performance review essay sample

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Blog Human Resources

21 Engaging Performance Review Examples [+ Tips From an HR Manager]

By Victoria Clarke , Oct 12, 2023

Performance review season can be a daunting period for both management and employees.

One-sided conversations, mixed messages and wordy documents leave both parties feeling like they have the same, stressful conversation each time.

But if you take the right approach, quarterly or annual performance reviews are an awesome opportunity to reinforce solid habits, redirect poor traits and drive professional growth for your employees. My trick? Venngage’s free Online Performance Review Generator .

In this post, I’ll give you tips from my own experience as an HR manager to make the performance review process a lot more painless, plus human resource templates you can customize now.

Performance review examples and advice:

What is a performance review, how to write a performance review, performance review examples and templates, performance review examples for managers, performance review examples for employees, self performance review examples.

• Quarterly performance review examples
• Annual performance review examples

Simple performance review examples

• Useful performance review phrases
• What’s the purpose of a performance review?

A performance review is a regulated assessment in which managers evaluate an employee’s work performance to identify their strengths and weaknesses, offer feedback and assist with goal setting.

The frequency and depth of the review process may vary by company, based on company size and goals of the evaluations. It could be annually:

Or quarterly, to name a few:

Watch this quick, 14-minute video for performance review tips, templates and best practices:

This quarterly performance review example has sections for both achievements and areas of improvement. It also has a section for core values, as this must be a key performance indicator at this company. Different companies will have different measuring sticks for success.

Q: Can I customize the performance review templates in this post?

A: Yes, you can! All the templates are easy to edit. Some templates are free, some are paid.

Click any template and you’ll be asked to sign up for free. You’ll enter our online editor. Edit the text, apply your brand colors, add pages, upload your logo and more. Share a link for free.

Upgrade to our Plan for Professionals to download in PDF or PowerPoint format and access premium features and templates, such as real-time team collaboration and one-click branding.

Having an employee-friendly performance review process can not only make or break the development of your employees but also disrupt the relationship between managers and their reports.  

Beyond creating a robust performance review strategy and performance review form, managers must also consider their delivery of the appraisals. Communicating a performance review effectively is the final touch to executing a constructive, celebratory and effective review process.

When creating an effective assessment, it’s important to include the following:

• Calculate an overall rating for the employee; although a manager will be highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of an employee’s behavior , it will aid the employee’s morale to communicate how the employee averaged on this rating scale.
• Ensure the employees are engaged in their own reviews; thus, be sure to include the employees’ goals and developments toward reaching such goals in the assessments .
• Celebrate employees improvements; highlighting an employees’ developments are a powerful way to impact employee engagement and boost overall team performance .
• Company culture and values; dedicate a section of the assessment to evaluate how employees align with the company’s core values thus contributing to a positive company culture .

Based on my involvement in building out our own effective performance review process at Venngage, I suggest taking the following steps into consideration when constructing a performance review:

1. Set expectations early

Early in an employee’s career with a company, managers should communicate the details of their review process including the expectations. It should be included in your employee handbook , for example.

In this way, managers set and communicate clear expectations of the key job functions and competencies of the role when an employee joins the company. The information presented in performance reviews should align with this define as well as use familiar language and terms. This strategy will work to eliminate any potential confusion or surprises for both parties.  

2. Don’t make it personal

Feedback is about actions and behavior, not the person.

When writing a performance review, it helps to take a look at the issue(s) you’ve included and ensure that they apply to actions and behavior of the employee rather than the personal attributes of said employee.

This will also help to regulate the information mentioned in the review, to guarantee it is relevant and appropriate information.

3. Beware of biases and limitations

While there may be a general ‘right’ way of doing things, there are often multiple — and equally good — ways to reach the same end goal.  

Please ensure your review is not biased or limited in favor of your personal work style and beliefs. Try to consider the various aspects of the employees role and experience that may impact their decision to pursue alternative methods or working habits. Be empathetic towards these factors when writing your review.

4. Be specific

The information presented in the review should be task-focused, clear and to the point.

General comments will leave an employee feeling confused and in the dark as to what aspect of their work needs to be corrected or how they can pursue improvements.  

Failing to be direct in your messaging will impact the way your message is received and create further confusion about what the expectations are. Managers should be specific on what behaviors of their employees they are celebrating and what actions require improvements.

4. Offer guidance

Managers play a critical role in understanding the career goals of their employees and crafting development opportunities to help their reports achieve their goals.  

It is important as a manager to offer your advice and expertise to your employees to help further their development.

If, as a result of the feedback given, the employee (or yourself) may feel as though they need additional training, consider the benefit of workshops, mentoring or coaching.  

Be sure to use performance reviews as a way to guide employees whether it is toward further greatness or for areas requiring some improvement.  

5. Follow up

Follow up in writing and check in continuously to ensure improvement.

Both managers and employees should receive a copy of the review to refer back to moving forward.

Whether reviews are scheduled annually or quarterly, they should be a continuous topic of discussion for both managers and employees. When writing a review, ensure that the review is clear and specific. Being mindful of this will help to ensure the employee can easily refer back to the form on their own after the meeting.

Related: How to Write a Performance Review That Inspires Growth (With Examples & Templates

To conduct an effective performance review, it’s important to deliver a positive and solution-focused message. This will be less discouraging to the employee.

This performance review example  shows how you can offer constructive feedback, while also praising the employee’s efforts. The majority of the sections focus on the employees’ achievements and strengths.

Suggested areas of improvement are positioned in the middle, letting managers cushion criticism with praise.

This appraisal example shows how managers can give constructive feedback to their employees by giving them clear direction on what things to keep doing and what actions to take in future.

While Felicia did not meet her goal, her manager acknowledges that the goal was set deliberately high and that 74 percent of the goal still has significant impact.

This employee review form also points to specific positive behavior, such as self-education, teamwork and a strong work ethic.

There are also specific recommendations for improvement, such as putting together a plan to get more press mentions and scaling her experiments.

Another way to do a performance review, or kick off the process, is to use a quadrant. Both the employee and manager can plot where they think the former falls on certain key values and build out discussion points from there.

You can change “get it done/get it right” in the employee review template below to “uphold core values/contribute to company culture” for example.

Performance reviews are a crucial part of effective management, offering an opportunity to provide constructive feedback and set the stage for future growth.

To conduct a successful performance review as a manager, preparation is essential. Collect and review performance data well in advance, considering both quantitative metrics and qualitative observations.

Make sure to prioritize clear and open communication. Create a comfortable and respectful environment for the discussion, allowing the employee to share their perspective and concerns.

Offering specific examples of both strengths and areas for improvement is critical, as vague feedback can lead to misunderstandings.

Additionally, focus on setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals for the future, collaboratively establishing an action plan that aligns with the company’s objectives and the employee’s career aspirations.

Finally, follow up on the action plan throughout the year, providing ongoing support and feedback to ensure continuous improvement. Consistent and well-structured performance reviews contribute to employee development, job satisfaction, and overall team success.

Performance reviews for new employees are critical in setting the tone for their growth and integration into the organization.

For new employees especially, they may be nervous or unsure of what to expect for their first performance review. That’s why, it’s important for managers to create a welcoming and comfortable environment.

Start by acknowledging their achievements and progress since joining the company. Recognizing their early contributions can boost their confidence and motivation.

Additionally, focus on clear communication. Outline expectations and performance standards specific to their role. New employees should leave the review with a clear understanding of their job responsibilities and how their work aligns with the company’s goals.

It’s also crucial to discuss their career development. New employees often seek opportunities for advancement and growth. Use the review to explore their long-term goals within the company, and explain how their role fits into the larger career path.

Finally, emphasize ongoing support and mentorship. New employees benefit from regular check-ins and guidance to help them acclimate and succeed in their roles.

In a self-performance review, employees assess themselves using the same rubric as their managers would and submit them to HR and/or their manager prior to their official review meeting.

The benefits of doing self-assessments have made them a common part of the employee review throughout many companies.

Self-assessments are an encouraging opportunity for employees to share their thoughts about their job, goals, desired responsibilities and aspects of either their role or environment that they may be struggling with.

Set employees up for success in the self-assessment process by giving them a robust employee evaluation form with thoughtful questions, and HR tools to automate this process and make it more convenient.

Annual self-evaluation employee review template

This first example is perfect for a thorough annual review. The targeted questions prompt the employee to reflect on their achievements and shortcomings, while also rating themselves on specific skill sets required for their job.

The above employee self-assessment example allows for multiple sign-offs, plus a section to list colleagues who can back up the employee’s statements.

Yearly performance self-evaluation templates

A yearly performance self-evaluation isn’t just a great chance for employees to assess their past performance.

It’s also a way for employees to plan for their professional future as they can see where their strengths lie and what skills they need to build to move up in the company. An annual self-evaluation can also build an employee’s case for their compensation review.

This employee self-evaluation form is broken into sections that cover all these factors: about your job, achievements, goals and professional development .

This yearly performance self-evaluation template has space to expand on goals met and alignment with core values, as well as skills they’d like to build in the future:

Self-assessment employee review forms

Many performance reviews are incredibly detailed. Sometimes, a higher-level overview is all that’s needed.

Quadrant evaluations, like the template below, are a great way for employees to do an assessment and for managers to quickly add their own evaluation, without getting into the weeds.

Employees can add what’s being evaluated in the easy-to-edit template below (instead of get it done/do it right). The employee adds an icon where they think they fall in the quadrant, and the manager does the same, with room on the last page to further break down the evaluation.

Sounds tough? Our real-time collaboration feature (part of the Business Plan ) lets both manager and employee work on the same doc online, leave comments, share private links and more.

The self employee review form below lets the employee write out their job description. That way, they can reference their deliverables in the Goals Achieved and Areas of Excellence sections and directly demonstrate their impact on the organization:

This self-performance review example gives employees the chance to reflect on their achievements on a quarterly basis.

This way, employees can demonstrate meeting quarterly goals. It can also give them a chance to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and have a chance to act on them before their big annual review:

Self-assessments also help enlighten managers of how employees understand their place within the company’s organization and culture.  

The information disclosed in self-assessments should serve as a major element of official performance reviews in order to ensure that both a two-way conversation occurs and that the needs of both parties are being met moving forward. Looking for a better way to enhance employee engagement, to avoid quite boring meetings? Try out the top 14 inspiring games for virtual meetings , to learn how to add a live poll, word cloud, spinner wheel or even live Q&A sessions to elevate your presentation!

To make for the most effective self-assessments, employees should be sure to consider how their managers’ perceptions of their performance varies from their own.  

With this in mind, the information shared in a self-assessment can guide or pivot a manager’s perception and assessment of an employee’s performance .

Quarterly employee performance review templates

Quarterly reviews are important because they provide multiple opportunities for employees to receive helpful feedback on how to improve as the year progresses.

This quarterly performance review example reflects on specific areas of improvement, such as scaling her experiments and developing content partnerships.

Quarterly reviews from Q1 to Q3 serve as a means of providing specific, deliberate feedback to employees so they know exactly how to improve on their goals and skills.  

This enables the final, annual evaluation conducted at the end of Q4 to serve as a final assessment that will have the most weight in determining how the employee will excel into the next year, discretionary bonuses, salary increases, etc.

Quarterly reviews offer a documented and tracked record of an employee’s progress throughout the year.

This means that each quarter should be assessed using the same rubric throughout the entire year. This will aid in ensuring an accurate representation of an employee’s development is recorded.

That means, if you use the below employee review template in Q1, you should also use it again in Q2 and Q3:

Quarterly employee review template

This quarterly review template is a more condensed version of the example above.

If you’d like to keep your quarterly reviews short and to the point, this template will suffice. Employers can then use the expanded version above for their annual review.

If you want a template that’s filled with useful information on the types of performance review phrases you can use for a quarterly review, you can edit the one below:

Employee self-evaluation sample answers

It’s also important for employees to comment and reflect on their reviews.

They can both point out specific milestones that were missed:

• I generated five new leads and, as a result, I exceeded my sales quota by 20%
• I wrote a blog post based on original research that doubled our organic traffic in June

And also to acknowledge areas of improvement:

• I recognize that I need to form new content partnerships. I plan to do so in Q3 by putting together a list of 10 potential targets based on past linkbuilding partners and sending a customized pitch email.

Annual performance review templates

At large organizations, there may not be enough resources in order to devote the time needed to conduct quarterly performance reviews for every employee.  

This is also true in the case of a supervisor who has a large number of direct reports working for them whereby time management is their main issue.  

In these situations, an annual performance review would work best, especially if the employees being evaluated are experienced in their line of work and have been with their company for a long time.

Annual employee performance review templates

In this employee review template, staff are evaluated on only four factors: ability, goals, areas of improvement, and core values:

Annual evaluations are typically geared towards determining employee raises and discretionary bonuses.

Regular one-on-one meetings between direct reports and managers throughout the course of the year would be a great way to supplement this process.

This annual employee review template can simply include scores (out of 100 etc.) in each box. Or put notes in each section to explain the overall performance score.

This being said, annual appraisals would need to take a more general approach to evaluating employees than just providing a summary of their performance over the year.

The following employee review template takes a graphic approach and neatly summarizes overall performance using a score out of 100 for factors such as adaptability and project quality:

Employee evaluation examples

Aside from the categories in the template above, there are a number of other factors that employers can use to evaluate performance.

Common performance review skills:

• Interpersonal skills
• Quality of work
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Adaptability
• Punctuality and attendance
• Self-education and learning
• Accountability

Even if you want to do a basic performance review, you should always include:

• Elements of the employee’s strengths.
• Areas for which the employee can develop.
• How the employee contributes/could contribute to the company’s core values and culture through performance and actions.

This performance review mind map shows the basics for setting up a simple yet effective performance review–from setting specific goals to soliciting employee feedback.

A simple performance review should still reflect the goals of your business’s performance review management system —and this will vary by company.

It’s important to understand the purpose of your assessment before determining what information will be required to assess in order to meet the goal.

For example, some smaller companies may use performance reviews throughout the year to track employees’ development and growth.

While other, larger companies may use performance reviews to summarize employee performance, help to calculate the priorities of the new year, adjust compensation or establish bonus amounts.

