Talent Development

Content Maintainers
Megan Pittman
Vanessa Yeh

Annual Review Cadence

Performance Reviews

Compensation Reviews & Promotion Cycles

Annual Review Cadence

🌏 Note that all dates below are formatted by US dates, so it will be MM/DD

Types of Review Cycles

There are two types of review cycles at dbt Labs.

1. Performance Reviews

2. Compensation Reviews & Promotion Cycles

Using Culture Amp for reviews

We use Culture Amp for our reviews and it can be accessed through Okta or here.

Cadence

👉 Each review cycle happens twice per year, meaning we have 4 cycles total.

Because of the relationship between performance, and compensation/ promotions, the review cycles are close together, while being separate. This also means that our operating calendar has space for large events (company kick off and Coalesce, for example) to happen without a review cycle in tandem.

Schedule & Logistics

Q1 - Performance

• Reviews Q4 and Q1 performance. (11/1 - 4/30 in any year)
• Includes team members that started before 2/1 and are therefore out of their 30/60/90 day plans.
  • Managers that started after 2/1 will still be responsible for reviewing any eligible team members. They should consult with the team members’ former manager and, if applicable, may add them as a collaborator on the review.
• Everyone will have two weeks to write and complete their reviews (including peer and upwards feedback, if you choose to opt into this). The following month will be when you have a dedicated conversation with your manager to go over everything that was submitted as part of the performance review.

Timeline

Step	Who	When	Time Commitment
Request peer reviews	All team members	Last week of April	5 min
Self reflection, peer and upward	All team members	First two weeks of May	2 hours
Manager reviews	Managers	Weeks two and three in May	30 min per team member
Calibrations	Managers and People Partners	Last week of May	1 hour
Meetings	All team members	June	45 min per team member

Meetings

• IC reviews: managers to repurpose a 1:1 meeting in June
• People manager reviews: people managers are scheduled with a third person nominated by their manager, most commonly the team member's skip-level manager. Their managers are responsible for finding time that works for everyone, ideally, the third person can be added into a 1:1 meeting in June.

Time commitment estimation:

• IC: 3 hours total: 2 hours of writing; self, peer (optional), upward (optional). 1 hour of meeting time
• Managers: 2 hours per team member (including writing, calibration, meeting prep and the meeting) Time commitment should not exceed 20 hours over 2 months (6.25%)

Q2 - Compensation & Promotion

• Eligible team members started in their current role before 5/1 the previous year

Timeline

Step	Who	When	Time Commitment
Collect reviews + create promotion packets	Managers + select team members	June	2 hours
Eligibility + budget for merit delivered	People Partners + Finance & Strategy	June 15
Promotion packets due	Managers	July 1 or closest weekday any year
Merit requests in	Managers	July 1 or closest weekday any year	1 hour
Calibration sessions	Managers + People Business Partners	First 2 weeks of July	1 hour per team
Compensation discussions	Managers and eligible team members	Last 2 weeks of July	1 hour per team member
Changes go into effect		August 1

Meetings

• Include in a 1:1 meeting at the end of July
  • Folks know, based on their start date in their role, whether or not they are eligible and can prepare to have a compensation discussion with their manager.

Time commitment estimation:

• IC: If asked to participate in a promotion packet; 1 hour
• Managers:
  • Promotions: 6 hours per team member (including writing, collecting and meetings)
  • Merit: 2 hours for requests and calibrations plus 30 minutes for each eligible team member for the discussion.

Q3 - Performance

• Reviews Q2 and Q3 performance. (5/1 - 10/31 in any year)
• Includes team members that started before 8/1 and are therefore out of their 30/60/90 day plans.
  • Managers that started after 8/1 will still be responsible for reviewing any eligible team members. They should consult with the team members’ former manager and, if applicable, may add them as a collaborator on the review.
• Everyone will have two weeks to write and complete their reviews (including peer and upwards feedback, if you choose to opt into this). The following month will be when you have a dedicated conversation with your manager to go over everything that was submitted as part of the performance review.

