I carry the whole cycle
Booking, prepping, chasing, drafting the memo — the logistics that eat a manager's week.
Review cycle · week 6
- 6 feedback meetings booked
- David and Sofia chased
- Memo drafted for review
Does this sound familiar?
Growth matters, but nobody owns it
It's on nobody's job description, so it waits for a free week that never comes.
People are asking what gets them promoted
The honest answer is a shrug, or a framework in a doc nobody opens.
Departures nobody saw coming
A resignation out of nowhere. The check-in that would have caught it never happened.
HR is drowning in admin
The urgent always beats the important — and growth is never urgent. Until someone resigns.
Why hire me to run your performance review?
I work where your team talks
Slack, Teams or WhatsApp. Nothing to install, nothing to learn, no adoption cliff.
Your matrix, your language
I run using the terms your team uses: skills, job titles, career matrix. Don't have a matrix yet? I will help you build one.
Your growth matrix
- Craft
- Client impact
- Leadership
Doing nothing costs you real money
One senior on a €60k salary walks out. Here's the bill.
Recruiting and hiring the replacement~20% of annual salary~€12,000
Vacancy and ramp-up~6 months to full productivity~€36,000
One quiet exit~€48,000
Your review cycle over 12 weeks
Weeks 1–3Onboarding
First, I learn your organisation
Before any review opens, I learn how you actually work: who works with whom, how you're structured, and what your levels mean in your words. Polar Bear sets it up with you, for free — and if the matrix doesn't exist yet, we write it together.
You decide who advises whom and who sits on the committee. I map it and propose; you approve.
R
Nice to meet you, Michal! Let's kick-off the prep. Share your values, org chart and career matrix with me — a doc, a spreadsheet, an old deck, whatever form they're in.
M
Org chart I have. The rest has never been written down — it lives in people's heads.
R
No worries. We can build the whole thing together. I scheduled us a call tomorrow at 14:00 — you had a free slot then.
Weeks 4–5
Then, I help your people build evidence around their work
Everyone names 3–5 colleagues who should speak to their work, then writes their own account of impact. I run it as a conversation, not a form — and I chase the people who go quiet, so you don't have to.
The reflection stays the employee's own words. I structure it; I never write it for them.
R
Hi David — your self-reflection is due in 3 days. Let's prepare it together.What are the 3 most amazing things you helped your clients achieve over the last 6 months?
D
0:47
R
Got it — all captured. I've started your draft, it's right here. Now tell me: which skills helped you pull this off?
Weeks 6–7
I help managers collect feedback and prepare the conversation with leadership
Your advisors sit down with the people named across all their advisees. I book every meeting, merge the overlaps, and bring the transcripts back here afterwards.
The advisor runs the meeting and reads the room. Giving honest feedback is a person's job.
R
Jana, I've booked your calls to collect feedback on David — Michal and Sofia.Across your four advisees, five names overlapped, so I merged those into shared sessions.
J
Perfect, that saves me half a week.
R
All calls done. Sending you the draft of David's case for committee over email. You can also check it here.
Weeks 8–9
I help schedule calibration discussions and capture all the insight
Managers share the feedback they collected, the leadership ask clarifying questions, add their perspective and vote on rating and promotion.
I capture everything and prepare the materials for upcoming feedback discussions.
R
Discussion with leadership on David's performance is in 30 min.Here are your talking points: strong in conceptual design and UI, needs support on understanding business metrics and preparing for client meetings in advance.
M
Who is in the room?
R
Participants: You, Jana (VP of Design), Nina (VP of Strategy)
Weeks 10–12
And finally, I help get the feedback delivered
The calibrated outcome becomes a written growth memo, then a real conversation. Nobody receives a rating as a document drop.
The advisor and the committee review, approve and release it. The release decision is never mine — and the conversation is the whole point.
R
Jana, I've scheduled your conversation with David — Thursday 15:00, 45 min, room booked.
R
Your conversation with David is in 30 min. Here are your talking points:• Congratulate David on a strong year and share his overall rating.
• His key strengths are conceptual design and UI craft.
• What he needs to focus on is understanding business metrics and preparing for client meetings in advance.