An HR checklist can come in handy to streamline the process.

Simple employee review template

Each of these simple employee review templates are easy to edit in our online editor. Customize the text to match your own criteria, add your brand colors, upload your logo, add or delete pages and then share a private link or download in PDF or PowerPoint formats ( Business Plan only ).

This template uses quadrants to see how employee and manager evaluations match. Or only use it for self-assessments or manager assessments.

Simple performance review template

This more traditional performance review template focuses only on big categories, like meeting goals, areas of excellence and areas of improvement.

Simple employee review form

The below form is an even more condensed version of the above. Use it for a quarterly review to keep things focused or even for an annual review to help you and your report stick to the most important points. Change the text to include your own categories of evaluation.

Useful performance review phrases

Grappling with what to say at your next performance review? Choosing the right words is important to make the review as constructive as possible, not to mention motivating for your employee. Here’s a list of effective performance review phrases for managers and employees.

Performance appraisal comments for managers:

• She replies to calls, emails and instant messages in a timely manner (within 24 hours etc.)
• He has a talent for thinking outside the box.
• She tends to be risk-averse and prefers traditional approaches to creative ones.
• She maintains a culture of transparency in her team and encourages knowledge-sharing across all teams in the department.
• He consistently gives reports the training and resources needed to meet their goals.
• He is biased and openly favors some employees over others on his team.
• She is skillful in communicating difficult decisions and messages to her team.
• She creates chaos and miscommunication in her team by consistently communicating different messages to different reports.
• You embody a “win together lose together” philosophy.
• Your ability to reflect, plan and act is the key to your excellent performance.
• He uses his seniority to try to dominate and/or intimidate reports.
• He excels when working alone but has trouble working collaboratively with a team.
• He consistently meets his deadlines and prioritizes top goal work.
• She consistently focuses on lower-value work instead of high-lever activities.

Performance review phrases for employees:

• Can you tell me more about what you mean?
• I want to be sure I understand (your expectations).
• Let me give you a little more context here.
• What would it look like if I was performing at a top level?
• What would I need to do to score higher on this?
• Let’s discuss my goals and priorities for the the next quarter/year.
• Is there a way to get more frequent feedback about my performance between evaluations?
• How will I know if I’m on track between evaluations?

If you want to see a list of common skills you can comment on for your employees, check out this section .

What’s the purpose of a performance review?

At Venngage, our people are at the core of everything we do as a business—whether it’s developing new features on our tool, growing our international reach or meeting customer needs.

With a people-focus within our company, we are passionate about continuous learning and improvement, self-reflection, creating great customer experiences , owning our jobs, teamwork and making our office feel like a second home

It should come as no surprise that our leadership team spends a considerable amount of time at the end of each quarter conducting performance reviews with each of their direct reports.

Here are some things we’ve learned about how to conduct effective performance reviews:

• Make it clear at the beginning of a new hire’s employment how and when employees will be evaluated. This should be part of your onboarding process  and is especially important if you’re managing a remote team .
• Allow employees to prepare for their review by completing a self-assessment prior to their appraisal, then allow the employee to walk their manager through the reasoning behind their self-assessment.
• Deliver a positive and solution-focused message (whenever possible), this will result in a less discouraging message.

To make the most of the actual review conversation with your employee, it’s important to avoid:

• General, vague feedback; be specific on which behaviors you want your employee to continue, stop and explore.
• Making it personal; feedback is about actions and behavior , not the person.
• Loaded language; focus on asking what and how , not why . Enquiring why someone acted the way they did is akin to searching for a ‘motive’ and may come across as accusatory.

Create a performance review strategy before writing an employee’s review

Having an employee-friendly performance review process can not only make or break the development of your employees and but also disrupt the relationship between managers and their reports.

That’s why it’s crucial to create a robust performance review strategy and employee evaluation form before implementation to ensure the process is both constructive, celebratory and effective. This will even help you in the future if you choose to write a letter of recommendation for the employee as you’ll have all his performance reviews to reference.

By considering the six steps above when writing a performance review, you’ll have completed the final step in executing an employee-friendly review process.

The satisfaction gained from an increase in employee engagement and people power will make the effort expended on administering performance reviews entirely worthwhile, and ensure you have more effective reviews moving forward.

Take notes of the effective performance review phrases you can use during any of review sessions, as well as creating a visually appealing assessment using Venngage performance review templates. It’s free to get started.

You might also like:

• 10+ Employee Evaluation Templates to Sail Through Review Season
• 21 Essential Human Resources Poster Examples
• How to Write an Effective Incident Report [Templates]

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• Essay on Management

Performance Review Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Management , Workplace , Company , Employee , Goals , Employment , Time , Performance

Published: 02/26/2020

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Performance review is a constant process of evaluating employee performance over a particular duration of time. During the performance review, employees are told what their employer expects from them. The employees are also rated depending on the objectives of the company on how well they have achieved those objectives. Performance reviews are used by the human resource department to support their decisions that may include promotions, training, terminations, and those employees who deserve pay increases. Grote (1996) notes that here is always a thin line between receiving performance reviews and conducting a performance review on the employees as a manager. Often, managers question the need for performance reviews on them as they consider the performance reviews to be ineffective on them and sometimes perceive it as a waste of time, on the other hand; managers like giving performance reviews as the reviews provide a platform where the manager can evaluate an employee’s performance. As a manager, our company uses the top down performance review system. In this process, the manager monitors employee performance and development throughout the review period. The manager then uses a rating system after a particular time to rate the employee’s performance assessment. The manager then discusses these results with the employee. This review is usually done annually. According to Guerra-López (2008), performance reviews should be conducted in a manner that does not create a negative experience to the employees. The review method should not be a mere waste of time and for the review to be effective, it should be motivational in nature. Performance reviews are useful as it gives the manager a chance to give an employee feedback on their performance and inform the employee if the company’s objectives are being met. Finally the most useful comments that managers receive during performance reviews are that the managers are very hard working, do their job satisfactorily and that the managers create a good working environment. The worst comments that managers receive include being told that they are sloppy; their office is a mess and deadlines are not always met.

Grote, R. C. (1996). The complete guide to performance appraisal. New York: AMACOM. Guerra-López, I. (2008). Performance evaluation: Proven approaches for improving program and organizational performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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How to Conduct a Great Performance Review

• Frank V. Cespedes

What to do before, during, and after the meeting.

The purpose of performance reviews is two-fold: an accurate and actionable evaluation of performance, and then development of that person’s skills in line with job tasks. For recipients, feedback has intrinsic and extrinsic value. Across fields, research shows that people become high performers by identifying specific areas where they need to improve and then practicing those skills with performance feedback.

Dissatisfaction with performance appraisals is pervasive. They are seen as time-consuming, demotivating, inaccurate, biased, and unfair. A McKinsey survey indicates most CEOs don’t find the appraisal process in their companies helps to identify top performers, while over half of employees think their managers don’t get the performance review right. A Gallup study is more negative: Just one in five employees agreed that their company’s performance practices motivated them.

• Frank V. Cespedes is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and the author of Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021).

Partner Center

How to Write a Self Evaluation (With Examples)

First step, be honest about your hits and misses.

Self evaluations are performance assessments that bring you and your manager together to rate your performance over a given time span (quarterly, semi-annually, annually) either using a scale (one to 10 or one to five) or by answering open-ended questions. You complete the evaluation and so does your manager. During the performance review , the two of you compare notes to arrive at a final evaluation.

What Is a Self Evaluation?

Self evaluations are performance assessments that both employees and managers complete. They can be done quarterly, semi-annually or annually, and range from open-ended questions discussed to ratings given on a numeric scale.

Writing about yourself, especially if those words are going to be part of your permanent work record, can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, self evaluations give you a voice in your performance review , and they’re opportunities to outline your career goals and get help in reaching them.

Below, we’ll examine self evaluation benefits, tips and examples, plus how both employees and managers can complete them successfully.

More on Self Evaluations Self-Evaluations Make Stronger Leaders. Here’s How to Write One.

Benefits of Self Evaluations 

Benefits of employee self evaluations include:  

1. Help Employees and Managers Prepare for Performance Reviews

Completing a self evaluation can help guide the eventual performance-review conversation in a structured, but meaningful, way. It also helps both parties get an idea of what needs to be discussed during a performance review, so neither feels caught off guard by the conversation.

2. Give Employees an Opportunity to Reflect on Their Progress

Since self evaluations are inherently reflective, they allow employees to identify and examine their strengths and weaknesses. This helps employees both know their worth to an organization and what they still have left to learn. 

“Self evaluations enable employees to see their work in its entirety,” Jill Bowman, director of people at fintech company Octane , said. “They ensure that employees reflect on their high points throughout the entire year and to assess their progress towards achieving predetermined objectives and goals.” 

3. Help Managers Track Employee Accomplishments

Employee self assessments help managers more accurately remember each employee’s accomplishments. “As many managers often have numerous direct reports, it provides a useful summary of the achievements of each member,” Bowman said. 

4. Improve Employee Satisfaction

Academic literature indicates that employees are more satisfied with evaluations that involve two-way communication and encourage a conversation between manager and employee, according to Thomas Begley, professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . 

The thing is, employees have to trust that the process is fair, Begley added. If they believe it is, and they’re treated fairly and respectfully during the process, employees react positively to self evaluations.

5. Can Decrease Employee Turnover

Some companies see tangible results from self evaluations. For example, Smarty , an address-verification company, enjoys low staff turnover, said Rob Green, chief revenue officer. The self-evaluation method, coupled with a strong focus on a communication-based corporate culture, has resulted in a 97 percent retention rate, Green told Built In.

Related 6 Ways to Be More Confident in Performance Reviews

How to Write a Self Evaluation

The ability to write a self evaluation is a critical career skill.

“Self evaluations give you a platform to influence your manager and in many cases, reframe the nature of the relationship with your manager,” Richard Hawkes, CEO and founder of Growth River , a leadership and management consulting company, said. “And all results in business happen in the context of relationships.”

Below are some tips on how to complete a self evaluation.  

1. Track Your Work and Accomplishments

Daily or weekly tracking of your work can help you keep track of your progress and also prevent last-minute “what on earth did I do the last six months?” panic at performance evaluation time, said Peter Griscom, CEO at Tradefluence . “Strip down the questions to two or three, and just ask yourself, ‘How well did I communicate today?’ ‘How well did I solve problems today?’ ‘What have I achieved today?’” Griscom said. “Get in the habit of writing those things out and keeping track and over time.”

2. Answer Honestly  

For his first self evaluation, Griscom remembers wondering how to best answer the questions. After he asked his manager for guidance, Griscom answered the questions as accurately as he could. “What came out of it was really valuable, because it gave me a chance to reflect on my own achievements and think about where I can improve,” he said. “It forced me to do the thinking instead of just accepting feedback.”  

3. Highlight Your Achievements

If your boss has a handful of direct reports, chances are good they haven’t noticed each of your shining moments during a review period. This is your chance to spotlight yourself. Quotas exceeded, projects finished ahead of schedule, fruitful mentoring relationships, processes streamlined — whatever you’ve done, share it, and don’t be shy about it, said Alexandra Phillips , a leadership and management coach. Women, especially, tend not to share achievements and accomplishments as loudly or often as they should. “Make sure your manager has a good sense of where you’ve had those wins, large and small, because sometimes they can fly under the radar,” Phillips added.

Related What Are Short-Term Career Goals? (With 12 Examples)

4. Admit Weaknesses and How You Have Grown 

If you’ve made a whopper mistake since your past review, mention it — and be sure to discuss what you’ve learned from it. Chances are good your manager knows you made a mistake, and bringing it up gives you the opportunity to provide more context to the situation.

5. Acknowledge Areas of Improvement

Be prepared for your manager to point out a few areas for improvement. This is where career growth happens. “If you want something,” whether it’s a promotion or move to another department, “you need to know how to get there,” said Phillips.

Related Long-Term Career Goals: How to Set a Successful Development Plan

Self Evaluation Examples and Templates Answers

Still not sure what to do when you put pen to paper? Here are six open-ended self evaluation sample questions from the Society for Human Resource Management, as well as example answers you can use to prepare for your own self evaluation.  

Job Performance Examples

List your most significant accomplishments or contributions since last year. How do these achievements align with the goals/objectives outlined in your last review?

How to answer with positive results: In the past year, I successfully led our team in finishing [project A]. I was instrumental in finding solutions to several project challenges, among them [X, Y and Z]. When Tom left the company unexpectedly, I was able to cover his basic tasks until a replacement was hired, thus keeping our team on track to meet KPIs. 

I feel the above accomplishments demonstrate that I have taken more of a leadership role in our department, a move that we discussed during my last performance review.

How to answer with ways to improve: Although I didn’t meet all of my goals in the last year, I am working on improving this by changing my workflow and holding myself accountable. I am currently working to meet my goals by doing [X, Y and Z] and I plan to have [project A] completed by [steps here]. I believe that I will be able to correct my performance through these actionable steps. 

Describe areas you feel require improvement in terms of your professional capabilities. List the steps you plan to take and/or the resources you need to accomplish this.

I feel I could do better at moving projects off my desk and on to the next person without overthinking them or sweating details that are not mine to sweat; in this regard I could trust my teammates more. I plan to enlist your help with this and ask for a weekly 15-minute one-on-one meeting to do so.

Identify two career goals for the coming year and indicate how you plan to accomplish them.

One is a promotion to senior project manager, which I plan to reach by continuing to show leadership skills on the team. Another is that I’d like to be seen as a real resource for the organization, and plan to volunteer for the committee to update the standards and practices handbook.  

Leadership Examples

Since the last appraisal period, have you successfully performed any new tasks or additional duties outside the scope of your regular responsibilities? If so, please specify.

How to answer with positive results: Yes. I have established mentoring relationships with one of the younger members of our team, as well as with a more seasoned person in another department. I have also successfully taken over the monthly all-hands meeting in our team, trimming meeting time to 30 minutes from an hour and establishing clear agendas and expectations for each meeting. Again, I feel these align with my goal to become more of a leader.

