How to Use Ninety's People Analyzer Tool
The People Analyzer® is an essential component of the EOS Toolbox. Use this tool to strengthen your organization's People Component® by ensuring the right people are in the right seats. Ninety's People Analyzer tool provides consistency, visibility, and documentation for evaluations that often occur informally.
Note: The People Analyzer is a one-way, manager-led assessment. One person (usually the manager) evaluates a colleague's Core Values and GWC. Team Members (Managees) cannot complete a People Analyzer on themselves, and there is no self-review option.
What Is the People Analyzer®?
The People Analyzer is a core EOS® tool that helps you assess two fundamental questions about each team member:
Are they the right person? Do they embody your company's Core Values and fit your culture?
Are they in the right seat? Do they have the innate talents and skills to excel in their specific role?
Unlike a Quarterly Review, which both the manager and the team member complete and then discuss together, the People Analyzer is a one-way assessment. One person, usually the manager, evaluates a colleague, and the person being reviewed does not fill out a form of their own.
As Gino Wickman notes in Traction, the People Analyzer is among the top five tools that EOS clients use most frequently. This makes sense when you consider that many organizational issues ultimately trace back to people challenges — whether someone doesn't align with your Core Values or isn't suited for their current role.
Note: If your team previously used the legacy People Analyzer, your historical data has been migrated to the new tool.
People Analyzer vs. Quarterly Review
The People Analyzer and a Quarterly Review answer different questions, and using one when you meant the other is the most common mix-up between these two tools.
| People Analyzer | Quarterly Review |
The question it answers | Is this person the right person in the right seat? | How is this person doing, and what happens next? |
Who fills it out | One person, usually the manager. | Both the manager and the team member. |
What it measures | Core Values and GWC. | Performance, goals, and whatever questions your company has configured. |
How much you can change | Fixed. Core Values come from your V/TO and GWC is always Gets it, Wants it, and Capacity to do it. | Customizable. Owners, Admins, and Coaches edit the questions and commitments. |
What you get | Above or below The Bar, plus one of four right person / right seat outcomes. | A recorded two-way conversation with commitments attached. |
The distinction that matters most is this: the People Analyzer is a fit assessment, not a performance review. Someone can hit every number and still land below The Bar, because the People Analyzer measures whether they live your Core Values and GWC their Seat — not how much they produced. EOS is direct that strong results do not offset a Core Values gap.
Use the People Analyzer when you need a clear answer on fit: during a Quarterly Conversation, when the same people Issue keeps coming back, or before a hiring decision. Use a Quarterly Review for the two-way conversation about how the work is going.
Note: You can run both in the same quarter. The People Analyzer gives you the fit answer, and the Quarterly Review is where you and the team member talk it through together.
Getting Started — How to Use Ninety's People Analyzer Tool
Before using the People Analyzer, you or your leadership team should:
Ensure your Core Values are defined in your V/TO. If they haven't been added yet, we'll prompt you with a direct link to complete this step. See Core Values in the Knowledge Portal.
Establish your company's Bar for both Core Values and GWC. This sets clear expectations across your organization. Learn how below in the section of this article called “Setting The Bar.” See GWC in the Knowledge Portal.
Assign your team members to a Seat on the Accountability Chart. To begin a review of a team member, they must first be assigned to at least one Seat on the Accountability Chart. See Assigning and Unassigning Users on the Accountability Chart.
How to Start a New People Analyzer Review
To start a new People Analyzer review:
Navigate to the People Analyzer tool. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation. Then, click the People Analyzer tab above the filters bar.
Identify the team member(s) to review. Use the Person and Team dropdowns to narrow your search, or use the carets at the bottom of the list to find team member(s) to review. Click the checkbox on the left side of each user's row you'd like to review. If you've been assigned one or more team members to review, they'll appear in a list titled Assignments on the right side of the page.