Timeline

Step	Who	When	Time Commitment
Request peer reviews	All team members	Last week of October	5 min
Self reflection, peer and upward	All team members	First two weeks of November	2 hours
Manager reviews	Managers	Weeks two and three in November	30 min per team member
Calibrations	Managers and People Partners	Last week of November/First week of December	1 hour
Meetings	All team members	December + into January if needed	45 min per team member

Meetings

• IC reviews: managers to repurpose a 1:1 meeting in December
• People manager reviews: people managers are scheduled with a third person, most commonly the team member's skip-level manager. Managers are responsible for finding time that works for everyone, ideally, the third person can be added into a 1:1 meeting in December.

Time commitment estimation:

• IC: 3 hours total: 2 hours of writing; self, peer, upward. 1 hour of meeting time
• Managers: 2 hours per team member (including writing, calibration, meeting prep and the meeting) Time commitment should not exceed 20 hours over 2 months (6.25%)

Q4 - Compensation & Promotion

• Eligible team members started in their current role before 11/1 the previous year

Timeline

Step	Who	When	Time Commitment
Collect reviews + create promotion packets	Managers + select team members	December	2 hours
Eligibility + budget for merit delivered	People Partners + Finance & Strategy	Dec 10
Promotion packets due	Managers	Dec 23 or closest weekday any year
Merit requests in	Managers	Dec 23 or closest weekday any year	1 hour
Calibration sessions	Managers + People Business Partners	First 2 weeks of January	1 hour per team
Compensation discussions	Managers and eligible team members	Last 2 weeks of January	1 hour per team member
Changes go into effect		Feb 1

Meetings

• Include in a 1:1 meeting at the end of January
  • Folks know, based on their start date in their role, whether or not they are eligible and can prepare to have a compensation discussion with their manager.

Time commitment estimation:

• IC: If asked to participate in a promotion packet; 1 hour
• Managers:
  • Promotions: 6 hours per team member (including writing, collecting and meetings)
  • Merit: 2 hours for requests and calibrations plus 30 minutes for each eligible team member for the discussion.

Performance Reviews

📌 We conduct performance reviews twice a year, in Q1 and Q3.

Process Overview

Cadence

ℹ️ Performance reviews happen every 6 months and are full “360 reviews”. Performance reviews are done within Culture Amp (which can be accessed via your Okta portal). Culture Amp is our official system of record for performance and engagement.

The performance review consists of a self reflection, peer feedback (optional), upwards feedback (optional), and manager review.

• Everyone can nominate who they would like to receive peer feedback from.
  • We recommend nominating minimum 2, no more than 5 peers
  • Your manager will need to assign peer feedback requests
  • It’s highly encouraged for people to submit peer feedback when requested, but if you do not have the time or feel you do not have sufficient feedback to provide, you are welcome to decline giving feedback in a given cycle.
• Everyone will be requested to submit upwards feedback about their manager (and this will go to your skip level manager to see; it helps them write their assessment of your manager) however know this is also completely optional. Your skip level may share your written feedback with your manager.
• At minimum everyone needs to submit the self-reflection (and if you are a people manager, the manager review for your team members).

Purpose

ℹ️ We believe in a continuous feedback culture at dbt Labs. The bi-annual performance reviews are meant to be an intentional check-in to ensure everyone is on track with regards to their development and growth path. You should also know, very clearly, how you are performing in your current role at the end of the review cycle.

While an overview of how you are doing in your role is an element of the review meeting, it’s also an opportunity for us to learn about what aspects of the role you enjoy the most and how you would like to see your career grow.

It should be a dedicated conversation around topics you might not be able to get to or dive in deep during your regular check-ins.

We support development, and there is a development tool we have available for managers and employees to utilize.

Ideally, nothing written or discussed in your performance review is a surprise. Our expectation is immediate and consistent feedback is given throughout the year and not only during review season. So why have reviews if we’re expected to give consistent feedback? For many reasons, these more official checkpoints in the year help us with accountability, to summarize that feedback, give us moments to pause and appreciate wins together, and sets aside dedicated spotlight to development conversations.