How to answer with ways to improve: Since the last review period, I focused my efforts on improving my communication with our team, meeting my goals consistently and fostering relationships with leaders in other departments. Over the next six months, I plan on breaking out of my comfort zone by accomplishing [X, Y and Z]. 

What activities have you initiated, or actively participated in, to encourage camaraderie and teamwork within your group and/or office? What was the result?

How to answer with positive results: I launched the “No More Panicked Mondays” program to help on-site and remote colleagues make Mondays more productive. The initiative includes segmenting the day into 25-minute parts to answer emails, get caught up on direct messages, sketch out to-do lists and otherwise plan for the week ahead. NMPM also includes a 15-minute “Weekend Update” around lunch time, during which staff shares weekend activities. Attendance was slow at first but has picked up to nearly 90 percent participation. The result overall for the initiative is more of the team signs on to direct messages earlier in the day, on average 9:15 a.m. instead of the previous 10 a.m., and anecdotally, the team seems more enthusiastic about the week. I plan to conduct a survey later this month to get team input on how we can change up the initiative.

How to answer with ways to improve: Although I haven’t had the chance to lead any new initiatives since I got hired, I recently had an idea for [A] and wanted to run it by you. Do you think this would be beneficial to our team? I would love to take charge of a program like this. 

Professional Development Examples

Describe your professional development activities since last year, such as offsite seminars/classes (specify if self-directed or required by your supervisor), onsite training, peer training, management coaching or mentoring, on-the-job experience, exposure to challenging projects, other—please describe.

How to answer with positive results: I completed a class on SEO best practices and shared what I learned from the seminar during a lunch-and-learn with my teammates. I took on a pro-bono website development project for a local nonprofit, which gave me a new look at website challenges for different types of organizations. I also, as mentioned above, started two new mentoring relationships.

How to answer with ways to improve: This is something I have been thinking about but would like a little guidance with. I would love to hear what others have done in the past to help me find my footing. I am eager to learn more about [A] and [B] and would like to hear your thoughts on which courses or seminars you might recommend. 

Related How to Find the Right Mentor — and How to Be One

Types of Self Evaluations

Self evaluations can include rating scale questions, open-ended questions or a hybrid of both. Each approach has its own set of pros and cons to consider.  

1. RATING SELF EVALUATION 

Rating scale self evaluations give a list of statements where employees are asked to rate themselves on a scale of one to five or one to ten (generally the higher the number, the more favorable the rating). 

For example, in Smarty’s self evaluations, it uses a tool called 3A+. This one calls for employees and managers to sit down and complete the evaluation together, at the same time. Employees rate themselves from 3, 2 or 1 (three being the best) on their capability in their role; A, B or C on their helpfulness to others, and plus or minus on their “diligence and focus” in their role. Managers rate the employees using the same scale. A “perfect” score would be 3A+, while an underperforming employee would rate 2B-.

At the performance evaluation meeting, managers and employees compare their ratings, and employees ask for feedback on how they can improve.

But rating systems can have their challenges that are often rooted in bias . For example, women are more likely to rate themselves lower than men. People from individualistic cultures, which emphasize individuals over community, will rate themselves higher than people from collectivist cultures, which place a premium on the group rather than the individual.

2. OPEN-ENDED QUESTION SELF EVALUATION

Open-ended questions ask employees to list their accomplishments, setbacks and goals in writing. The goal of open-ended questions is to get employees thinking deeply about their work and where they need to improve. 

Open-ended questions allow employees a true voice in the process, whereas “self ratings” can sometimes be unfair , Fresia Jackson, lead research people scientist at Culture Amp , said. 

With open-ended questions, employees tend to be more forgiving with themselves, which can be both good and bad. Whatever result open ended questions bring about, they typically offer more fodder for discussion between employees and managers.  

3. HYBRID SELF EVALUATION

Hybrid self evaluations combine both rating questions and open-ended questions, where employees assess their skills and accomplishments by using a number scale and by answering in writing. This type of self evaluation lets employees provide quantitative and qualitative answers for a more holistic reflection. 

Self-Evaluation Questions for Performance Reviews

If you’ve never done a self evaluation, or if you just need a refresher before your next performance review, looking over some examples of self evaluation questions — like the ones below — can be a helpful starting point.  

Common SELF-EVALUATION QUESTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

• What are you most proud of?
• What would you do differently?
• How have you carried out the company’s mission statement?
• Where would you like to be a year from now?
• List your skills and positive attributes.
• List your accomplishments, especially those that impacted others or moved you toward goals.
• Think about your mistakes and what you’ve learned from them.
• What are your opportunities to grow through advancement and/or learning?
• How do the above tie to your professional goals?

SELF-EVALUATION QUESTIONS FOR CAREER PLANNING AND GROWTH 

• What are you interested in working on?
• What are you working on now?
• What do you want to learn more about?
• How can I as your manager better support you?
• What can the company do to support your journey?
• How can the immediate team support you?
• What can you do to better support the team and the company? 

SELF-EVALUATION QUESTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE AND CAREER GOALS

• How did you perform in relation to your goals?
• What level of positive impact did your performance have on the team?
• Did your performance have a positive impact on the business?
• What was your level of collaboration with other departments?
• What corporate value do you bring to life?
• What corporate value do you most struggle to align with?
• Summarize your strengths.
• Summarize your development areas.
• Summarize your performance/achievements during this year.
• How would you rate your overall performance this year? 

Related How to Set Professional Goals

How Should Managers Approach Self Evaluations?

It’s clear here that self evaluations, as a type of performance review, are more employee- than manager-driven. That said, managers are a key ingredient in this process, and the way managers handle self evaluations determines much about how useful they are and how well employees respond to them. To make sure they’re as effective as possible, consider these suggestions.  

Train Managers on How to Use Evaluations

“If you don’t, there’s no point in doing them, because the manager is going to be the one driving the conversations,” Elisabeth Duncan, vice president of human resources at Evive, said. “Without training, the [evaluations] will be a checkbox and not meaningful.”

Don’t Use Ratings Formulaically

The results of self evaluations that employ a scale (say, one to five) can vary wildly, as one manager’s three is another manager’s five. Use the scale to identify and address discrepancies between the manager’s and employee’s answers, not to decide on raises or promotions across the company. 

Hold Self Evaluations Often

They work best as career-development tools if they’re held semi-annually, quarterly or even more often. “It’s about an ongoing, consistent conversation,” Duncan said. 

Tailor Them For Each Department

Competencies in sales very likely differ from competencies in tech, marketing and other departments. Competencies for junior-level employees probably differ wildly from those for senior managers. Self evaluations tailored to different employee populations will be more effective, and fairer. 

Stress That the Rating Is Just the Start

The rating or the open-ended questions are the beginning of the evaluation process; they are not the process itself. “These are tools to trigger a conversation,” Duncan said.

Overall, think of self evaluations as a way to engage with your manager and your work in a way that furthers your career. Embrace the self evaluation and get good at writing them. In no time at all, you’ll find that they can be a productive way to reflect on yourself and your skillset. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a self evaluation.

A self evaluation is a personal assessment used for employees to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments and overall progress during an allotted time on the job.

Self evaluations are often completed quarterly, semi-annually or annually, and can include numbered rating questions or open-ended written questions.

How do you write a good self evaluation?

An effective self evaluation is one where you highlight your achievements and instances of growth as well as areas for improvement during your given period of time at work. Tracking specific accomplishments and metrics can be especially helpful for writing a good self evaluation.

Jessica Powers contributed reporting to this story.

Recent Career Development Articles

255 Insightful Performance Review Examples to Effectively Deliver Employee Feedback

Check out our performance review examples to help employees perform better and more efficiently....

Contributing Experts

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We're part of a candidate-focused talent market, where employees make the big decisions. Top talent individuals decide where they want to work and for how long.

As an employer, you need to take active measures that ensure your employees pick your company and stay for the long haul. This depends on building an engaged workforce where employees are recognized for their contributions.

The best way to accomplish this is through effective performance management .

In This Article

Why performance management matters.

Performance management statistics show that it matters. For example, companies providing consistent feedback have 14.9% lower turnover rates than companies that don’t give employees any feedback. This makes sense considering 92% of employees want performance reviews more than just once a year.

A performance review, or performance appraisal, is a formal assessment conducted by a manager regarding an employee’s work performance. It focuses on:

• Highlighting their strengths and weaknesses
• Providing actionable feedback that helps them improve and succeed in their roles
• Relaying praise and recognition for a job well done

This balance of acknowledgment and constructive criticism helps motivate employees to improve. It also opens the line of communication to create well-functioning professional relationships. Employee engagement software can also be a great help in organizing reviews and appraisals.

We’ve gone all out to create a comprehensive list of effective employee performance review examples you can use to enhance your organization’s performance review process. Whether you want to emphasize your employees’ outstanding, good, average, or below-average performance, you’ll find tons of effective performance review phrases and templates here.

Use this guide to provide the information your employees need to feel motivated and grow within their position.

Performance Review Examples by Attributes

Performance reviews typically focus on an employee’s fundamental and soft skills. These can include communication, accountability, interpersonal skills, and creative thinking. We have also categorized our performance review feedback examples based on an ideal employee’s 14 desirable traits.

Let's take a look.

1. Overall Performance Review Examples

Providing recognition to celebrate wins and constructive feedback on misses isn’t a new concept. An effective employee recognition program will help, but most important is to ensure you’re using effective phrases and wordings that drive the message home.

In fact, 72% of employees believe their performance would improve if their managers would provide more corrective feedback. Here are a few phrases to clearly communicate your findings and concerns during an employee’s performance appraisal:

Outstanding Overall Performance – Positive

• [Employee name], your exceptional performance helped our team achieve [Milestone] faster than we anticipated. Your [Employee action] and [Employee action] kept all tasks on track and resolved [Issue].
• It's amazing to see how well you've met all the responsibilities and requirements to help us crack this deal.
• You work effectively under pressure and it's a treat to see how effortlessly you handle multiple duties simultaneously.
• [Employee name] contributes positively to the work environment and builds a supportive team culture. They actively participate in presentations and follow up with other team members to help them when needed.

Good Overall Performance – Positive

• Thanks to you successfully completing [Project milestone], we achieved [Results]. Good job!
• [Employee name]'s penchant for comprehensive and detailed planning for improvement has contributed substantially to team performance time and again.
• You willingly work extra hours when urgent challenges arise, and try to resolve issues before they snowball into a bigger problem.

Average Overall Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] shows initiative and has a flexible approach toward new tasks.
• You can prioritize short-term and long-term goals.
• Co-workers look up to [Employee name] as a positive influence.

Poor Overall Performance – Negative

• You're a very important part of this project, but I need you to buckle up. You have the capabilities but are lacking the dedication.
• Over the next [Time period], I’d like to see you step up and lead [Project name] with more enthusiasm.
• [Employee name] fails to show any real interest in his job and frequently attempts to leave the workplace early.

2. Communication

Clear communication paired with active listening skills makes employees comfortable sharing and exchanging ideas. A clear flow of communication bridges gaps between departments and facilitates cohesion and productivity. Improving your employees' communication skills should therefore be your top priority.

Outstanding Communication Performance – Positive

• You're a fearless communicator, [Employee name]! You’re never afraid to ask thoughtful questions, like during the [Example incident].
• The entire team benefits from your ability to [Communication skill], which was especially helpful when [Example incident].
• [Employee name], we're extremely happy with your excellent oral and written communication skills and how you always seek guidance when unsure of what to do.

Good Communication Performance – Positive

• You did a stellar job of keeping all of the necessary external and internal stakeholders in the loop regarding the [Project name].
• You display a natural ability to communicate at all levels—up, down, and across the organization.
• [Employee name] is an effective communicator, which is evident in how they handled [Example incident].

Average Communication Performance – Neutral

• You're respectful to our clients and can communicate professionally.
• You regularly participate and contribute to group discussions.
• [Employee name] has a sound ability to communicate and keep meetings moving toward pre-determined goals.

Poor Communication Performance – Negative

• I’ve noticed you struggle to voice your opinions on [Incident]. You're a knowledgeable employee of our company and we would like to hear more of your thoughts.
• We think your messages would be better received if you focused on [Improvement suggestion].
• You have a good knowledge of business but are failing to properly communicate your insight to other members of the team.

3. Accountability

When you give employees feedback on their deliverables, KPIs, and OKRs , they will know what they can do to improve and achieve new goals. Plus, employees who hold themselves accountable are more inclined to work toward a higher level of performance.

Use the following written performance review examples to applaud employees who deliver stellar results, own up to their mistakes, and course correct. We’ve also provided ways of inciting improvement from workers who don’t meet their goals.

Outstanding Accountability Performance – Positive

• You have excellent follow-through skills, [Employee name]! We appreciate how you're always on time with the deliverables.
• You're a model employee who accepts responsibility for your own actions and as a contributing team member.
• I like how quick you are to admit your mistakes and errors and inform your superiors when unable to keep a commitment.

Good Accountability Performance – Positive

• You're always trying to grow and improve your [Skill], which eventually contributes to your dedicated performance.
• [Employee name] uses their time efficiently consistently and is open to receiving feedback on their work.
• [Employee name] prepares project plans on time and in adequate detail.

Average Accountability Performance – Neutral

• You show awareness of the external organization environment and its needs.
• You keep track of [Duty] and [Duty] accurately.
• [Employee name] works harmoniously and cooperatively with their peers and team members.

Poor Accountability Performance – Negative

• You've underdelivered in [Specific goal] set in last year’s performance review by X%.
• [Employee name] habitually blames processes and policies for their shortcomings and errors.
• When you show [Problematic behavior] you prioritize your own needs and career aspirations over the team's well-being and success.

4. Reliability

Your employees' reliability performance includes consistently showing up to work on time, completing tasks by the deadline, and fulfilling promises made to co-workers and superiors.

Outstanding Reliability Performance – Positive

• You had no unscheduled absences, except for approved emergencies, proving you're one of our most reliable employees.
• You bring [Valuable skill] to our team, and we want to let you know we notice and appreciate your contributions.
• You make a point to come prepared for all company meetings and conferences. You also take the time to digest the information and make valuable contributions.

