Review habits
Manager comments that do not rewrite the pack
Some managers improve planning packs by replacing them. They mean well. The senior learns little, the version history becomes unreadable, and the audit planning workflow app turns into a repository of overwritten drafts.
Comment on decisions, not prose
Ask whether the risk link is justified, whether the owner is real, whether the evidence date protects week one. Line edits belong in rare cases—usually when wording will be read by a regulator or a client.
Use a fixed challenge list
Our Reviewer Sign-off Habits course uses a short list: scope coverage, risk attachment, materiality placement, ask timing, multi-site ownership, and handover notes. Managers who follow the list finish faster and rewrite less.
Leave the next action with a name
“Please tighten this” is not a comment. “Priya: add cut-off days to procedure 4.2 and re-link risk R-07 by Thursday” is a comment. The app’s assignee field exists for this reason.
Accept one mild trade-off
Structured comments take slightly longer than silent rewrites on the first pass. They take far less time across a season because juniors stop guessing. Firms that measure planning meeting length after adopting this habit usually see the quieter benefit: fewer emergency calls on Sunday night.