Schedule & Time Commitment

Learn more about the schedule and logistics for our reviews here where you'll find Q1 Performance Review Schedule and Q3 Performance Review Schedule.

Meetings & Conversations

ℹ️ Managers are responsible for ensuring:

• reviews are shared with each team member (please share the written reviews 1 day before the scheduled review meeting), and;
• review meetings happens within the designated month

For all individuals: this meeting will just be you and your manager (ideally, you’re just expanding an existing 1:1 to talk about reviews).

• If your work is more cross functional (i.e. you’re embedded on another team), the leader from the other function might be the most suitable to join you and your manager in your performance review.

Details

Questions Asked

When the review cycle opens, the following questions will be within a Culture Amp form and you will write your answers to each question in Culture Amp.

If you know you’re going to be out of the office when the review cycle opens (based on the schedule above), you can write your answers ahead of time and submit when you return.

The questions below are for individual contributors in the performance review cycle

• Self-Reflection
  1. What project or contribution are you most proud of in this review period?
  2. What do you wish you had achieved but weren't able to? What were the blockers or challenges you faced?
  3. What is the most motivating and least motivating part of your role?
  4. What do you want to focus on developing over the next 6-12 months?
  5. What can your manager do to continue to or better support you?
  6. How you rate your performance this past half?
     1. Needs Development/Meets Expectations/Exceeds Expectations/Sets a new standard
• Peer Feedback
  1. How has this person’s work impacted your ability to deliver on your goals this past 1-2 quarters?
  2. What is one piece of constructive advice you would share with this person, and how would this change impact your work?
  3. Which dbt Labs value(s) does this person embody? Which value(s) would you recommend they focus on in the coming half?
• Upwards Feedback
  1. What can your manager do to better support you in your work?
  2. What areas of leadership development should your manager focus on that would positively impact the team's performance?
  3. How does your manager advocate for your team?
  4. Do you receive consistent and helpful feedback from your manager? Is it both constructive and affirmative, and what is the impact of this feedback for you?
  5. How does your manager support your professional development and/or personal growth?
  6. Which dbt Labs value(s) does your manager embody? Which value(s) would you recommend they focus on in the coming half?
• Manager Feedback to Employee
  1. How you rate this team member’s performance this past half?
     1. Needs Development/Meets Expectations/Exceeds Expectations/Sets a new standard
  2. What areas does this employee excel in? (please reference some of the reasons for your performance rating)
  3. What was their biggest impact to the organization this past half? (please reference some of the reasons for your performance rating)
  4. What are some areas of improvement or growth for this person to work on within their level/current role in the next half? (please reference some of the reasons for your performance rating)
  5. Which dbt Labs value(s) does this person embody? Which value(s) would you like them to focus on in the coming half?
  6. How can you continue and better support this team member in their development?

The questions below are specific to people managers in the performance review cycle