Launch the review window. Click Review on the right side of the team member's row or the Review users button at the bottom of the list if you used the checkboxes. If you selected more than one team member, you can use the caret next to each team member's profile image to choose which person to review first.
Review how well the team member exhibits your Core Values. Select plus ("+"), plus/minus ("+/-"), or minus ("-") for each of your Core Values. Even if a team member sits in more than one Seat, you'll evaluate their Core Value adherence only once, since Core Values supersede Seats.
Review how well the team member GWCs their Seat(s). Select “Yes” or “No” for Gets it, Wants it, and Capacity to do it. If the team member sits in more than one Seat, click the Review next Seat button and repeat this process.
Add any comments. Type any relevant comments in the textbox provided.
Complete the review. After rating each Core Value, assessing the GWC for each Seat, and leaving any relevant comments, click the Complete button to save the review.
Why comments matter with the People Analyzer
The comments field in each People Analyzer acts as a documentation tool. Capturing your rationale at the time of the evaluation supports transparency, creates a record to reference during future coaching conversations, and helps other leaders who may review the same person understand the context behind the ratings.
How to See Previously Completed People Analyzer Reviews
To see previously completed People Analyzer reviews, click a team member’s row on the People Analyzer page. Their review details panel opens on the right side of the page.
The details panel gathers everything recorded for that person:
The Bar: Your company’s current thresholds for Core Values and GWC, so you can see what each review was measured against.
Role Reviews: Completed reviews grouped by the Seat the person holds, with a quarter dropdown you can use to narrow the list to one quarter or show every quarter.
Individual reviews: Each review shows who completed it, the date it was completed, whether the person landed above or below The Bar, and the mark recorded for every Core Value and for Gets it, Wants it, and Capacity to do it.
If any reviewer left comments, a clickable comment line appears below the review’s date. Click it to read the comments.
Each completed review has an ellipsis beside it. Click the ellipsis to open the more actions menu, where you can edit, share, or delete that review.
Important: Only the person who completed a review can edit, share, or delete it. Your role does not change this — Owners and Admins cannot edit, share, or delete a review someone else wrote. What your role changes is which reviews you can see.
How to Edit a Completed People Analyzer Review
You can edit a People Analyzer review after you complete it. Editing reopens the review form with the previous marks already applied, so you only need to change what is different.
Click the team member’s row on the People Analyzer page to open their review details panel.
Find the review you want to change, then click the ellipsis beside it.
Click Edit review. The People Analyzer review form opens with the previous marks applied.
Update any Core Values marks, GWC answers, or comments. Marks you do not change stay as they were.
Click Complete at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Editing updates the existing review rather than creating a second one, so the person’s review history stays as long as it was before.
Note: Only the person who completed a review can edit it. Your role does not change this — Owners and Admins cannot edit a review someone else wrote. If a review you did not write needs to change, ask the reviewer to update it, or complete a review of your own.
How to Share a People Analyzer Review
Sharing a People Analyzer review gives another user access to the results of that one review. This is most useful when a team member starts reporting to someone new: their previous manager can share earlier reviews so the new manager starts with the person’s history instead of a blank slate.
Click the team member’s row on the People Analyzer page to open their review details panel.
Find the review you want to share, then click the ellipsis beside it.
Click Share review.
In the Share with field, select one or more users.
Click Save.
Sharing applies to a single review, not to every review recorded for that person. To share more than one, repeat these steps for each review. To change who a review is shared with, open Share review again and update the Share with field.
Note: Only the person who completed a review can share it. Your role does not change this — Owners and Admins cannot share a review someone else wrote.
Note: You can share a review with the person it is about. Because the People Analyzer is meant to be discussed, share the review as part of that conversation rather than in place of it.
How to Delete a People Analyzer Review
Deleting a People Analyzer review permanently removes that one review. Every other review recorded for that team member stays in place.
Click the team member’s row on the People Analyzer page to open their review details panel.
Find the review you want to remove, then click the ellipsis beside it.
Click Delete review.