Good Reliability Performance – Positive

• You invest extra time in projects to ensure that all deliverables are of a high standard.
• [Employee name] never fails to impress; they're dependable and consistently deliver valuable work.
• If there's one employee I can count on to show solid performance in all aspects of their work, it's [Employee name].

Average Reliability Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] maintains and monitors project progress to ensure timely completion.
• You show initiative on your own and need minimal supervision.
• [Employee name] can handle projects conscientiously when needed.

Poor Reliability Performance – Negative

• [Employee name] leaves the workplace to run personal errands without seeking approval.
• You fail to keep sensitive information confidential.
• [Employee name] is frequently unavailable for extended periods without prior notice.

5. Teamwork and Cooperation

Teamwork and cooperation are desirable elements for any thriving workplace. These are particularly important to improve internal communication and build a healthy company culture where everyone feels comfortable reaching out to others for help.

Fostering teamwork requires that leaders recognize employees who reach out. These are the people within the organization that make an effort to collaborate, share credit, and get along with colleagues.

Outstanding Teamwork Performance – Positive

• You did an excellent job collaborating with [Team member] to achieve [Result].
• [Employee name], you show a high level of team spirit and a great willingness to help your teammates. The fact that you're quick to cooperate with others to get the job done has really benefited the team to achieve [Goal].
• You display this amazing cooperative spirit at the workplace, especially when you perform [Task] to contribute to [Achieved goal]. Kudos to you!

Good Teamwork Performance – Positive

• I appreciate how quickly you adapt to changes when performing your duties.
• [Employee name] works well under pressure and takes the initiative to help other team members be successful.
• You showed a strong drive to collaborate during [Project], sharing your expertise with your colleagues to help improve their performance.

Average Teamwork Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] has managed to blend in well with previously well-functioning teams.
• You respect and work well with your co-workers.
• [Employee name] supports the idea of improving the inclusiveness of our workplace culture.

Poor Teamwork Performance – Negative

• You need to demonstrate more of a team focus, helping others achieve tasks when needed to complete the overall project on time.
• You tend to not contribute to projects or team meetings, nor do you participate in team activities or bonding exercises.
• You tend to approach decisions with a one-track mindset—a “my way or the highway” kind of attitude.

6. Quality of Work and Job Knowledge

The best employees are those with comprehensive job knowledge and the desire to consistently deliver high-quality work. This includes having detailed knowledge about work practices, policies, procedures, resources, technical information, and applicable laws.

Outstanding Quality Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] brainstorms truly creative programs/strategies that have delivered stellar results time and again.
• You have a deep knowledge of the company's products and particular characteristics that make them stand out from our competition. The fact you demonstrate this at your job on a daily basis is very commendable.
• You maintain an up-to-date level of professional and technical knowledge, equipping your team with a rare advantage that has helped tremendously during [Project].
• We appreciate your continuous efforts to boost productivity and meet performance targets, which ultimately drove company revenue.

Good Quality Performance – Positive

• You stay focused on a task until finished and are always looking forward to future opportunities.
• You're taking on available opportunities to increase your knowledge of relevant job skills, and also applying the same to your work to achieve better outcomes like [Achieved milestone].
• [Employee name] possesses the appropriate expertise to consistently perform their daily duties at a highly professional level.

Average Quality Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] is a great team player, but needs to improve their knowledge of products.
• You make a commendable contribution to the team’s productivity levels.
• Your efforts to acquire greater product knowledge and skills for advancement were evident in [Project].

Poor Quality Performance – Negative

• You don't show a sense of urgency in delivering work of a high standard on time.
• We're concerned that your work is often of poor quality, [Employee name]. We expect more and want to help you deliver on your quality and output goals.
• [Employee name] lacks knowledge about key fundamentals. This often causes them to rely on other people’s instructions to fulfill their duties.

7. Diversity and Inclusion

Building a diverse and inclusive workplace is a crucial element to ensuring your business survives and thrives. Inspire and encourage your employees to make everyone feel supported and respected within the workplace. Make sure they don't have biases based on who their co-workers are, where people come from, what position they hold, or performance bias .

Outstanding DEI Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] understands the diversity goals and vision of our organization, its connection to our end business goals, and how their role impacts the success of the diversity initiative.
• You do an excellent job at delegating tasks to other team members with clear responsibilities and expectations and without any personal bias.
• [Employee name] willingly offers support and guidance to all employees by [Example incident], regardless of their demographic and experience level.

Good DEI Performance – Positive

• We appreciate your equal treatment of everyone and how you communicate with your peers respectfully.
• Your efforts to tailor customer service to suit individual customers’ needs are noticeable. It has also inspired others to provide a diverse customer experience.
• You promote a positive and inclusive team environment that aligns with our organization’s culture and values.

Average DEI Performance – Neutral

• Even when disagreeing with others, [Employee name] maintains a respectful and graceful demeanor.
• [Employee name] actively engages in the diversity effort of the organization.
• [Employee name] is a spokesperson for diversity issues and is committed to continuous improvement and building a more inclusive workplace.

Poor DEI Performance – Negative

• [Employee name] prioritizes the ideas and feedback from team members they like over the other co-workers.
• You tend to communicate aggressively and through reprimands when speaking to junior-level employees.
• I have noticed you're unresponsive to employees’ concerns regarding unfair treatment. Many co-workers are concerned with your inappropriate behavior towards colleagues.​​

8. Innovation and Creativity

Innovation and creativity are important to gain a competitive edge. This is true whether you’re designing a new product or brainstorming business and employee engagement strategies .

Employees who foster a creative and innovative work environment by providing helpful suggestions should be recognized for their value.

Outstanding Innovation Performance – Positive

• You’re always contributing fresh ideas during our brainstorming sessions. Your suggestion to [Action] helped us achieve [Result].
• [Employee name] is unafraid of exploring new ideas and approaches to completing [Project or task].
• You're our team's idea generator, [Employee name]. Thank you for always coming up with innovative ways to accomplish tasks.

Good Innovation Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] thinks outside the box to find the best solutions to a particular problem and constantly searches for new ways to improve efficiency.
• You show curiosity over processes elsewhere in the business and are quick to suggest new ideas like [Example].
• We love how innovative you are under adverse conditions, which has also helped promote innovative thinking in other team members like [Example].

Average Innovation Performance – Neutral

• You suggest new ideas to team project discussions regularly.
• Actively contributes process improvement ideas during staff meetings.
• [Employee name] has been a part of several creative initiatives such as [Specific example].

Poor Innovation Performance – Negative

• Your team could benefit if you participate and contribute more actively to [Responsibility].
• You sometimes appear hesitant when making creative decisions.
• You avoid taking creative risks with your work, [Employee name].

Pro-tip: Because creativity and innovation are hard to measure, it often goes unacknowledged. Make sure to implement employee award titles specifically for recognizing creativity and innovation in your company as it happens.

9. Punctuality and Attendance

Discussing attendance and punctuality can quickly become a touchy subject if not done properly.

Regardless, you want your employees to arrive on time, take breaks at the designated times, and work productively and efficiently. Here are some effective ways of communicating the importance of attendance.

Outstanding Attendance Performance – Positive

• Your punctual behavior and motivated attitude are the qualities of a dream employee! In fact, other employees are feeling inspired to improve their attendance.
• Working from home can be challenging. But despite that, you've always been punctual and dependable. Thank you for your punctuality!
• [Employee name] has perfect attendance over [Time period]. It's commendable how well they manage their schedule.

Good Attendance Performance – Positive

• You have never been a no-call, no-show employee. We appreciate that we can count on you to show up and perform.
• I appreciate how you're prompt and on time for the start of each workday.
• You're always on time—even early—for meetings.

Average Attendance Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name], thank you for adhering to the schedule whenever possible. We appreciate it.
• You have never deviated from the attendance policy mentioned in our company policies.
• Thank you for respecting others' schedules and arriving at work and at meetings on time.

Poor Attendance Performance – Negative

• Your poor attendance is affecting coworkers and slowing down the pace of the project.
• I want to bring to your notice your sick leave and absence from work stand at X%, which is above the company average of Y%.
• [Employee name] has failed to meet attendance goals set at the previous performance review.

10. Behavior and Attitude

Employees with a negative attitude towards their work often feel disengaged. They’re also at a higher risk of quitting.

If you have employees with a bad attitude, you need to make them aware of how their attitude and behavior are affecting their work, colleagues, and the organization on the whole. At the same time, use the opportunity to praise employees with a positive mindset and who actively take the initiative to motivate and help their co-workers.

Outstanding Attitude Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] responds admirably to changing and sometimes challenging situations. They never lose hold of their professional demeanor and positive attitude.
• Clients like to work with [Employee name] because of their honest and helpful approach. They possess a commendable willingness to add value, and always strive to do more than what is required.
• You supported [Colleague] with [Task or project] by not only readily sharing your expertise but also constantly motivating them to get the task done.

Good Attitude Performance – Positive

• You don't let difficult circumstances get you—or your team members—down.
• [Employee name] shows empathy to people experiencing personal or professional challenges.
• You display enthusiastic and positive behavior and view individual success as imperative to group success.

Average Attitude Performance – Neutral

• You follow the company's dress code and have a friendly, helpful approach towards other employees.
• [Employee name] typically maintains a professional, competent demeanor when dealing with clients and co-workers.
• You're a courteous and knowledgeable employee of our organization.

Poor Attitude Performance – Negative

• Your inconsistent attitude is negatively affecting the team's performance and hurting team spirit.
• You tend to be disengaged when presented with opinions different from your own, like when [Example].
• You tend to work in isolation. As a result, you often fail to see the bigger picture and the role your team and department play in it.

11. Leadership (Team Leader)

It’s particularly important to recognize the efforts of employees holding managerial positions. They may look after other team members and guide them to succeed, but leaders also need guidance and encouragement.

Here are some performance review examples you can use to provide effective leadership feedback:

Outstanding Leadership Performance – Positive

• You've stepped up to the plate to lead [Project/Team] to achieve [Remarkable result].
• [Project] came with its share of challenging circumstances. But your direction and guidance ensured it was a roaring success.
• [Employee name] demonstrates several rare leadership qualities. They motivate peers during times of stress and are always ready to provide the necessary guidance.

Good Leadership Performance – Positive

• Your team members gave positive feedback about your approach to [Responsibility] and [Responsibility].
• [Employee name] played a pivotal role in bolstering administrative support systems through [Project name].
• You push and support your team members when it comes to solving job issues.

Average Leadership Performance – Neutral

• It's nice to see you're delegating responsibilities to match competency levels.
• The department you manage has been repeatedly recognized for its excellent performance.

Poor Leadership Performance – Negative

• You don't give adequate recognition to your team members for their effort and hard work.
• Your employees feel you aren't explaining the goals and objectives of a task clearly. We feel your team could benefit from more [Desired action] from you.
• You failed to ensure all subordinates remained productive at all times, which is your priority as a team leader.

12. Problem-solving and Proactiveness

Having problem-solvers on your team who can identify the root cause behind challenges and resolve them is the difference between a thriving workplace and a stagnant one. Combine this ability with a proactive approach, and you’ll have efficient employees who think outside of the box.

Outstanding Problem-solving Performance – Positive

• You have a natural knack to find super effective solutions to even the most challenging problems.
• [Employee name] can evaluate challenges from all angles and displays decisiveness in actioning a solution.
• You are persistent about solving problems fast and efficiently. The way you were able to [Solution provided by employee] when we struggled to [Challenge] is always appreciated.

Good Problem-solving Performance – Positive

• Thanks to your detail-oriented and proactive approach, we know we can rely on you to get things done.
• [Employee name] displays strong analytical skills, which helps them quickly identify the cause of problems and offer creative solutions.
• Your ability to think of new tactics and methods consistently is a huge asset for the team.

Average Problem-solving Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] manages to get the most out of scarce resources.
• You're level-headed when assessing situations and suggesting appropriate solutions.
• You can collaborate with other team members to find practical solutions to problems.

Poor Problem-solving Performance – Negative

• You need to think independently and work on your capability to deal with unexpected occurrences.
• Your performance lacks improvement because you are not bringing innovation into your processes.
• [Employee name] tends to hurry in making decisions, sometimes without trying to know the full details of the issue.

13: Good Habits and Work Ethics

​​Discussing an employee's work ethic and good habits is an elaborate initiative. This can include everything from respecting authority and following instructions, to taking the lead when it’s appropriate. Working diligently and methodically to ensure steady output are also components of a good work ethic.

Use the following performance review phrases examples to provide feedback on your employees‘ ethics and morals:

Outstanding Work Ethic Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] resolves client/customer complaints professionally and timely. They are decisive in resolving issues so that the client’s grievance is dealt with swiftly.
• You have taken on more responsibilities this past [Time period], like when you [Achievement]. Despite being new to it, you've managed to achieve exceptional results.
• [Employee name] has demonstrated exemplary behavior in all aspects of their work, and is repeatedly regarded as highly credible by their co-workers.
• You're an effective team player. We love your willingness to help out and contribute whenever we need to meet a deadline.

Good Work Ethic Performance – Positive

• You have a strong understanding of your job responsibilities.
• [Employee name] continually asks questions to gain more knowledge, admits their mistakes, and takes responsibility for actions.
• You've set and demonstrated a high bar for ethical behavior in the workplace, [Employee name].

Average Work Ethic Performance – Neutral

• You're respectful and fair towards your team members.
• [Employee name] doesn't engage in illegal or unethical business practices.
• You can diplomatically handle difficult situations with peers and management.

Poor Work Ethic Performance – Negative

• You repeatedly [Unwanted behavior]. Not only is this interfering with your work, it has become a problem for your co-workers.
• You have let personal biases influence important decisions related to your work. This is highly undesirable and you need to work on this.
• Instead of accepting responsibility for your actions, you frequently look for excuses for failure.

14. Effort and Dedication

Managers are always looking for ways to inspire job dedication in employees.

It's no secret hard-working and dedicated employees get things done accurately and on time. These employees also inspire their colleagues to seek greater success, contributing indirectly to a more productive work environment.

Outstanding Effort Performance – Positive

• Not only do you deliver high volumes of work that often meet and exceed expectations, but you're also willing to complete work that falls outside your formal job description. You've contributed actively to accelerating our organization's growth.
• [Employee name] actively researches and provides meaningful information to decision-makers, helping them better implement projects.
• We respect how you managed our expectations for [Project]. We look forward to you fearlessly pushing back on anything you don’t feel sets our team up for success.