• Self-Reflection
  1. What project or contribution are you most proud of your team for accomplishing this review period? What part did you play in it?
  2. What do you wish you had achieved but weren't able to? What were the blockers or challenges you faced?
  3. What is the most motivating and least motivating part of your role?
  4. What ratio of People Management : Individual Contributor work do you feel you do on average? Do you want to continue in this ratio?
  5. What do you want to focus on developing over the next 6-12 months?
  6. What can your manager do to continue to or better support you?
  7. What can you do to continue to or better support your team?
  8. How would you rate your performance as a manager this past half?
     1. Needs Development/Meets Expectations/Exceeds Expectations/Sets a new standard
• Peer Feedback
  1. How has this person’s work impacted your ability to deliver on your goals this past 1-2 quarters?
  2. What is one piece of constructive advice you would share with this person, and how would this change impact your work?
  3. Which dbt Labs value(s) does this person embody? Which value(s) would you recommend they focus on in the coming half?
• Upwards Feedback
  1. What can your manager do to better support you in your work?
  2. What areas of leadership development should your manager focus on that would positively impact the team's performance?
  3. How does your manager advocate for your team?
  4. Do you receive consistent and helpful feedback from your manager? Is it both constructive and affirmative, and what is the impact of this feedback for you?
  5. How does your manager support your professional development and/or personal growth?
  6. Which dbt Labs value(s) does your manager embody? Which value(s) would you recommend they focus on in the coming half?
• Manager Feedback to Employee
  1. How you rate this team member’s performance this past half?
     1. Needs Development/Meets Expectations/Exceeds Expectations/Sets a new standard
  2. What areas does this employee excel in? (please reference some of the reasons for your performance rating)
  3. What was their biggest impact to the organization this past half? (please reference some of the reasons for your performance rating)
  4. What was their biggest impact to their team’s success or accomplishments this past half?
  5. What are leadership areas for this person to work on? (please reference upwards feedback provided)
  6. How can you continue and better support this team member in their development?
  7. Which dbt Labs value(s) does this person embody? Which value(s) would you like them to focus on in the coming half?

Performance Definitions

Evaluation	Definition	Description
Sets a New Standard	Far exceeds expectations.	This person consistently delivers on and exceeds all the expectations and goals of the role. This person demonstrates an exceptional expertise in their areas of responsibilities. Their quality of work is at the point where others learn that something new/innovation is still possible to be achieved in the context of this role. They influence others to perform and behave better. They consistently exemplify dbt Labs values.
Often Exceeds Expectations	Regularly exceeds expectations.	This person consistently delivers on all the core expectations and goals for the role. They either do things at a quality level beyond what was scoped or specified OR the positive impact of the work is larger than what was anticipated. They consistently exemplify dbt Labs values.
Consistently Meets Expectations	Consistently meets expectations and sometimes exceeds expectations.	This person delivers on a majority of the core expectations and goals for the role. They consistently exemplify dbt Labs values. This person is doing what they were hired to do.
Needs Development	Not consistently delivering on expectations of role.	This person requires additional direction and support in order to get essential parts of the role done. This person isn’t able to show consistent results expected for the role to produce. Receiving a “needs development” means active coaching is needed; the manager will need to be more prescriptive about the areas needing change and will need to outline clear next steps for the person to develop into their current role.
Not applicable (absent for a majority of the review period)	Neutral evaluation	This person was gone for 4 or more out of the 6 months we are evaluating for this period.

Calibration

ℹ️ Calibration sessions are held with department leaders and their People Business Partner. These sessions happen after reviews are written and before any meetings or feedback is shared with the team member.

The objective of calibration sessions is to ensure that different managers apply similar standards in measuring and evaluating the performance of our team. All team members get a fair and objective performance evaluation.

1. Increase review accuracy. Unfortunately, one manager’s idea of a top performer might differ wildly from another’s - a difference that can dramatically hurt one team and help another. This is a risk because, come promotion and raise time, one manager’s team will have a significant leg up while the other’s chances will suffer. Calibration ensures reviews are more consistent and accurate.
2. Properly acknowledge and reward high performance. Once the bar is set, managers can evaluate employees with more certainty and ensure everyone on their team gets the recognition and reward they deserve.
3. Reduce bias. When managers rate their direct reports in a vacuum, they can only compare their direct reports to other teammates or their own idea of what performance should be. Without a calibration discussion, a manager might let unconscious bias influence their decisions and prevent specific reports from receiving a fair review.

• The calibration process generally operates this way:

  • All managers submit their performance review feedback and evaluations by the end of the written cycle deadline.
  • Leaders in each org meet as a group to calibrate on their ICs — this meeting is facilitated by the People Business Partner.
  • The e-team also receives all the evaluations and meets to review and discuss the performance review evaluation distribution across the org and their direct reports.

  Prior to calibration sessions, senior leaders in each org should understand the feedback for all team members in their org. This may mean reviewing with a frontline manager on your team 1:1 to discuss their team, if they will not be included in the calibration session. Please work with your People Business Partner to determine who will be in the calibration session.

