The visibility of a feedback decides who can read it, who is notified, and where it appears later, for example in performance reviews. The author picks the visibility in Who should see this feedback? when giving feedback, and it can't be changed afterwards. Customers sometimes call this the privacy or sharing setting of a feedback.

Before you start

• In Feedbacks, an employee's manager is the person in the Manager field of the employee's profile.
• People with the Review Process Full Visibility permission (usually HR or Performance admins) can read more feedback than managers. Admins set this permission in Settings > Permissions > Reviews.

Steps

Choose the visibility when you give feedback (everyone)

1. Go to Performance > Feedbacks.
2. Click Give feedback.
3. In Who should see this feedback?, choose The employee only, The employee and their manager, or Their manager only.
4. Write the feedback and click Send feedback.

Check the visibility of an existing feedback (everyone)

1. Go to Performance > Feedbacks.
2. Look at the Visibility tag on the feedback card, or click the card to open the side panel.
3. The Visibility tag shows Employee only, Employee and manager, or Manager only.

Who can read each visibility

Rules and behavior

• If the visibility is The employee only, then only the author and the receivers can read the feedback. Managers and people with Review Process Full Visibility can't read it.
• If the visibility is The employee and their manager, then the author, the receivers, each receiver's manager, and people with Review Process Full Visibility can read it.
• If the visibility is Their manager only, then the receiver can't see the feedback and isn't notified. The author, the receiver's managers and people with Review Process Full Visibility can read it.
• If no visibility is chosen, then the form uses The employee only.
• If a feedback was sent to several people, then the managers of each receiver can read the whole feedback, including the names of the other receivers (unless the visibility is The employee only).
• If an employee changes manager, then the new manager can read the employee's past shared feedback and the previous manager can no longer read it.
• If an employee is no longer active, then their managers can no longer read feedback the employee received.
• The author can always read their own feedback, whatever the visibility.

Limitations

• You can't change the visibility of a feedback after sending it.
• You can't pick specific people (for example only HR) as readers. The only options are the three visibility settings.
• You can't hide a feedback from people with Review Process Full Visibility unless you choose The employee only.
• Managers don't get an email when their reports receive feedback.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: "I'm a manager and I can't see feedback someone gave to my report." → Cause: the author chose The employee only. → Fix: none. Only the employee and the author can read that feedback.
• Symptom: "A colleague says they sent me feedback, but I can't see it." → Cause: the author chose Their manager only. → Fix: none. That feedback is only for your managers.
• Symptom: "I'm an HR admin and I can't see all feedback." → Cause: you don't have Review Process Full Visibility, or the feedback is Employee only. → Fix: ask an admin to add the permission in Settings > Permissions > Reviews. Employee only feedback stays private.

FAQ

1. Can HR read feedback I sent as "The employee only"?

No. Only you and the people you sent it to can read it in Factorial.

2. Will I be told if someone sends feedback about me to my manager only?

No. Feedback with Their manager only isn't shown or notified to you.

3. Can I change who sees my feedback after I send it?

No. Delete the feedback and send it again with the right visibility.

4. If I send one feedback to three people, can they see each other?

Yes. Every receiver sees the full list of receivers.