Good Effort Performance – Positive

• You're consistent in meeting monthly targets set at the performance appraisal and review checkpoints.
• [Employee name] keeps track of inventory levels accurately, which facilitates our supply chain.
• [Employee name] is available when needed and works hard to develop constructive working relationships with subordinates and stakeholders.

Average Effort Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name] is a goal-oriented person, who sets their own priorities to accomplish set quotas and daily goals.
• You show the initiative to find new tasks and require minimal supervision.
• You demonstrated initiative when you [Duty carried out] this quarter.

Poor Effort Performance – Negative

• I've noticed you're being frequently late to work and missing important deadlines. Is there something you need help with?
• You need to be more committed to your work. Currently, your performance is lacking and not at par with our expectations.
• You tend to get easily distracted and aren't focusing on achieving your set performance goals.

Performance Review Examples by Job Type

Below, we've listed some more performance review examples, this time categorized by the relevant job. Use these to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your employees based on your industry and job expectations.

1. Performance Review Examples for Sales Teams

As a sales manager, you need to provide growth-oriented feedback to your team. The better and more relevant your feedback, the more likely your sales team will be to outperform the competition and meet their monthly targets. You can also use performance reviews to identify the root causes of underperforming salespeople and remove obstacles in the way of their success.

Outstanding Sales Performance – Positive

• [Employee name], you've exceeded the sales quota by a phenomenal X% this quarter. I'm very proud of you!
• Your [Initiative] turned out to be an excellent improvement that directly led to [Result].
• You're the chief closer of our sales department. You repeatedly close profitable deals and bring more leads to your sales pipeline.

Good Sales Performance – Positive

• We appreciate that you used your discretion and suggested [Initiative] which helped us overcome [Challenge] and [Challenge].
• You're a good collaborator and need little or no direction on how to communicate with clients or colleagues.
• We want to acknowledge your impact on our sales department's winnings last quarter. You've done a good job by closing X% of your leads.

Average Sales Performance – Neutral

• I think you can improve the way you run sales meetings by coming up with more focused agendas.
• [Employee name] is willing to participate in [Company]'s optional sales seminar to improve selling skills.
• [Employee name] stays consistent in hitting their quotas, helping fuel the sales department's overall results.

Poor Sales Performance – Negative

• You're frequently late to sales meetings and 1:1 meetings with the sales manager.
• [Employee name] has a passive approach to their development and doesn't start working on discovery before it's specifically assigned to them.
• I've found you giving the same sales pitch to every customer. This isn't going to help us close deals. How can we help you work on personalizing your sales messaging?

2. Performance Review Examples for Nursing Staff

Effective performance management is crucial to the professional success of any workplace, and healthcare is no different. Offer planned and structured feedback to your nurses to set a positive course for the future and ensure how they're faring at work.

Outstanding Nursing Performance – Positive

• Your expert medical knowledge and emotional investment in your job make you a huge asset to our hospital. We commend you for the lengths you go to in providing exceptional care for our patients.
• You consistently provide meaningful information to doctors, helping them treat the patient fast and more effectively.
• You were quick to work extra shifts to fill in for fellow nurses, even on short notice. This helped our hospital operate optimally.

Good Nursing Performance – Positive

• We commend your selfless dedication to helping others, especially your peers and your patients.
• [Employee name] shows sound judgment when evaluating patients, helping them get treated faster.
• You always go out of your way to provide emotional support and share your knowledge with your patients.

Average NursingPerformance – Neutral

• You maintain a pleasant and friendly demeanor, even under stress.
• You're prompt and on time for the start of each workday.
• Patients are looked after timely and empathetically.

Poor Nursing Performance – Negative

• Even after spending X months on the job, you require constant supervision, or else specific tasks don't get completed.
• [Employee name] has often misplaced or lost important documentation related to patients.
• You need to show more composure in stressful situations. We recommend practicing mindfulness to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

3. Performance Review Examples for Technicians

When providing feedback to technicians, focus on being helpful and specific. Use examples and instances to reinforce what these employees are doing right and where they can improve.

The following are a few performance review examples you can apply to highlight outstanding performance and lackluster results in the technical department.

Outstanding Technical Performance – Positive

• [Employee name] has exceeded the original goal of [Project] by X%. Congratulations to them!
• You don’t take a generic “off the shelf” approach to your work, helping you generate tremendous value from each event and service you undertake.
• Time and again, you've helped build the team’s knowledge base by sharing expertise on technical issues.

Good Technical Performance – Positive

• You can identify potential problem areas before they become major obstacles.
• [Employee name] ensures all forms and required paperwork are completed on time, with little to no errors.
• Your managers and co-workers have commented on high levels of accuracy and work productivity.

Average Technical Performance – Neutral

• We appreciate how you don't require constant supervision.
• You can grasp complex technical concepts and explain them to team members when needed.
• You can easily implement new technology with minimal supervision or support.

Poor Performance – Negative

• We think you should attend additional training sessions to perform better on the job. This will also help you improve your technical knowledge, which we think is something you'll benefit from.
• You tend to focus on lower-value work instead of high-level activities, which ultimately prevent the department from hitting our monthly goals.

4. Performance Review Examples for Restaurant Employees

A key aspect of reviewing the performance of restaurant employees is communicating how integral they are to your restaurant's success.

Reconnect them with your mission and show genuine appreciation when needed.

Outstanding Service Performance – Positive

• You've worked diligently to improve the overall service quality at our restaurant.
• [Employee name] makes our dining experience more delightful with their pleasant demeanor and care for the customer experience.
• Even though we've hired you as our hostess, you've helped serve tables when we needed an extra hand, even without us asking you.

Good Service Performance – Positive

• We appreciate you for enforcing our standards of cleanliness and sanitation at all times.
• You create an overwhelmingly supportive work environment by lifting others up instead of pushing them down.
• The fact you readily took sanitation and food handling training to become better at your job hasn't gone unnoticed.

Average Service Performance – Neutral

• You show courtesy and gentleness toward guests.
• You provide prompt customer service but must work on speed in [Job responsibility].
• [Employee name] performs their job optimally but needs guidance with time management.

Poor Service Performance – Negative

• You don't keep the manager informed of potential problems as they arise.
• You swore in front of a customer, which caused them to ask for another server.
• [Employee name] has an inappropriate lack of hygiene observance for food service.

5. Performance Review Examples for Writers

When doing a performance appraisal of writers, be sure to prioritize your comments.

Be considerate and thorough in your feedback, outlining how their writing endeavors are benefiting or hindering the organization.

Outstanding Writing Performance – Positive

• We can count on you to find the right approach with any content asset, even the most challenging ones, which has helped us build a stronger online presence.
• You repeatedly create exceptional content that addresses our target audience's issues and positions our products as the solution to their problems.
• You're a natural storyteller, [Writer name]! You've taken care to explain complicated concepts with exceptional ease while making them engaging.

Good Writing Performance – Positive

• You manage to hit all deadlines, even when faced with unexpected scope changes.
• You have a way with words, [Writer name]. Your content communicates well and follows the brief.
• On a daily basis, you surpass your work quotas without compromising the quality of your writing.

Average Writing Performance – Neutral

• [Writer] has a straightforward style of writing that's great for top-of-the-funnel blog posts.
• By meeting your deadlines, you've helped drive our content team’s success this quarter.
• [Writer name] can convey things literally in their assignments with very little input from editors.

Poor Writing Performance – Negative

• It will serve you well to read other people's work and get a fresh perspective on [Topic].
• You need to do more in-depth research and focus on the nitty-gritty before handing over an assignment.
• [Content asset] has an irregular flow, making it hard for the reader to engage with our message.

6. Performance Review Examples for Freelancers

Freelancers are generally masters of self-reviews, but that doesn’t mean you cannot hold a performance appraisal for them.

Give a clear and simple message that freelancers can easily implement. If you have more than one concern, keep it to less than three separate messages, each focusing on matters directly relevant to their job. For example, meeting deadlines, quality of work, and communication.

Outstanding Freelancer Performance – Positive

• You've built strong relationships with our in-house staff. No wonder everyone is eager to work with you!
• You managed to exceed expectations when it comes to [Duty], including the quality of work and delivery.
• You made an effective system to streamline [Work process] by doing [Action], which significantly helped improve [Result].

Good Freelancer Performance – Positive

• You treat our criticism as learning opportunities, which has empowered you to perform well and beyond.
• You positively contribute to the overall project execution, all thanks to your consistent and high-quality work.
• In addition to setting well-thought-out goals, [Freelancer name] continuously strives to achieve them.

Average Freelancer Performance – Neutral

• You complete the projects on time, which is great. But I feel there's a lot of latent potential in you.
• You take on each project with earnest effort, which we truly appreciate.

Poor Freelancer Performance – Negative

• [Freelancer name] often starts projects without thorough upfront planning, which causes them to miss out on important client instructions like [Example] and [Example].
• You need to work on your time management abilities so that projects and tasks are consistently delivered on time. If meeting a deadline is not feasible we expect you to communicate the delay as soon as possible.
• You tend to monopolize the conversation during team meetings, often disregarding ideas from other collaborators.

7. Performance Review Examples for Software Engineers

When doing a performance appraisal for software engineers, make sure you’re specific with your wording and phrases. This means avoiding statements like “Keep doing what you’re doing“ or “Kudos for a work well done.“ Acknowledge their achievements by going into detail.

If you want to provide negative feedback, avoid using one-sided or biased examples that miss key details or are misrepresented. Be fair in your approach and include suggestions you think will help them improve.

Outstanding Development Performance – Positive

• You have an error rate below 1% on the [Work product]. This is an extremely rare feat!
• With you spearheading [Project], the company saw great results in [Achieved goal].
• You know the technology we use like the back of your hand, and you keep informed about any updates or changes.

Good Development Performance – Positive

• We can rely on [Employee name] when we need to implement a new software program or app.
• You're quick to seek out ways or tools to automate manual tasks to accelerate the development process.
• The quantity of work you've produced is outstanding, [Employee name].

Average Development Performance – Neutral

• [Employee name]'s error rate is acceptable and all work is completed on time.
• [Employee name] regularly services equipment after use.
• The team [Employee name] heads performed well over their target in the last quarter.

Poor Development Performance – Negative

• You tend to miss small errors in the work product, which leads to undue delays in the overall delivery.
• Testers reported several bugs in the last app's beta version. You need to be more focused on your work and actively try to produce quality work.
• You're still facing difficulties working with our technology even though our systems have been used for a long time and are properly documented.

Prioritizing Your Employee’s Professional Development

Constructive, measurable feedback such as the examples of performance review comments we’ve given here can significantly enhance your performance evaluation and promote employee engagement. However, it’s also important to note that 85% of employees may quit if they feel they received an unfair performance review.

When giving a performance review, try to keep things civil and productive. You don’t want to give false praise or mislead employees into thinking they’re doing better than the reality. Inflated positive feedback can rob workers of the opportunity to improve. On the other hand, you don’t want to provide vague negative feedback that makes them feel defensive.

Be specific. Use instances and examples that back your statements and provide ideas for improvement to make the appraisal session truly productive and effective.

We also recommend setting up an employee rewards program using tools like Motivosity and Kazoo.

Rana has been creating expert HR Tech content for SelectSoftware Reviews and other publications for over five years. She uses her platform to help business leaders pick the appropriate tools and apply the right strategies to grow their businesses. When she isn't writing, you'll find her binge-watching or binge-reading.

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11 minute read

28 Performance Review Summary Examples - Phrases & Expert Tips

Kat Boogaard

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You’re pretty sure that your direct reports dread the performance review process. You get it — it’s nerve-racking to sit there and be evaluated and critiqued.

But here’s the thing. You might be the manager, but you get nervous too. Dishing out constructive criticism is tough, and you want to make sure you’re delivering valuable feedback in the most effective way possible.

Take some comfort in the fact that you aren’t alone. A whopping 96 percent of managers are dissatisfied with their organization’s performance management practices (which includes performance reviews). 

Yikes! Needless to say, there’s some room for improvement when it comes to performance reviews.

While there are undoubtedly some company-wide rules you need to abide by, the good news is that you have quite a bit of control over your employees’ performance assessment experience. 

In this guide, we’ll share some examples (tips and phrases) to make sure your performance conversations and evaluations are productive, rather than anxiety-inducing wastes of time.

What is a performance review?

A performance review (also called a performance evaluation or a performance appraisal) is a formal conversation where a manager will offer feedback to an employee. 

During this appraisal, a manager will discuss the employee’s recent achievements, how they’re fulfilling their responsibilities, their progress toward goals, and areas of improvement — with the objective of helping that employee perform even better moving forward. 

Effective performance reviews are intentional, scheduled conversations and not sporadic, random chats. These conversations typically happen every six months or every year. 

What are the benefits of performance reviews?

Your employees might not cartwheel into their appraisal interview, and nerves are normal on both ends. 

However, these conversations are still well worth having for a number of different reasons. Regular performance reviews can improve:

• Performance: Your employees will struggle to perform at their best level if they don’t get honest feedback about how they can do better. When you deliver feedback effectively, you can get the best work out of your direct reports. One study found that 72 percent of respondents thought their performance would improve if their managers would provide more corrective feedback.  
• Engagement: Employees want feedback. In fact, one study found that nearly 34 percent of full-time employees said they’d prefer to receive more feedback from their supervisors. While the employee evaluation interview shouldn’t be the only time you’re offering feedback, it’s a great opportunity to show them that you’re invested in their growth and success.  
• Retention: It makes sense that satisfied employees stick around longer. Data from Gallup shows that frequent, strengths-based feedback can reduce turnover by nearly 15 percent .  
• Career Development: A performance review is a chance for managers and direct reports to connect about career goals, and how the company can support employees in pursuing those ambitions. When 48 percent of employees say they’d leave their jobs in favor of new learning opportunities, these conversations are important. They make your employees feel supported and encouraged, as well as allow you to collaboratively hash out action items to pursue their career goals. 

One of the best ways to support career development is to provide your employees with access to plenty of learning opportunities. 