  We will be using Culture Amp to facilitate the calibration sessions.

Resources

Check out our resources to support the performance review process.

Compensation Reviews & Promotion Cycles

📌 We offer promotion and compensation cycles twice a year, in Q2 and Q4. Any changes will be effective on 8/1 and 2/1 respectively, aligning with our fiscal halves. Having 2 cycles per year is meant to give ample opportunity to reward team members.

Please make sure to review our compensation principles in order to understand how we think about compensation at dbt Labs.

Compensation Reviews

As a general rule, every team member will be eligible for one merit compensation review per year*. The cycle each team member is included in will be the cycle closest to the start date of the role they are currently in. This will either be their start date with the company or the start date in a new role through promotion or internal mobility. See the table below to determine who is included in each cycle.

*Exceptions will be made very rarely with CFO and Head of People approval.

• Overview of your compensation review based on start month:

Start Month	Cycle Breakdown
January	Q4
February*	Q4
March	Q4
April	Q4
May	Q2
June	Q2
July	Q2
August	Q2
September	Q2
October	Q2
November	Q4 (+1 year)
December	Q4 (+1 year)

• We encourage team members to understand when their individual compensation review is so that they can prepare to have the conversations with their manager.

Process Overview

Ahead of the cycle, the People Business Partner and Compensation Team will produce a packet of all team members within the eligibility window for merit (minimum of 9 months since starting in their current role or 1 year since their last merit increase). The packet will also include merit budget and % recommendations based on performance.

Managers will propose merit increases for eligible team members. This process will be open for 2 weeks.

All merit increases must remain in the bounds of the compensation range for the role the team member is currently in.

All proposed increases will be reviewed in calibration meetings with leaders in each org to ensure internal equity and keeping in our budget. Any increases greater than 10% will need CFO approval.

Detailed schedule here.

Promotion Cycles

As a general rule, team members are eligible for a promotion if they meet a 1 year tenure guideline* AND have shown that they are ready for the next step in their career. This is up to the manager discretion.

*Exceptions will be made very rarely with CFO and Head of People approval.

Promotion Packets

In order to request a promotion, the manager is responsible for gathering:

➡️ We recommend gathering this feedback through 1:1 conversations and performance review feedback and compiling the notes to include in your “formal” packet.

1️⃣ at least 1 current peer review, providing feedback at their current level over, at least, the last 6 months,

2️⃣ at least 1 review from a peer at the level they would be promoted to focusing on areas where they are already contributing at the next level (*if there is no one at the new level, a member of that team’s leadership team should be included) to and,

3️⃣ a minimum of 3 reviews total to support the promotion application (*if the person up for promotion manages a team, the third review should be an upward review from a member of their team. Otherwise the 3rd review can be a statement of support from a member of that team’s leadership team).

We will create a promotion template in Culture Amp that includes:

• Justification, if any, for a promotion into a more senior role: does the business or team need someone in an expanded role right now? Is there higher scope or needs that they are currently filling or doing? This should be especially important at the senior and staff level and above.

• Impact to the business in the last 12 months: since folks get promoted no more frequently than once a year, we want to take their entire prior year into account when constructing promo packets. This should include quantitative impact statements, quotes from peers, customers, prior performance review data, etc.

• Examples of how this person is ready for an expanded role: here, the manager describes behaviors that an individual has shown consistently that tell us they are already operating at the next level.

• The following metadata will already exist in Culture Amp and will be pulled by the People Team:

  • A summary of ratings from the past 12 months of review cycles to paint a picture of the persons trajectory
  • Their tenure at company + time in current role

Promotions will be reviewed and approved in calibration sessions with each org.

Schedule & Time Commitment for Compensation & Promotion Reviews

Learn more about the schedule and logistics for our reviews here where you'll find the Q2 Compensation & Promotion Review Schedule and the Q4 Compensation & Promotion Review Schedule.