In the Delete Review? window, click Delete to remove the review, or Cancel to keep it.
Important: Deleting a review cannot be undone. If you only need to correct a rating, edit the review instead of deleting it.
Note: Only the person who completed a review can delete it. Your role does not change this — Owners and Admins cannot delete a review someone else wrote.
How to Download a People Analyzer Report as a PDF
You can download a PDF of a team member’s People Analyzer reviews from their details panel. The report covers the reviews shown in the panel for that one person.
Click the team member’s row on the People Analyzer page to open their review details panel.
Click Generate Report at the top of the panel.
Wait a few moments while Ninety builds the PDF. The button changes to View Report when it is ready.
Click View Report to open the PDF in a new browser tab, where you can save or print it.
Note: Generate Report covers one team member at a time. As of September 2026, Ninety does not offer a combined export of People Analyzer results for a whole team or company, so generate each person’s report separately.
How to Assign a People Analyzer Review as a To-Do in Ninety
To request a review of a team member from a leader in your company:
Navigate to 1-on-1 > People Analyzer.
Click the ellipsis on the far right of the team member's row.
Click Invite user to review.
Select one or more users from the User dropdown to receive a private To-Do to perform a People Analyzer review. Then, click Invite.
Note: The User dropdown is limited to users on the same team as the person being reviewed. Users from other teams can't be invited to review through this flow.
Using the People Analyzer® in Ninety
Ninety's updated People Analyzer brings this powerful EOS tool into a streamlined digital format with enhanced capabilities:
Collaborative Multi-Person Reviews: Invite multiple users to review the same person, gathering diverse perspectives on their performance and fit. You can also evaluate multiple people in a single session, making the review process more efficient.
Instant Results: As soon as you complete the scoring for Core Values and GWC, you'll immediately see whether the person is the right person in the right seat.
Visual Performance Bars: See at a glance how team members measure against your company-defined thresholds through color-coded visual indicators.
Flexible Evaluation Process: Save partially completed evaluations and return to finish them later — just like other Ninety tools, such as Quarterly Reviews.
Historical Tracking: View past evaluations as snapshots in time, even if Core Values or seat definitions later change. This gives you valuable insight into growth and alignment trends.
Assignment Capabilities: Assign People Analyzer evaluations as To-Dos.
Editable, Shareable Review History: Correct a completed review, share a specific review with another user when someone starts reporting to a new manager, or delete a review you no longer need.
Who Can See People Analyzer Results
Who can see a completed People Analyzer review depends on the role of the person viewing it. Access to People Analyzer data is controlled by role.
Role | What they can see |
Owner | All completed People Analyzer reviews across the company. |
Admin | All completed reviews except those completed by Owners. |
Implementer | All completed reviews except those completed by Owners. Can configure company-level settings such as The Bar, but cannot create or complete reviews. |
Manager | Only the reviews they completed themselves, plus any review another user shared with them. A Manager cannot otherwise see a review completed about them. |
Team Member (Managee) | Only the reviews they completed themselves, plus any review another user shared with them. A Team Member cannot otherwise see the details of a review completed about them. |
Observer | Cannot access the 1-on-1 tool. |
Note: The People Analyzer is meant to be discussed in a conversation, not delivered as a silent scorecard. The person being reviewed is not shown the details of a review automatically — they may see that a review exists, but nothing opens for them until someone shares it. Use Share review to give them access as part of the conversation, not in place of it.
How the People Analyzer Works
The tool uses a simple, two-part evaluation system:
Part 1: Core Values Assessment
Your team members are rated on how well they live each of your company's Core Values. These values come directly from your V/TO® (Vision/Traction Organizer®) and represent the behaviors and characteristics that define your culture.
The rating system is straightforward:
+ (Plus): They consistently exhibit this Core Value.
+/- (Plus/Minus): Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't — they're inconsistent.
- (Minus): Most of the time, they do not exhibit this Core Value.