What to say

When done right, your performance reviews offer plenty of advantages for both you and your staff. But, uhh...how do you do them right? 

Delivering honest remarks about an employee’s performance can have you tripping over your words and wiping your sweaty palms on your pants. We’re here to help. In this section, we’re breaking down some helpful templates and phrases in several different categories. 

You should insert relevant details to provide specific, helpful, and meaningful feedback to your employees. You’ll need to expand beyond these templates, but they’ll help you get the conversation started — and sometimes that’s the hardest part.

🏅Performance review comments about leadership

If your employee is meeting expectations… 

1. "You stepped up to the plate to lead [team/project] to [result]."

2. "Your team has exceeded their goal to [objective] by [metric]."

3. "You took ownership when [problem/challenge] could’ve [undesirable result]. You turned things around to [desirable result]."

4. "Your team provided positive feedback about your ability to [responsibility] and [responsibility]."

5. "You’re always willing to speak up and contribute fresh ideas in team meetings. Your suggestion to [action] helped us [result]."

If your employee needs improvement… 

6. "Your team could benefit from more [responsibility/quality]."

7. "Over the next [time period], I’d like to see you step up and lead [project/task/objective]."

🤝Performance review comments about teamwork and collaboration 

If your employee is meeting expectations…

8. "You did an excellent job collaborating with [person/department] to [result]."

9. "You stepped in to help [person/department] when [problem]."

10. "You bring [valuable skill/trait] to our team, and your contributions don’t go unnoticed." 

Phrases to use if your employee needs improvement…

11. "I’ve noticed you struggle to collaborate when [situation]."

12. "You tend to be [closed-minded/critical/disengaged/etc.] when presented with opinions that are different from your own, like when [specific example]." 

Effective performance reviews are intentional, scheduled conversations and not sporadic, random chats.

📞Performance review comments about communication

13. "You did a great job of keeping all of the necessary stakeholders in the loop when [situation]."

14. "I’ve noticed that you’re particularly skilled at [specific communication competency]."

15. "You’re never afraid to ask thoughtful questions, like you did when [situation]."

16. "Our entire team benefits from your ability to [specific communication competency], which was especially helpful when [situation]."

17. "I think your messages would be better received if you focused on [area of improvement]."

18. "You tend to [communication habit or pet peeve] which can [negative result]." 

🕵️Performance review comments about problem solving

19. "You’re persistent about solving problems, and you were able to [unique solution] when we struggled to [problem]."

20. "[Specific project] made it evident that you consider numerous solutions before choosing a way forward."

21. "You treat problems as learning opportunities, which has empowered our entire team to [positive result]."

If your employee needs improvement…

22. "When presented with an unexpected roadblock, I’d like to see you [area of improvement]."

23. "You could benefit from [necessary problem-solving competency] before [result]." 

🪴Performance review comments about growth and development

24. "In our previous review, we set a goal of [specific goal] and you surpassed that objective by [metric]."

25. "I’ve seen you stretch yourself in new ways this past [timeframe], like when you [task or achievement] and [task or achievement]."

26. "You’ve expanded [skillset], as demonstrated when [situation]." 

27. "I think it would serve you well to step outside of your comfort zone by [actionable task, goal, or expectation]."

28. "In the next [timeframe], I want to see you refine a new skill, such as [new skill]." 

The objective of a performance review is to help the employee perform even better moving forward. 

6 more tips for top-notch performance reviews

Knowing how to get a performance conversation started is a huge piece of the puzzle. But, while the above templates and phrases are helpful, they won’t make for a successful review session on their own.

Here are six more tips to equip your employees with meaningful feedback and actually empower them to improve. 

1. Collect peer feedback

Honest criticisms and recognition from a manager is important. But, to truly give employees a holistic view of how they’re doing, collect feedback (this can be done anonymously) from an employee’s peers as well. As Gartner research shows , peer feedback can boost performance.

2. Avoid ganging up

Delivering peer feedback leads to a more well-rounded review, but be mindful of your language to avoid seeming like the entire team is ganging up on that employee. Phrases like, “Everybody says that…” or “The team has noticed…” can make your employee feel singled out.

3. Provide specific examples

You’ll notice that a lot of the templates and phrases above include spots where you should lean on specific examples. Those anecdotes will help support your point. Something like, “You stepped up to cover Sasha’s responsibilities when she needed to be out for a family emergency,” carries a lot more impact than a generic statement like, “You’re always willing to help team members.”

4. Don’t skip the positives

When the goal of the discussion is to help employees improve, it’s easy to place way too much emphasis on constructive criticism. But, employees also want to hear what they’re doing well. That’s why many of the phrases above help you deliver positive feedback to your direct reports. When only 26 percent of workers feel highly valued, keep in mind that they need to hear the good stuff too. 

5. Remember to listen

Performance reviews should be a conversation — not your chance to dole out directions and criticisms to your employees without pausing. Make sure you ask questions about how they feel about their performance, what things they think they need to work on, and what goals they’d like to set moving forward. Keep those lines of communication open, so your employees don’t become one of the 67 percent of employees who don’t feel heard during reviews. 

6. Check in frequently

Think a performance review is a good time to dump a bunch of feedback onto employees and send them on their way? Think again. The things you discuss during the appraisal shouldn’t be a surprise, as you should be providing constructive feedback to employees frequently. Make sure that you discuss performance regularly in your one-on-ones. That’s far more effective than overwhelming them with feedback once or twice per year. 

Stressed about performance reviews? Take a deep breath

Performance reviews inspire nerves for both sides — the employee and the manager. That’s perfectly normal.

Fortunately, things become at least a little bit easier once you get the conversation rolling, and this guide can help. Use some of the templated phrases we outlined here with your own direct reports, and you’ll open up an honest discussion that helps your employees do their best work.

Enable better performance reviews now by helping your employees improve with GoSkills bite-sized courses and free, flexible LMS .

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Kat is a writer specializing in career, self-development, and productivity topics. When she escapes her computer, she enjoys reading, hiking, golfing, and dishing out tips for prospective freelancers on her website.

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150 Performance Review Examples and Phrases for Giving Effective Feedback

A performance review is an opportunity for your employees to grow. Discover 150 employee performance review examples to help you give constructive feedback.

Table of Contents

Employee performance reviews are crucial for all businesses. They let managers or supervisors assess their staff members' work and offer them insightful, constructive, and honest employee feedback on their:

• Areas of improvement

Employee engagement is also largely dependent on performance reviews. Therefore, you should know the appropriate words or phrases or employee performance review examples to use during a performance evaluation.

Complicated and wordy messages can confuse both the reviewer and the reviewee and, thus, detract from clarity.

However, if you go about it appropriately, performance reviews can promote your employees' professional growth by reinforcing good habits, rectifying undesirable behaviors, and inspiring them to perform better.

Therefore, to help you comprehend better, we’ve curated a list of 150 performance review phrases. But before we go through the list, let's understand what a performance review is in brief.

What is a performance review?

Reviewing the performance of employees is a critical aspect of running a business. It helps to improve the efficiency and productivity of your employees. Effective performance reviews can also help employers accomplish the following:

• Adequately distribute raises or pay increases
• Assist team members in acquiring new skills
• Outline the goals and expectations of the company

Based on the business capacity and size and the goals of the assessments, each company's review procedure may vary in frequency and complexity. The performance review assessments can be carried out either yearly or quarterly.

150 Useful performance review phrases

Below is a list of 150 performance review phrases and examples that you can use based on the position, function, or personality of the employee in question:

1. Teamwork

Here are 9 positive examples of performance review phrases for teamwork:

• Willing to be counted on by their teammates and expect the same in return
• Develops strong relationships in a professional setting with coworkers, superiors, and other staff members
• Provides support to teammates on their tasks, even though they are not directly responsible for them or obliged to help
• Exemplifies a culture of collaboration on a daily basis
• Readily collaborates with their coworkers to accomplish the goal
• Exceptionally adept at motivating team members to bring out their best effort.
• Oversees the team's operations and delegates tasks to team members appropriately.
• Built a highly motivated team that collaborates to commence and finish the task on or before the deadline
• Always willing to assist teammates who are going through a tough time with their responsibilities

Here are 9 negative examples of performance review phrases for teamwork:

• Seems more concerned about achieving their targets than helping anyone who might require some assistance
• Struggles to acclimatize after transferring from a sector that is very autonomous to one that is team oriented
• Although an expert, they tend not to provide professional guidance or assistance to those who may need
• Struggles with completing assignments while collaborating with others
• Doesn't care enough to inspire team members to perform at their highest level while working

2. Attendance

Here are 7 positive examples of performance review phrases for being attentive :

• Replies to emails and attends calls of stakeholders on time
• Attend conferences, workshops, and seminars on time at all times
• Always arrive on time for work each day
• Completed X years of flawless attendance
• Consistently available even when their division's work schedule is unrelated to it
• Follows the schedule and plan as accurately as attainable
• Always shows up on time, sticks to the schedule, and takes lunch breaks as scheduled

Here are 6 negative examples of performance review phrases for being attentive:

• Attends far too many personal phone calls on a daily basis
• Routinely goes past their allotted lunch break, affecting their productivity
• Does not adhere to the attendance requirements set forth by the organization
• Shows up at work late on a regular basis
• Consistently exceeds the allotted number of leaves
• Must learn to arrive timely after scheduled leaves

3. Interpersonal skills

Here are 8 positive examples of performance review phrases for good interpersonal skills:

• Has strong interpersonal skills and needs little to no instruction in communicating well with others
• Possesses the ability to deal with sensitive circumstances promptly and efficiently
• Can hear and effectively comprehend verbal and nonverbal indications from coworkers
• Ensures that their teammates are comfortable with a decision made by a higher authority
• Is an excellent team player who enjoys working with others
• Possesses the ability to resolve team conflicts
• Has the capability to collaborate with colleagues to resolve conflict in a respectful manner
• Possesses the ability to communicate clearly with people from different cultures, places, etc.

Here are 5 negative examples of performance review phrases for good interpersonal skills:

• Refuses to take constructive criticism from coworkers that can help them grow in the corporate world
• Interacts with coworkers in an abrasive and unprofessional manner
• Refuses to take any initiative or incorporate constructive suggestions made by coworkers
• Reacts defensively to constructive criticism
• Appears uneasy when questioned during team meetings

4. Communication skills

Here are 7 positive examples of performance review phrases for good communication skills:

• Adept at efficiently conveying complex messages and decisions
• Routinely offers constructive criticism
• Communicates complex subjects to the rest of the team in a transparent and understandable manner
• Asks interesting and meaningful questions
• Not afraid to answer when confronted with a difficult question
• Is skilled at summarizing and conveying critical business decisions
• Is open to hearing other people's opinions

Here are 7 negative examples of performance review phrases for communication skills:

• Stands out from their colleagues for having excellent employee communication skills
• Repeatedly berates staff members
• Has difficulty interacting effectively in teams
• Instead of doing it themselves, ask other coworkers to convey bad news
• Does not adequately notify supervisors of progress updates
• Does not provide constructive feedback on new initiatives
• Regularly engages in awkward conversations and occasionally becomes territorial

5. Achievement

Here are 8 positive examples of performance review phrases for achievement:

• Sets realistic goals and actively works to meet them
• Surpassed the benchmark by X%, outperforming other team members
• Reduced the time it took to resolve complaints to 24 hours, which boosted customer retention by X%
• Employed effective SEO strategies and increased the site's organic traffic by X%
• Implemented a strategy that works well to optimize work processes
• Working cooperatively with a team was improved by X%
• Generated X% more revenues at the end of the last quarter compared to the previous one
• Used automation tools to save the organization $1 million

Here are 6 negative examples of performance review phrases for achievement:

• Last month's goal was missed by X%
• Would benefit from reviewing their own failures and successes each quarter
• Failure to meet commitments due to a lack of coordination
• Would prosper from defining career goals
• Finds it challenging to provide error-free work consistently
• Improved social media interaction is essential to boost organic traffic

6. Innovation and creativity

Here are 7 positive examples of performance review phrases for innovation and creativity:

• Frequently comes up with fresh, creative answers to handle difficult situations
• Thinks creatively and unconventionally
• Always encourage or assist teammates in coming up with innovative ideas
• Their creative capabilities are a valuable contribution to the company
• Has a strong imagination and routinely offers some of the most original ideas
• Uses creative thinking to carry out a vision for the business
• Consistently offers fresh ideas during meetings and when working on projects

Here are 7 negative examples of performance review phrases for innovation and creativity:

• Could provide alternative strategies for resolving problems
• Could take the initiative to work on new projects
• Their problem-solving methods are typically inflexible and conventional
• Prefers a traditional, cautious approach to problems rather than a creative one
• Could perform better in places that require innovative solutions
• Might use some creative thought
• Too reluctant to take chances on coming up with creative solutions
• Has a habit of rejecting projects that require creative thinking

7. Leadership

Here are 9 positive examples of performance review phrases for leadership:

• Encourages team members to put in a good effort
• Establishes a safe environment for team members to express their thoughts and perspectives
• Recognizes the capabilities of teammates and effectively assigns work
• Keeps team focused and engaged in work
• Expresses sincere appreciation for a job well carried out
• Actively hear what their coworkers are suggesting and respond appropriately to it
• Is an excellent role model for others to emulate
• Encourages the development of an understanding- and learning-centered corporate culture
• Always ready to lend a hand to a teammate

Here are 7 negative examples of performance review phrases for leadership:

• Ambiguous while deciding which objectives and tasks to accomplish
• Seldom acknowledges a successfully completed task with praise or positive feedback
• Regularly causes the team to fall behind with superfluous activities
• Rejects team members' opinions or suggestions
• Does not treat other staff members equally with respect
• Always overanalyzes situations when a speedy resolution is demanded

8. Attitude

Here are 7 positive examples of performance review phrases for attitude:

• Has a positive outlook that encourages their teammates to do better
• Always optimistic in every situation
• Quickly smiles and boosts morale in tense situations
• Always cheer up coworkers
• Does not allow difficult situations to dampen their spirit
• Always comes to work with a cheerful demeanor
• Keeps a persistent, optimistic attitude that motivates others
• Helps others have a positive attitude toward challenges by sharing ideas and thoughts that are constructive
• The way they behave shows how much they like their work
• Fosters a culture of trust among staff members

