high potential
• High performance and high retention risk
• Critical roles with limited successors

From here, you can create additional tasks or lists for development plans and succession planning initiatives.

Step 11: Link ClickUp reviews to goals and projects

When development needs are identified, convert them into actionable plans:

• Create tasks for training, mentoring, or stretch assignments.
• Connect review tasks to relevant Goals or OKRs in ClickUp.
• Use task relationships to tie development tasks back to the original review.

This keeps your talent strategy visible and measurable instead of buried in static documents.

Optimize and Scale Your ClickUp Talent Reviews

As you run more cycles, refine your ClickUp setup so it scales with your organization.

• Adjust custom fields if certain ratings are unclear.
• Save improved list and board views as new templates.
• Standardize naming conventions and documentation.

If you want expert help designing scalable ClickUp workflows across HR, projects, and operations, you can also work with consultants like Consultevo to align your workspace with broader business systems.

Next Steps: Start Your Talent Review Setup in ClickUp

To recap, you can build a structured talent review system in ClickUp by:

1. Defining your cycle and evaluation criteria.
2. Creating a dedicated Space or Folder for reviews.
3. Building a reusable task template with custom fields.
4. Configuring list, table, and board views for insights.
5. Running each review cycle with assignments, due dates, and calibration.
6. Turning review results into development and succession plans.

Use the ideas from the official ClickUp talent review templates article and adapt them to your own structure, then refine your setup every cycle. Over time, your ClickUp workspace becomes a central, reliable system for all your talent decisions.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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