Part 2: GWC™ Evaluation
GWC stands for Get It, Want It, and Capacity to Do It. This framework helps you determine if someone is suited for their specific seat:
Get It: Do they truly understand the role and its responsibilities? Do they grasp how their job relates to and affects others? Do all the neurons connect for this position?
Want It: Do they genuinely want to do this job? Do they wake up each day motivated to do the work? Do they demonstrate passion for it?
Capacity: Do they have the intellectual, emotional, and physical capability — as well as the time — to do the job? This includes their education, training, and experience.
For GWC, the answer is binary: yes or no. There are no maybes. Each element must be an emphatic YES.
Multi-Seat Evaluations
If a team member occupies more than one seat in your organization, you'll need to evaluate the GWC for each seat separately to complete a People Analyzer review. While their Core Value alignment will remain the same, you'll click Review next Seat to continue evaluating their GWC before you can complete the review. This ensures a comprehensive assessment of their fit across all responsibilities.
If you're reviewing someone who sits in multiple seats, but you cannot fairly assess whether they GWC one or more of their seats, collaborate with another leader who can and complete the People Analyzer together.
Setting The Bar
EOS teaches that every organization needs to establish "The Bar" — the minimum acceptable standard for determining if someone is the right person in the right seat.
For Core Values: If your company has five Core Values, the EOS recommended Bar is any combination of three "plus" ratings and two "plus/minus" ratings, with no "minus" ratings.
For GWC: EOS recommends that The Bar be three emphatic yeses.
When someone meets or exceeds The Bar for both Core Values and GWC, they're the right person in the right seat.
How to Set The Bar
Users with Owner or Admin permissions can set The Bar for the company. Here's how:
Navigate to the People Analyzer in Ninety. Click 1-on-1 from the left navigation. Then, click the The People Analyzer® tab at the top of the page.
Access the People Analyzer Settings. Click the gear icon on the far right of the filters bar.
Select your bar for the company's Core Values. At the top of the settings panel, select the number of minuses ("-") and plus/minuses ("+/-") you'll accept using the corresponding dropdowns.
What is the default bar?
The Bar in Ninety's People Analyzer tool defaults to the EOS-recommended threshold, but Owners and Admins can adjust it at the company level to reflect your organization's standards. Whatever you set, the important thing is that your leadership team agrees on it — and applies it consistently.
The Four People Scenarios
The People Analyzer reveals one of four possible outcomes for each team member, and each one points to a different next step:
🟩 Right Person, Right Seat: They embody your Core Values and they GWC their Seat. These are your great people — develop them, and make sure they know exactly where they stand.
🟨 Right Person, Wrong Seat: They fit your culture but aren't suited to their current role. Look for a Seat on the Accountability Chart they would GWC before you consider anything else. This is the one scenario with an obvious fix.
🟨 Wrong Person, Right Seat: They do the job well but don't live your Core Values. Name the specific values they are missing, and give them a real chance to close the gap — strong results don't offset a Core Values problem.
🟥 Wrong Person, Wrong Seat: They neither fit your culture nor GWC their role. This is the clearest case for a change. Name the specific gaps on both sides, be direct about where the standard is, and bring your leadership team or Implementer into the decision about what comes next.
These categories exist to make the next conversation easier, not to label people. Whatever the result, share it with the person rather than filing it away — someone below The Bar should never be surprised to hear it.
When to Use the People Analyzer
While you can use the People Analyzer anytime in Ninety, it's particularly impactful during:
Quarterly Conversations: These regular check-ins provide a natural opportunity to evaluate team members against Core Values and GWC, ensuring consistent feedback and development.
IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve) Sessions: When working through Issues, the People Analyzer helps quickly identify whether people challenges are at the root of the problem.
Vision Building Days: During organizational planning, leadership teams can evaluate whether departmental team members fit Core Values and GWC their seats.
Hiring Decisions: Use the framework to ensure new hires will be the Right Person for your culture and the right people for the role.