Here are 7 negative examples of performance review phrases for attitude:

• Has an attitude toward causing problems
• Gets upset easily and shows a pessimistic attitude
• Must learn to accept constructive feedback
• Gets easily distracted or provoked by non-work topics
• Behavior at work exhibits bipolar tendencies

9. Time management

Here are 9 positive examples of performance review phrases for time management:

• Has the capacity to finish tasks, particularly those with tight deadlines
• Shows an excellent capacity for coordinating several tasks and projects simultaneously
• Efficiently utilizes free time
• Effectively manages a variety of tasks and projects without requiring heavy supervision
• Is adept at handling multiple tasks quickly and with precision
• Manage their time quite well
• Consistently fulfills all goals on time
• Creates brief and time-saving presentations
• Schedules meetings on time

Here are 5 negative examples of performance review phrases for time management:

• Fails to meet deadlines despite being granted plenty of time to finish all assigned tasks
• Has trouble coordinating multiple tasks and initiatives
• Does not efficiently manage their work schedule time
• Lacks the ability to efficiently prioritize tasks
• Shows a tendency to let personal matters influence how well they function at work

10. Productivity

Here are 10 positive examples of performance review phrases for productivity:

• Consistently surpasses performance benchmarks
• Has incredibly high standards for productivity
• Have a track record of delivering work at a high caliber
• Constantly looking for ways to be more effective
• Encourages people to perform efficiently at work by maintaining a positive attitude
• Consistently goes above and beyond expectations and delivers the best result
• Significantly contributes to the business's ongoing expansion
• Places a high value on details, which is evident in their work
• Shares their understanding of market trends and best practices with the team to assist them in achieving better results
• Is a key contributor to the organization's success

Here are 5 negative examples of performance review phrases for productivity:

• Requires to pay greater attention to the intricacies before turning in a project
• Finishes the easier tasks first instead of prioritizing the urgent ones
• Doesn't accomplish their work in accordance with the required productivity standards
• Should engage in more training and development activities to advance their knowledge and abilities
• Work performance and productivity have been below par lately

11. Accountability

Here are 5 positive examples of performance review phrases for accountability:

• Accepts accountability for one's actions and contributions as a team member, as well as involvement in the organization's growth
• Respects deadlines and takes responsibility for them
• Acknowledges shortcomings and notifies colleagues when unable to uphold a commitment
• Takes accountability for the part they play in project management
• Unwilling to be complacent with errors and finds resolutions for them

Here are 3 negative examples of performance review phrases for accountability:

• Must accept responsibility for meeting deadlines
• Rejects responsibilities for fixing errors
• Fails to communicate effectively regarding delayed deliverables

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions about employee performance review:

1. What is an employee performance review?

A thorough evaluation of an employee's performance over a specific period is known as an employee performance review. Managers examine an employee's overall performance, point out their merits and shortcomings, provide feedback, and assist them in setting goals during a performance review.

2. What should a performance evaluation of an employee contain?

In the majority of employee assessments, regardless of industry, these capabilities are evaluated:

• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Time management
• Productivity

3 . What are some examples of good performance reviews for employees?

Examples of good performance reviews for employees are:

4. What are some of the areas of improvement for employees?

Some of the areas of improvement for employees are:

5. What are some examples of performance reviews concerning leadership?

Examples of performance reviews concerning leadership are:

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30 Performance Review Summary Examples & Phrases You Can Use

• Self-performance review summary examples
• Performance review summary examples for managers
• End-of-year performance review summary examples

The performance review process is essential for employees' career development, as it helps them learn from mistakes and double down on what they already do. But relying solely on annual performance reviews doesn't seem to budge it anymore – you should do performance reviews more frequently.

However, regularly summarizing performance isn't easy, as you want to feel redundant with new things to say. Don’t worry – we're here to help.

In this article, we’ll list 30 performance review summary examples and phrases for different aspects of work. With those, employees will get quality feedback that will help them fix mistakes they might be making and steer their careers in the right direction.

Judging your own performance is always tricky, as you need to be honest, but you might find answering some of the questions too exposing. However, it is still vital to complete self-assessments, as you will be able to reflect on your performance and skills, which will help you improve on its own but will also get you valuable feedback from your supervisors later.

Here are some areas to focus on if you want to conduct a successful performance review of your past activities:

Key achievements and team goals

• I feel my direct contribution to Project X organization resulted in savings both in time and resources, which delighted the clients.
• I was able to meet deadlines and occasionally deliver work much before the due date, which made my manager's job easier.
• While I am usually proactive, I should be more consistent in asking for new work after finishing all my assigned tasks.

Strengths and areas of improvements

• I think time management and effective delegation are my key strengths.
• I lead my team by example, showing them that it isn't that hard to roll up your sleeves and walk the walk.
• However, I could do a better job with communication and conflict resolution, which is something I plan to work on.
• Fill out performance review questionnaire
• Let AI generate performance review comments

Organizational skills

• I do a great job multitasking and managing several client projects simultaneously without breaking the deadlines.
• Workload management is also a strength of mine, as I can make accurate assumptions about how much time it will take to complete a project and how many people we need.
• While I do get everything done on time, sometimes the quality of the work is not the greatest, so I should work on balancing quality and quantity.

Communication and teamwork

• I do a good job explaining team roles to other members and dissecting what needs to be done for success.
• I ask for immediate clarifications when things aren't clear, which helps our team stay on track and delight our clients consistently.
• While I do a good job communicating and maintaining a positive attitude when things go well, I should work on my crisis and conflict resolution skills to feel less intimidated when a resolution is necessary.

Image source: Pexels

While managers usually do employee performance appraisals, they should also get periodic summaries of their managerial fire abilities . Here are some ideas for conducting an effective performance review and writing a summary for a manager:

• You achieved notable success leading the team during the review period, especially on Project X which was our most complex yet.
• Your leadership and people management skills showcased during the busy season as the teams you run achieved top performance.
• Your out-of-the-box thinking showed when you devised a custom team schedule, which improved company productivity in the last quarter.

Leadership strengths and style

• Your interpersonal skills , decision-making and critical thinking have directly influenced team performance, leading to admirable outcomes throughout the performance review period.
• Delegating tasks to the right team members to complete specific tasks is something you do great, which showed on multiple occasions by increased employee engagement .
• You showed great flexibility and adaptability even when things didn't go as planned, but you managed to adjust and rise to the occasion.

Communication and collaboration

• Your collaboration with other departments and stakeholders significantly contributes to the overall project’s success, as evident from the reports and colleagues' comments.
• Your proactive engagement with stakeholders and other departments leads to well-informed decision-making, which improves team-wide productivity.
• One of your biggest strengths is managing conflicts through clear communication and patience to achieve resolution and maintain a positive team environment.
• Areas of improvement
• While you do lead by example, you should give more frequent feedback to subordinates to help them achieve their goals.
• Your direct approach with colleagues is effective, but you should be more patient with the newcomers and give them time to adjust and learn.
• While your teams usually exceed expectations, you should work on implementing newer technical solutions into your workflows to improve productivity further.

The annual performance review can help your team members have a bird’s-eye view of their performance over a longer stretch. Here are some example areas to focus on:

Positive feedback end-of-year summaries:

• You have consistently surpassed targets and set high standards for the rest of the organization, so you will be eligible for promotion to a more senior role soon.
• The ability to quickly adapt to new client workflows and use different tools is something you excelled at, and it benefits our organization tremendously.
• Your excellent communication and problem-solving skills helped us cope with challenging projects and navigate tough client situations throughout the year.

Constructive feedback end-of-year-summaries

• While being proactive and independent makes you a great remote worker, which showed in the number of completed projects you have done this year, it would be better to ask for more input upfront if things aren't clear and not wait for our clients to ask for revisions.
• You have an exceptional eye for detail, which is why we gave you our most important projects for the entire year. However, you should do a bit better job respecting deadlines or at least notifying your supervisor upfront that you might turn in your work late.
• We like how you lead by example, as you were the top performer and a true role model to younger colleagues. It would be nice, however, if you spent a bit more time explaining procedures and encouraging other team members to learn, as it will benefit them and you in the long run.

We've covered a lot of ground here, but we hope these examples have given you some helpful ideas for your next performance appraisal. With our phrases and good feedback automation tools, you will be able to create stellar appraisals in no time. As long as you are honest while remaining constructive and respectful, conducting performance reviews that will provide quality feedback to the recipient will never be a problem.

How do you write a summary for a performance review?

A review summary is a brief overview of employee’s performance , strengths, and areas they can improve upon. It should briefly explain what they do well and what they should improve, with advice on how to do so.

What is an example of a performance review conclusion?

A performance evaluation conclusion should briefly summarize a person's performance during the review period, highlighting their key strengths and something they can improve upon:

John consistently exceeds expectations and is always willing to help others. His greatest strengths are his work ethic and his communication skills. As for the areas to work on, he can be a bit more proactive and seek feedback.

What should be included in a performance summary?

A detailed performance summary should reflect on each of the criteria a performance review had. Our article gave you plenty of effective performance review phrases , but some of them can be:

• Objectives and goals
• Time management and organization
• Communication

What should I write in a performance review comment?

A performance review comment should highlight the employee’s strengths and areas for improvement. Be specific and provide examples to support your feedback. Make it constructive by suggesting what they can do to improve instead of only pointing out the negative.

Express Evaluations

Feedback | Goals | Pulse

• Sep 25, 2023

Performance Review Summary Examples: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Employee Evaluations

Performance reviews are a critical part of any business. They allow employers and management to address employee behavior and correct any mistakes. They also provide a boost for morale, as employees report higher engagement and job satisfaction when their work is subject to review.

However, the exact nature of conducting performance reviews is tricky. To clear things up, this article will dive into examples of performance reviews. This will help guide you through providing effective evaluation in the future.

What Is a Performance Review?

While it seems like there should be a straightforward format for performance reviews, the reality is that such a situation would be impossible. Performance reviews are anything done to review an employee’s performance. They should give the manager/employer and the employee direction going forward.

As such, they can be incredibly varied . A performance review can be a simple meeting to discuss an employee’s situation or an in-depth evaluation that includes measurable statistics. Nowadays, performance reviews can even be given over the cloud , opening up new avenues for review.

However, this variability is necessary because not every type of performance review works in every situation. Some will be best suited for certain jobs, while others will be best suited for others.

Related: Maximizing Employee Engagement with Effective Performance Evaluations

What Does an Effective Performance Review Include?

While there are many differences between performance reviews, there are also some similarities. Specifically, an effective performance review will include a few specific things. These are:

A measurement of how the employee performed since the last performance review or over another period

Steps for improvement or specific goals that will be used by the employee and the manager/employer going forward from the review

A documentation of what was discussed during the review

Performance Review Examples

There are many types of performance reviews out there. However, a few have proven popular and effective in many different settings.

These are informal and typically quick performance reviews. All that they really consist of is a brief discussion and some note-taking.

The person conducting the review should be prepared. They should have a list of check-in questions ready to go so that they can ask them. They should also be prepared for the meeting to last longer if the response to any questions leads to a more involved discussion.

Check-in questions can include:

How do you feel about the work you are doing?

Do you feel like you have enough time and resources to do what you need to do?

What, if anything, would you change about the way you are currently working?

Wondering if Express Evaluation could help improve the efficiency of your operations and performance review process? Get in touch with us to get your questions answered.

Project Reviews

In some cases, it may be better to conduct a performance review of an employee’s work on a specific project rather than a specific time frame. This can be helpful because simply having a review every six months may mean reviewing an employee’s work on one successful and multiple failed projects, leading to a mixed review. Meanwhile, a project review will always focus on that specific project.

These reviews should focus on the employee’s connection to the success or failure of the project itself. What did they do right? What did they do wrong? How can they contribute better to the next project?

One measurable and effective way to conduct performance reviews is through a grading system. These can grade the employee on a scale (typically 1-5) in as many categories as necessary . These are great because they highlight specific areas for improvement while giving employees a framework to work toward.

For example, a sales company's grading-based performance review could include a list of questions where the response will fall into a value from 1 to 5. In this case, 1 indicates an extreme negative response, and 5 indicates an extreme positive response. This could lead to a review like this:

Does the employee reach their sales goals?

Does the employee make the number of calls that they should?

Is customer feedback for the employee positive?

Is the employee on time for work every day?

Related: Why Your Business Needs a Digital Solution for Performance Reviews

Employee Rankings

In jobs with measurable differences between employees' work output, employee rankings can be useful. This is when employees are ranked based on the work they are doing compared to each other. They are then put into a list with the best-performing employees at the top and the worst at the bottom.

These lists can then be utilized in different ways. They can be shared with employees individually to let them know how they are doing. They can also be shared publicly so that everyone can see who is performing well and who is not.

This type of performance review can be effective in highlighting the differences between employees , which can be a metric used to consider raises, promotions, bonuses, or even layoffs. It can also be a motivational tool, as rankings inevitably lead to competition, which has an impact on motivation .

Looking for a way to improve your performance review process to give your employees more effective feedback? Book a demo to see how Express Evaluations could make the process easier.

External Reviews

The basis for a review doesn’t always have to come from management. It can come from customers as well.

Many companies let customers review their experiences with employees. This gives an honest review of how people outside the company perceive these employees. This is effective in presenting an entirely new and important viewpoint while also minimizing bias from management.

External reviews can be conducted in a number of different ways:

Phone calls with customers can end by giving them the option to review the person they were just talking to. They can then enter responses to questions by selecting the option on their phone.

Response cards can be mailed to customers or given out at a store. These can then be filled out and returned.

A prompt can be set to appear after someone has an interaction with an employee online. They can then fill out the anonymous survey on their phone or computer.

Conducting Great Performance Reviews

Conducting great performance reviews doesn’t have to be difficult. You simply need to keep in mind the elements that make a performance review effective. Then, you can select an option that works best for your business and get started.

