In some cases, a manager may change while a review cycle is still in progress — due to org restructuring, team changes, role transitions, or exits. Peoplebox supports automatic mid-cycle manager updates to handle these transitions smoothly without disrupting the review process.
🧭 Admin view & configuration
When creating or editing a review cycle, admins can enable Automatic Manager Changes under advanced settings.
📌Note: You must set a cut-off date — changes after this date will not reflect in the cycle.
🔄 What happens when a manager changes mid-cycle
When a manager is updated for an employee during a live review cycle, Peoplebox applies the following rules to preserve data integrity and transparency.
Goals
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If goals were approved by the previous manager, those goals remain intact and continue to display the approver as the previous manager.
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If the new manager edits and re-approves goals, the approver attribution updates to the new manager.
Peers
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If peers were selected or approved by the previous manager, those selections remain unless they are manually changed.
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If the new manager changes and re-approves peers, the approver attribution updates accordingly.
Previous manager's review (downward review)
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If the previous manager submitted a review, that submission remains saved and is available to the new manager under the Previous Manager reviewer type.
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If the previous manager did not submit a review, they may still submit one; any submission will be recorded and associated with the Previous Manager phase.
New manager actions
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The new manager will be notified and asked to write a review for the employee.
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Any required homepage actions for the new manager will be created (or updated) so they can complete pending tasks.
Reviewee feedback (upward review)
- The reviewee will be asked to provide feedback for the new manager. They will also be asked to provide feedback for the previous manager only if they had given any feedback.
🧾 Phases, visibility & data handling
To preserve prior feedback and workflows, Peoplebox creates (or reuses) system phases when manager changes occur:
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Previous Manager — used for downward reviews submitted by a prior manager. The phase is created once per review and reused for subsequent manager changes.
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Previous Direct Report — used for upward feedback tied to a previous direct report, created and reused in the same way.
Visibility defaults:
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New managers are granted visibility to the reviews associated with the Previous Manager reviewer type so they can access prior submissions.
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These reviewer types are hidden and separate from the default user created type.
Security and usage:
- These reviewer types are system-generated and are not selectable manually by regular users. Their internal keys are specific to prevent accidental or manual use.
Phases & homepage actions:
- When a new system reviewer type is created, a corresponding phase and homepage action will be created. This phase is separate from the normal Write Review phase to avoid confusion and preserve workflow clarity.
📬 Notifications & daily digest
Who gets notified:
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Review cycle creator receives a daily email digest summarizing all manager changes applied that day. This digest is the only admin-facing email for daily updates.
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New manager receives an email listing their new direct reports and any action items (e.g., Write Review links).
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Reviewee (employee) receives a notification when their manager changes and is informed about what this means for the ongoing review.
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Previous manager receives a summary of removed assignments; no action is required unless they submit a pending review.
📌Note:
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All notifications go out at end of the day per the account time zone.
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Account-level administrators can request an account-wide option to suppress manager/direct-report emails (contact Peoplebox support to enable this functionality).
⚠️ Important admin warnings
Before enabling Automatic Manager Changes, be aware of the following:
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Enabling this feature updates manager/direct-report assignments within this review cycle to match your employee database. Any assignments that differ from the employee table will be overwritten for the cycle.
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Changes applied by this feature cannot be automatically undone. We currently do not support automatic reverting. To revert changes, you must manually reassign managers/direct reports for affected reviewees or restore from an exported snapshot.
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Verify employee mappings before enabling the feature to avoid data inconsistencies.
When admins enable the feature, they will be shown a confirmation modal that explains these warnings and requires an explicit acknowledgment before proceeding.
❓ FAQs
Q: Will my old manager's review be deleted?
A: No. If the previous manager submitted a review, it remains saved and visible under the Previous Manager phase.
Q: Will goals or peers need to be re-approved after a manager change?
A: No. Approved goals and peers remain as-is unless the new manager edits and re-approves them. If re-approved, the approver attribution updates to the new manager.
Q: Can I automatically undo manager changes applied by this feature?
A: No. Automatic reverting is not supported. To undo changes you must manually reassign managers or restore from an exported snapshot.
Q: Who receives the daily digest email?
A: The daily digest is sent only to the review cycle creator and summarizes the changes applied that day. All notifications go out at the end of the day per the account timezone. Account-level administrators can request an account-wide option to suppress manager/direct-report emails (contact Peoplebox support to enable this functionality).
Q: Will the employee's reporting manager in the employee database be changed?
A: No. Automatic Manager Changes affect assignments only within the review cycle. Your organization's employee database (HRIS) remains unchanged.
🛠️ Need help?
If you have questions or need assistance adjusting manager assignments, reach out to your Peoplebox Customer Success Manager or email us at support@peoplebox.ai.