The Impact of Getting People Right
When you use the People Analyzer to ensure the right people are in the right seats, the impact on your organization can be transformational. You'll build teams where:
People genuinely fit your culture and embody your Core Values.
Employees are in roles that match their innate talents and skills.
Team members are passionate about their work and excel at it.
Leadership time is spent developing great people rather than managing poor fits.
Common Challenges and Solutions
Implementing the People Analyzer can reveal uncomfortable truths — you might discover team members in the wrong seats or people who don't embody your Core Values. These are challenging Issues to solve, but identifying them is the first step toward building a healthier organization.
For team members below The Bar:
Schedule one-on-one time to discuss specific areas for improvement.
Consider whether a different seat might be a better fit for them.
Provide clear expectations and a timeframe for improvement.
Remember: being the wrong person doesn't mean they're a bad person.
Troubleshooting
Issue: Someone I didn't expect can see a People Analyzer review I completed.
Solution: Check that person's role. Admins and Implementers can see every completed People Analyzer review except those completed by Owners, so an Admin or Implementer seeing your review is expected behavior, not a permissions error. Managers and Team Members can see only the reviews they completed themselves plus any review shared with them, so check whether the review was shared with them. If someone outside those roles can see a review they shouldn't, contact support.
Issue: I rated someone incorrectly and already completed the review.
Solution: Edit the review instead of deleting it. Click the team member’s row on the People Analyzer page to open their details panel, click the ellipsis beside the review, and click Edit review. The form reopens with the previous marks applied. Change the marks you need to correct, then click Complete. Deleting the review removes it permanently and cannot be undone, so editing is the safer fix. If Edit review does not appear, the review was completed by someone else. No role can edit another person’s review, so ask the reviewer to update theirs, or complete a review of your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a team member complete a People Analyzer on themselves?
No. The People Analyzer is a one-way, manager-led assessment. One person evaluates a colleague, and Team Members (Managees) cannot run a People Analyzer on themselves.
Can the person being reviewed see their own People Analyzer results?
Not automatically, but you can share it with them. The People Analyzer is a one-way tool, so nothing opens for the person being reviewed until someone shares a review with them. Use Share review on the review you want them to see, then plan to discuss the results together rather than relying on the tool to deliver them.
Can I invite someone from another team to review a person?
No. When you invite others to complete a review, the User dropdown is limited to users on the same team as the person being reviewed. Users from other teams can't be invited through this flow.
Can Admins see reviews completed by Owners?
No. Admins and Implementers can see all completed People Analyzer reviews except those completed by Owners. Only Owners can see reviews completed by Owners.
Can I edit a People Analyzer review after I complete it?
Yes. Open the team member’s details panel, click the ellipsis beside the review, and click Edit review. The form reopens with the previous marks applied, and clicking Complete saves your changes. Only the person who completed a review can edit it — no role, including Owner and Admin, can edit a review someone else wrote.
Can I share a People Analyzer review with someone else?
Yes. Open the team member’s details panel, click the ellipsis beside the review, and click Share review. Select the users in the Share with field and click Save. Sharing gives those users access to that one review, and you can share a review with the person it is about. Only the person who completed a review can share it.
What happens when I delete a People Analyzer review?
Deleting removes that one review permanently and cannot be undone. Every other review recorded for that team member stays in place. Only the person who completed a review can delete it. If you only need to correct a rating, edit the review instead of deleting it.
Can I export People Analyzer results for my whole team?
No. Generate Report produces a PDF for one team member at a time, and, as of September 2026, Ninety does not offer a combined export of People Analyzer results for a team or the whole company. Open each person’s details panel and generate their report separately.
Can an Owner or Admin edit or delete someone else’s People Analyzer review?
No. Edit, share, and delete are available only to the person who completed the review, whatever their role. Owners and Admins can see more reviews than other roles, but seeing a review does not allow them to change or remove it.