The Rating Cycle Group permission lets administrators set and manage recurring performance periods, usually matching the fiscal year. These cycles automatically renew yearly, so there's no need to recreate them. Agencies can create separate groups for SES, non-SES, or other employee categories. Once a cycle is released, performance plans can be made. In following years, plans can start up to 90 days before the next appraisal period, based on the administrator's settings.
The rating cycle group defaults to the fiscal year start and end date and carries over from year to year. It is not necessary to create a new rating cycle group each year.
To create and edit rating cycle groups, access via Admin on the top navigation bar. Click Manage Rating Cycle Groups under System Configuration. The Rating Cycle Groups page will open.
Here are the fields and descriptions for the Manage Rating Cycle Groups screen in USA Performance:
Page Controls & Filters
New Rating Cycle Group (Button) – Opens a form to create a new rating cycle group, defining the start/end dates and availability for performance plans.
Search (Field + Button) – Allows administrators to search for rating cycle groups by name or keyword.
Reset (Button) – Clears any search criteria and restores the full list of rating cycle groups.
Display Records (Dropdown) – Controls how many entries display on the page at once (e.g., 10, 25, 50).
Pagination Controls (First, Previous, Next, Last) – Navigate through multiple pages of rating cycle group entries.
Table Columns
Name – The name of the rating cycle group (e.g., Fiscal Year Cycle, Calendar Year Rating Cycle). This is the grouping assigned to employees to define their performance appraisal period.
Start Date – The beginning date of the performance cycle (e.g., 10/01 for a fiscal year cycle).
End Date – The ending date of the performance cycle (e.g., 09/30 for a fiscal year cycle).
First Available Date – The earliest date on which a performance plan can be created or activated for users assigned to this rating cycle.
Status – Indicates whether the rating cycle group is Active (available for use) or Inactive (no longer available for new plans).
Additional Notes
A system note explains that Rating Cycle Groups carry over from year to year and typically do not need to be recreated annually unless agency requirements change.