Reviews shouldn’t reward the last six weeks.
By review season you remember the last sprint and the most emotional moment, not the year. Keep short dated notes per person all year, and your review sees the whole twelve months instead of the last six weeks.
You realized your review reflects the last sprint, and it feels unfair.
You sit down to write a review and the recent stuff is loud. A late deadline in October. A great demo last week. Meanwhile the migration someone led in February has gone quiet in your memory, even though it mattered more.
This page is for managers who want to avoid being tilted toward what’s recent, and want every report rated on the whole year, not on whatever happened last.
Three steps. Capture all year, read before you rate.
Everything here works today: web capture, @people timelines, search, and export. Private by default, on secured infrastructure.
One dated February line makes the November review accurate.
Maya shipped the biggest project of the year in February, then had a slow September. From memory, the September feeling drives the rating. The note prevents it.
“Maya was solid but a bit inconsistent lately. Meets expectations.”
The September feeling is loud. The February migration has gone quiet. The number it deserved is gone with it.
FEB 9 Maya led the billing migration, zero downtime, 3 teams unblocked.
“Led the billing migration in February with zero downtime and unblocked three teams. Exceeds on impact. One slow stretch in September, scope-driven, already corrected.”
Same manager, same year. A dated line read the whole period instead of the last six weeks.
Everything you need to see the whole year is live.
No setup theater, no waiting list. You can start keeping dated notes per person today.
Recency bias, answered.
What is recency bias in performance reviews?
Recency bias is the tendency to weight the last few weeks of work far more heavily than the rest of the review period. The most recent sprint and the most emotional moment feel vivid, while January and February fade. The result is a review that rewards timing instead of the whole year.
How do I reduce recency bias when writing a review?
Keep short dated notes per person all year, the day things happen. At review time, read the whole period before you rate anything, and tie each rating to a logged, dated example instead of to a recent feeling. Evidence collected over twelve months outvotes the last six weeks.
Does Notivo make my reviews fair?
No. Notivo is your own private record that helps you remember the whole year instead of just the recent past. The judgment is still yours. It is a memory aid, not a guarantee of fairness and not a decision-maker.
Are my notes private?
Yes. Notes are private by default and scoped to your account, stored on secured infrastructure. They are your working memory. You decide what, if anything, is ever shared.
Go deeper on fair reviews.
Have an answer for the whole year.
You’re tilted toward what’s recent. Your notes don’t have to be. Start with one dated line today.