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How to Sync an Appraisal Template to Assigned Appraisals

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Written by Michael Ho

This feature allows Performance administrators to efficiently synchronise appraisal template settings and sections across assigned appraisals. If your appraisal template changes have not synced to employee appraisals, please review the below information.

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For more information, see our article here - FAQ: Syncing Appraisals

Syncing an appraisal template pushes configuration changes from the template to employee appraisals, but there are important limitations to be aware of before you use this feature:

  • Sync only applies to incomplete appraisals. Completed appraisals will not be updated. To apply changes, you must first roll back the appraisal to an earlier phase and then sync it again.

  • Appraisals that already contain at least one recorded rating will not be synced. Changes to appraisal, phase, or section settings will only flow through to appraisals that do not yet have ratings.

  • Syncing phase dates requires the phase structure to match exactly. The title, order, and number of phases in the template must be identical to the assigned appraisals or phase dates will not update.

  • Sync does not change content at a section item level (for example, existing goals, development objectives, or section items that have already been edited in assigned appraisals).

Use the sync options as follows:

  • Appraisal Template Settings – Use this when you change appraisal-level or phase-level configuration, such as:

    • Appraisal Settings (for example, Employee can see manager score, Auto manager update, Overall manager rating display)

    • Phase configuration (for example, Phase Finalisation, who can edit phase dates)

    • Section visibility and weights that are controlled from Appraisal Settings

  • Sections Settings – Use this when you change configuration at section level, such as:

    • Section visibility and permissions (who can view or edit a section)

    • Section activity (can employees/managers add, edit, or delete section items?)

    • Checkpoint settings and checkpoint dates

  • Phase Dates – Use this when you only need to update the start and end dates of phases and do not want to change any other settings.

  • All – Use this with caution when you need to apply all of the above changes at once.

For targeted changes, prefer Sections Settings or Phase Dates instead of All, especially on templates with a large number of assigned appraisals.

Syncing an Appraisal Template to All Assigned Appraisals

Synchronise (template-level sync) – Best when you want to push configuration changes to many appraisals at once and all affected appraisals:

  • Are still in progress (not completed)

  • Do not yet contain ratings (where changes depend on this)

  • Share the same phase structure as the template

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Deleted sections, items, or phases cannot be restored after the sync.

When you remove sections or phases from the appraisal template and then sync:

  • The system permanently deletes the entire section or phase in assigned appraisals, including section items, notes, attachments, and checkpoint responses.

  • Any data removed in this way cannot be recovered via rollback or by Support.

Review template changes carefully and test on a small sample (using the Diagnostics Tool to sync an individual appraisal) before syncing to all assigned appraisals.

1. Navigate to Administration > Performance > Appraisal Setup

2. Click on the down icon next to the Appraisal Settings > Synchronise
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3. Select an option to Sync
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  • Appraisal Template Settings: Update the appraisal phase, appraisal section, and appraisal settings.

  • Sections Settings: Sync section settings from the 'Appraisal Sections' tab.

  • Phase Dates: Sync phase dates from the 'Appraisal Phases' tab.

  • All: Synchronise all options above.

Syncing an Appraisal Template to A Single Employee Appraisal

Sync appraisal (Diagnostics Tool, individual sync) – Best when you need to:

  • Test template changes on a single "pilot" appraisal before syncing all

  • Fix one or a small number of appraisals that show Contains Differences in the Diagnostics Tool

  • Apply a specific sync option (for example, Sections Settings or Phase Dates) to a single employee without impacting everyone else

You can sync a template to a single assigned appraisal. The following options are available when synchronising your template to a single appraisal:

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Deleted sections, items, or phases cannot be restored after the sync. When syncing the template, it's crucial to thoroughly review changes before confirming, as any changes made during synchronisation cannot be reversed.

1. Navigate to Administration > Performance > Appraisal Setup

2. Click Assigned List
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3. Locate the employee's appraisal > Click View
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4. Click on the Diagnostic Tool icon
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5. Click Sync appraisal
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6. Select an option to sync > Sync
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  • Appraisal Template Settings: Update the appraisal phase, appraisal section, and appraisal settings.

  • Sections Settings: Sync section settings from the 'Appraisal Sections' tab.

  • Phase Dates: Sync phase dates from the 'Appraisal Phases' tab.

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