Limit the archive to the review cycle
A draft archive should contain only the material needed to prepare, calibrate and approve the current review. Separate source performance evidence, manager drafts, calibration notes and the released review so an early opinion is not mistaken for the final personnel record.
People Operations opens the annual cycle with a roster and responsibility matrix. Each employee receives one controlled workspace; optional manager notes remain outside the formal draft unless approved, and the released review is transferred to the system of record after sign-off.
Run the control in five steps
- 01Define the review population, cycle dates and accountable HR owner.
- 02Identify source evidence, draft authors and required approvers.
- 03Separate working notes, calibration material and released records.
- 04Exclude unrelated medical, investigation or protected-category data.
- 05Approve a version and access manifest before drafting begins.
Preserve an accountable decision trail
Record employee or review identifier, cycle, source, draft owner, approvers, permitted data classes, workspace, version rule and final system of record. Avoid copying review narrative into the control log.
Stop and investigate when
- Managers keep untracked personal copies.
- Draft and final status cannot be distinguished.
- Unrelated sensitive information enters the review folder.
State what the control does not prove
Does not replace provider permissions, guaranteed backup, password recovery or enterprise identity management. Validate manager assignment, provider permissions, plaintext copies, retention and recovery separately.
Performance review security questions
Should informal manager notes enter the archive?
Only when policy and the review purpose require them; otherwise keep scope narrow and documented.
Does encryption make every included note appropriate?
No. Data minimization and employment-policy decisions come first.
Sources for this decision
Links support specific control decisions and do not imply endorsement.