A lightweight running record of every feedback conversation you have with your team. So nothing is missed, nothing is said twice, and the patterns get visible before the performance review. Add a line after every feedback moment, positive or constructive, and the review writes itself.
Most business owners and leaders do not lack feedback. They lack a record of it. You said something in the kitchen. You sent a quick thank-you on Teams. You had a two-minute chat after a client call. A week later, you cannot remember whether you raised the issue with this team member or a different one, whether you followed up, or whether the pattern has actually shifted.
The Feedback Logbook fixes that. Every time you give feedback, positive or constructive, in the moment or planned, you add a line. It saves to your Your HR Toolkit account so it travels across browsers and devices. It is your working record of what you have said, to whom, when, and what was agreed.
It also makes the patterns visible. Who is getting regular feedback from you. Who is getting almost none. Which team members you are having constructive conversations with. Which actions you agreed and have not followed up on. What you will bring to the performance review that is already on the record, not new.
Log these. Any piece of feedback beyond a passing thank-you. Recognition moments where you named specifics. Constructive feedback on performance, conduct, communication, attendance, attitude or pattern behaviour. Planned conversations. Written feedback sent in an email or Teams message. Follow-up from a previous conversation. The moment a team member raised feedback for you.
Do not log these. General chat, day to day coordinating, "have you got the file for the 2pm?", client handover information. The logbook is for feedback specifically, not a communications log. If it is unclear, the test is: could this be referenced in a performance review, a probation check-in or a record of discussion. If yes, log it.
What each entry captures. The team member, the date, whether it was positive or constructive, the one-line description (what you observed, the impact, what was agreed), the delivery channel (in person, email, Teams, meeting, written), and whether a follow-up is needed and by when.
The description field is where the COIN model earns its keep, condensed. Every entry should name at least the observation and the impact. For constructive feedback, also name the next step that was agreed.
Positive example. "Tuesday client call with Henderson. Ran the agenda, handled the pricing pushback calmly, closed the renewal in the meeting. Client emailed thanks afterwards. Named it in our Friday stand-up as the standard for commercial calls."
Constructive example. "Weekly sales report missed Friday four weeks in a row. Raised it after standup on Tuesday. Team member said it was happening during Thursday client-heavy blocks. Agreed to move the report slot to Tuesday 9am and block the calendar. Review in a fortnight."
The aim is that reading the entry six months later, you can recall the substance of the conversation and whether it was handled. If you cannot write it in a sentence or two, the entry is not specific enough. Use the COIN Feedback Planner if you are planning the conversation before you have it.
Above the entry list you will see five stats. They update every time you add, edit or delete an entry.
Below the entry list is a Patterns table that groups by team member. For each person you have logged feedback for, it shows total entries, positive count, constructive count, days since last feedback, and any open follow-ups.
This is the layer that makes the logbook worth keeping. Skim it monthly. The team member with zero entries in the last 45 days is the one the performance review will catch you out on. The team member with six constructive entries and zero positive is the one already wondering whether you like them. The team member with three open follow-ups is the one carrying something you have not closed off.
The table flags amber when days since last feedback crosses 45, and flags red when it crosses 90. It flags amber when constructive entries outweigh positive by more than 2 to 1 for a specific team member.
Where the data lives. When you are signed in to your Your HR Toolkit account, the logbook saves to your account and travels with you. When you are not signed in, entries are held in this browser only, on this device, until you sign in and save.
Retention. You own the record. There is no automatic retention period. If a team member leaves, use the per-person export button in the Patterns table to pull a CSV of their entries for the employee file, then delete their rows from the active log.
Shareability. For performance reviews, probation check-ins, records of discussion and written warnings, use the per-person export button to pull a CSV for that team member. Paste the relevant rows into the review or warning as evidence. The logbook is not designed to be shared directly. It is your working record, and some entries will contain leader-only context that does not belong in a review document handed back to the team member.
Before the conversation. Use the COIN Feedback Planner to draft the content of a planned constructive conversation. Use the Scripts Library for the words when you are caught on the spot and need a clean sentence.
After the conversation. Open the Logbook and add the entry. Every time. Treat it as the final step of the conversation, not a later admin task.
At the review. When you sit down to write a performance review, a record of discussion, a written warning or a PIP, start in the Logbook. Pull the entries for the team member. That is your evidence base. Nothing in the review should be new.
Plan the conversation using Context, Observation, Impact, Next step. Then log the outcome here.
The words for in-the-moment and planned moments. Use a script, have the conversation, then log it.
When informal feedback has not landed, step up to a signed record. The Logbook shows you the pattern.
Pull a team member's entries before the review. Nothing should be new at review time.
Skim this monthly. The person with zero entries in 45 days, or with constructive outweighing positive, is the one to notice first.
| Team member | Total | Positive | Constructive | Days since last | Open follow-ups |
|---|