• His key strengths are conceptual design and UI craft.
• What he needs to focus on is understanding business metrics and preparing for client meetings in advance.
J
Call's done, it went well. You can release the memo.
R
Amazing. Sending it to both of you over email now.
After the review cycle you leave with clear next steps for you and for your team
Every person leaves the cycle with a written growth memo: strengths, growth areas, and a concrete next step. Written reasoning keeps the conversation specific and fair, and gives people something to return to.
The whole cohort is scored in one sitting against shared criteria, so one person's “strong” means the same as another's. It creates shared understanding and promotion decisions people can trust.
37%Reciprocity rate
Mira⇆Renée
Daniel⇆Tomás
Inés⇆Tony
The cycle reveals the hidden org chart: who people actually turn to, who carries critical knowledge, and which pairs work well together. Plus the themes that keep surfacing across every conversation.
Visual design8
UX research6
Strategy5
Accessibility−
Illustrations−
Skill gaps become decisions. You see which capabilities to develop inside the team over the next six months, and which gaps won't close from inside and are worth hiring for.
“In a service business, people are the product, and talent is a strategic advantage. Make development a continuous journey and build on people's strengths. Use AI to raise the ceiling of what your people can do and make your best people even better.”
Talent Advisor, ex-McKinsey Global Director of Talent Capabilities
A note from the people who built Ron
We built Ron because we believe people in every organisation deserve a fulfilling career, not just the ones lucky enough to work somewhere with a talent team.
We kept seeing the same pattern in human-size companies: the best way to grow was to take a job somewhere else. Because nobody could justify a full-time function for the size of the current team. Reviews slipped, frameworks lived in a doc nobody opened, and the best people kept leaving.
Between us, we spent 30+ years inside McKinsey, Microsoft and Amex, organisations that are exceptional at growing and keeping their talent. What we experienced there is now possible in smaller teams as well. For the first time, you don't need a person to run the process. AI can do the chasing and the logistics. Your people do what only people can: talk to each other, care about each other, and help each other grow.
We'd love to tell you how we think about Ron's purpose and his boundaries, or just have a coffee. Message us on LinkedIn, or ask Ron to get you time with Pauline. She loves meeting new people.
Built with love by people who worked at
How much does it cost
Think about Ron as a fractional employee. He gets a salary, is paid for projects, and is compensated for expenses.
2026 review cycle
€3,500€7,000
What else it costs
Probation, 3 monthsfree
Year one salary, after probation€400/mo €800
Expenses, on your API key~€150/mo
Included in the price
- ✓All people with a clear growth plan for the next 6 months
- ✓Insights on which skills and areas to focus company efforts on
- ✓Managers equipped to help your people grow and learn
Prices are for teams up to 50 people. If you don't have a career matrix, or the org structure isn't clear, we'll help you set it up before the cycle. Talk to Pauline if your team is a different size.
Before you sign.
What's free and what's paid, exactly when?
Setup is free, always. The trial's first three months are salary-free — I work, you don't pay a
salary. The one thing paid during the trial is the review cycle: €3,500 (founding, 2026). A salary of €400/month only starts after the trial, once you've decided to keep me.
What happens after the trial if we're not convinced?
You keep everything: the framework, the review templates, the growth plans, all the materials
built with you. No salary is owed. You paid for the cycle you ran, and that work stays yours.
Does the €3,500 include the framework setup?
Setup is free and separate — that never costs anything. The €3,500 is for running one
review cycle end to end: collecting input, prepping both sides, and closing every review with a growth plan.
We're 60 people — does the offer apply?
These founding terms are built for teams up to 50. Above that the work is real but different, so
let's talk on the demo and shape something that fits.
What does a founding client commit to?
Two things, both honest. You're referenceable — a case study or a public post about how it went.
And you shape what I become: your feedback during the cycle directly informs the product. In return you get
founding pricing and a direct line to the team.
Who sees the data?
You do. I run on your accounts, conversations stay in your workspace, and we agree upfront on
exactly what I can read, what I store, and what stays between me and each team member.
Can we rename you?
Of course. I'm yours, name included. Call me whatever fits your team — I promise I won't take it
personally.