Related: Transitioning from Manual to Cloud-Based Employee Evaluations: A Guide

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Performance Evaluation Essay

Have you ever wondered how to evaluate someone to see if they are still up to their worth? For students and employees, a performance evaluation may sound terrifying but it is actually far from it. A performance evaluation is used to see and to target out the person’s difficulty and to make it all the better. In this article, we have 3+ performance evaluation essay examples in PDF. Some samples you may download to use. Check it out now.

3+ Performance Evaluation Essay Examples

1. performance evaluation essay template.

Size: 197 KB

2. Business Performance Evaluation Essay

Size: 919 KB

3. Work-Based Performance Evaluation Essay

Size: 370 KB

4. Performance Evaluation Narrative Essay

Definition of Performance

To execute something . To be able to act out what is being given as a form of a task. The promise of doing an action.

Definition of Evaluation

Evaluation as defined is to determine whether the individual’s worth and significance is still followed by a certain criteria. The use of an evaluation is to understand and correct an individual shortcomings and prevent any other issues that may undermine the individuals’ significance.

Definition of Evaluation Essay

An evaluation essay is also called a report essay or a critical essay. This essay is the type that may lead to an argument between the writer and their audience. This is also the essay that needs critical and analytical thinking. The writer must also provide evidence and extensive research to support the case or the topic they choose to write about. These evidences are based on facts.

Definition of Performance Evaluation Essay

The process of evaluating students or employees. To show them their weaknesses and address them in a polite and professional manner. To target the issues and resolve them to get a better outcome.

Tips for Writing Evaluation Essays

Here are some useful tips to help you write an evaluation essay.

• Choose your Topic: Like in any other essay writing, choose the topic you wish to discuss. Once you have done that, do your research and give out some evidence to support your topic.
• Write the Statement: The most important part of your essay is always your statement. This is where the narrative comes in. Write about your topic, discuss in your narrative about your chosen topic, as well as the key points. 
• Search for Supporting Evidence: When writing this type of essay, evidence is key. Do your research, look for information that supports your evaluation. 
• Make a Copy: Make a copy of your essay. Whether it is a draft or your final paper. This way, you can compare and find some loopholes in your document and change that.
• Review, Rewrite, Revise: Review your work. Look for some grammatical errors that you may have forgotten and rewrite them. Check your spelling and correct punctuation marks. Revise the parts that need revising.

What makes a good performance evaluation essay?

A performance essay must have the following information. The narrative, the methods and the objectives. It must also follow a format and a rubrics for it to be considered a performance essay.

Is there an easier way to conduct a performance evaluation?

You may use an essay type to conduct your evaluation or you may use a table type to conduct. All these would still depend on the rubrics that you made to evaluate your employees’ performances .

Is rubrics necessary to evaluate my employees’ performance?

A rubrics is simply there as a guide to evaluate but if you choose to use another, that is fine as well.

A performance evaluation essay should start and end with the target topic of what the author intends to write about. The extensive research and evidence should also be present as this is the type of essay where hard facts are based on. Assumptions of any sort should be avoided.  As this is seen as something to evaluate students or employees welfare, it should be used as such. The rubrics for the essay is merely a guide and should not be used as a means of judging a person’s actions nor a person’s shortcomings. With that being said, following the tips and the examples as guides for your evaluation essay writing should be easy.

Performance Evaluation Essay Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Analyze your academic performance over the past semester in a Performance Evaluation Essay.

Discuss the outcomes of a recent project or assignment in your Performance Evaluation Essay.

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• 15 types of employee performance review ...

15 types of employee performance reviews (with templates and examples)

An employee performance review is a meeting between a manager and their employee to discuss how the team member is pacing toward organizational goals. Though simple in design, there are many ways to create a more effective process that brings your reviews to life. See the top 15 performance review templates to measure success and improve your review skills.

Measuring success is a key piece to leading an effective team. After all, you can’t improve until you know what skills you need to build. 

You can measure success in different ways—from peer reviews to self reviews and different performance evaluations in between. To figure out the right review style for your team, we’ve put together 15 employee performance review templates to measure job performance effectively.

What is a performance review?

An employee performance review is an evaluation where managers, peers, or other stakeholders assess a team member’s job performance over time. While the performance review process differs depending on the period you evaluate and who is leading the review, there are a few key pieces to a successful review. 

Your performance review process should include:

Employee strengths: Always include feedback and praise regarding the team member’s strengths, such as effective problem solving and communication skills. This offers insight into what the employee is doing well.

Employee weaknesses: It’s also valuable to discuss any weaknesses or areas of opportunity for the team member. Areas of focus could include the ability to work in a team setting or when and how to share ideas more effectively. This is an opportunity for the team member to gain insight into where they have room to improve.  

Rating system: To determine areas of improvement, your performance review should include a rating scale to gauge each employee’s skill level in pre-set categories. A common example is rating employees based on standards such as: consistently exceeds expectations, often exceeds expectations, consistently meets expectations, needs development. You might use these ratings to evaluate the employee across different categories, like strategic mindset, communication skills, and team collaboration.

Review period: During the performance review process, you will measure an employee’s performance relative to a set period. Each organization does this slightly differently, but common periods include annually, bi-annually, or quarterly. 

Set goals: Clear SMART goals give employees a sense of where they can improve and what they should focus on in the future. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. This helps to clearly define performance expectations for your employees. 

Every performance review will have the above elements, but there are other considerations to keep in mind—such as individual skills—that can’t be easily measured. These skills could include your ability to brainstorm in a team setting or support team members for the good of the organization.

Time-oriented performance review templates

Let’s take a look at the first type of employee performance review templates: time-oriented review periods.

1. Annual performance review

Review frequency : Once a year. 

An annual performance review measures a team member’s accomplishments over a year’s time. Overall performance may focus on core competencies as well as individual goals relative to performance management. 

An annual review is a great way to analyze performance history over the course of a year. Be sure to write the performance review down in a shared space. Documenting work in a central source of truth allows you and your employee to review what they did over the course of the year. This creates transparency around expectations and milestones . 

2. Mid-year performance review

Review frequency : Twice a year. 

A mid-year performance review measures a team member’s accomplishments bi-annually. This is a great option for teams who want to create transparency around performance.

That’s because giving team members an opportunity to see where their performance lands every six months allows them to gauge their performance and implement changes where needed. On the other hand, positive performance also gives team members a sense of what they’re excelling at. 

3. Quarterly performance review

Review frequency : Four times a year. 

Take transparent communication one step further with a quarterly performance review. A quarterly performance review evaluates a team member’s success four times a year, and gives your employee a more consistent opportunity to turn weaknesses into strengths. 

Just as other performance review styles, it’s also important to focus as much time and energy on positives as you do on constructive feedback. Both encourage good performance.

4. Year-end performance review

A year-end performance review measures a team member’s success against the financial success of the company. This review is commonly scheduled alongside the evaluation of long-term company goals and is used frequently for operations and marketing teams. This is because their work is closely aligned with financial revenue goals. 

While each company starts and ends their financial year on different timelines, it’s common for a year-end review to happen around the end of the calendar year.

5. 30-60-90 performance review

Review frequency : Once a month for the first three months of employment.

A 30-60-90 day performance review measures a new team member’s success. Often paired alongside a 30-60-90 day plan , this method reviews the new team member against job expectations after their first, second, and third months in the role. 

This review is a great way to give new team members a baseline of how they're meeting their role expectations. It also creates transparency around areas where they should focus more energy and time perfecting skills. Employee onboarding is tricky, and your team members may need to adjust their expectations, focus areas, and priorities as they learn more about the role. Without doing a 30-60-90 review, a new employee might not get a performance review for their first 6+ months working at a company—so they have very little understanding of how they're performing. 

As a manager, one of the most valuable things you can do for new team members is to provide multiple feedback sessions often to show that you're involved, engaged, and invested in your new team members' growth.

Team-oriented performance review templates

As a manager, you have a unique understanding of how your team member is performing in their role. But you can’t always see everything they’re doing. Employee performance review templates centered around team goals are a great way to gather feedback from other members of the team. Use these in combination with more traditional manager feedback to get a holistic review of an employee’s performance. 

6. Self evaluation review

Review frequency : Annually, bi-annually, or quarterly. 

A self-evaluation is where a team member evaluates their own performance. This gives you a better understanding of how each team member views their skills. It’s important to know that a self evaluation isn’t used to take work off your plate. Instead, it has its own benefits such as giving the team member a chance to communicate their viewpoint. 

Oftentimes you will then provide your employee feedback on the self-evaluation, using a physical or digital form. This creates balance between manager vs. employee viewpoints to ensure both are aligned. This is done during a one-on-one meeting where you’ll both chat about your feedback to perform a holistic performance review. 

7. Peer review

Review frequency : Annually or bi-annually.

Oftentimes, annual or biannual reviews will also have a peer review component. This gives peers an opportunity to answer questions and evaluate their coworkers—most commonly in written form. To use this feedback, collect the peer feedback, your feedback, and any self-review feedback during an annual or biannual review period. 

The main value of a peer review is giving team members an opportunity to see their value and areas of opportunity from other perspectives. Depending on the size of your team and your relationship with the team members, you may not have insight into everything each team member does. Peer reviews are an opportunity for team members to share that perspective with you, so you have a more holistic picture of the employee's performance.

8. Team performance review

A team performance review is where a group of individuals rate the performance of the team as a whole. Hearing multiple opinions from different individuals can help you understand the group’s needs, as well as identify where growth opportunities lie. This type of review is most valuable for managers. 

You can do this by asking each team member to fill out a self-assessment and answer questions about the team and the team’s goals. For example, you might ask:

How well did the team work together as a group?

Name one example of good team collaboration in the last period. 

Name one example where team collaboration was less effective in the last period.

How comfortable are you communicating feedback to your peers? What about your manager? 

What improvements could be made to enable better team collaboration?

Performance review templates

If none of the above performance review templates felt quite right, take a look at general employee performance review templates that work for most situations and teams. 

9. Simple performance review

A simple performance review focuses on performance phrases rather than numbers. This is because it’s crucial to give team members context about how they’re doing. Providing a rating without context can be confusing to team members and hinder their growth. 

A simple performance review helps keep expectations as clear as possible, without confusing the employee. Overall, it’s the best style when looking for a basic yet effective way to communicate performance.  

Center a performance review around goals and use examples to back up data. Without that, it can be challenging for team members to understand exactly how they can improve and meet expectations.

10. Goal setting review

Review frequency : Annually or bi-annually. 

Goals setting reviews focus on a team member's expected objectives. These goals can focus on an employee's professional objectives and how they align with the company's long-term strategy. For example, as a team lead , your goal over the next quarter might be to streamline cross-functional communication. This aligns with the company’s goal to create greater transparency across all departments.

Goal setting reviews should follow the SMART goal acronym to ensure they are specific and measurable enough to evaluate. SMART stands for s pecific, m easurable, a chievable, r ealistic, and t ime-bound. 

11. 360 performance review

A 360 performance review measures an employee’s performance from the perspective of all relevant team members. This includes self-feedback, peer feedback, manager feedback, and employee feedback about the manager if applicable. 

This type of review is particularly useful for managers who want feedback from their direct reports. Use this review template if you want insight from the people you work closely with, regardless of how their role relates to yours.

12. Professional development review

A professional development review measures a team member’s personal goals. This is important when you’re looking to evaluate a team member’s career trajectory. It ensures they’re meeting their role’s needs and developing personal objectives such as growing their leadership skills. 

By connecting job and personal goals, the employee can better understand how their role is supporting their career development. For example, imagine your employee shared that they eventually want to grow in a leadership position. Part of their professional development plan is to identify areas where they can get involved in a more strategic role. During your professional development feedback session, you can review the concrete steps they took towards that goal and outline additional next steps they can work towards.

13. Performance improvement review

Review frequency : Only when an employee is underperforming.  

Before using a performance improvement review, make sure you have an improvement plan in place. It’s important to communicate the expected performance goals ahead of time so the individual has a chance to meet their expectations. Once objectives are clear, you can use a performance improvement review to measure the team member’s success against previously defined expectations.

An improvement review measures your team member’s success based on a previously established performance plan. Use an improvement plan to clearly define expectations on how an employee can work to meet those objectives. Put a performance plan into place when an individual is underperforming based on their job description. 

14. Compensation check-in

A compensation check-in is a review of a team member’s performance to evaluate the merit of a raise. This type of review doesn’t guarantee a promotion, but it can  help create transparency around the expectations associated with an annual raise.

To do this effectively, be sure to provide examples of work where the employee went above and beyond their job description. This will create transparency around performance and promotion trajectory. 

15. Excelling feedback review

Review frequency : Only when an employee is excelling in their role.  

On the opposite end of the spectrum, use an excelling feedback review to measure and detail an individual’s successes. This review template gives the employee additional context about how their excellent work has positively impacted the team or company. This is why it’s commonly used in unison with a compensation check-in.

Taking a moment to acknowledge this performance can help boost employee morale , giving you both a moment to reflect on what went well.

Sample performance review example

Now that you understand the 15 most popular employee review templates, it’s time to craft one of your own. We created a sample performance review to give you an idea of what a general review template might look like. 

Employee name: Daniela Vargas

Review period: Q4

Date of review: January 1

Employee rating: Often exceeds expectations

Strengths: Daniela had an excellent quarter. She excelled in team collaboration by stepping up to help team members brainstorm solutions in order to meet deadlines. It’s clear that Daniela really cares about her work and her teammates and embodies Apollo Enterprises’ core values. 

Opportunity: While Daniela excelled in collaboration, I believe she could improve her thought leadership. There are opportunities for Daniela to learn new skills by attending workshops and keeping up with industry news which she can then bring back to the team. 

Learn one new industry skill a month in Q1. 

Lead two team meetings to share thought leadership by the end of Q2.

While you can use this sample as a starting point for your own effective performance review process, remember to put your own team flare into it. 

How to prepare for a performance appraisal

A performance review is a two-way conversation between an employee and their manager to discuss their strengths, quality of work, and future goals. Preparing for a performance appraisal, whether you're in human resources, a manager, or an employee, creates an evaluation process that helps to fairly evaluate and document employee progress and engagement.

For managers:

Thoroughly review the employee's past performance. Consider using an annual performance review template to assess employee development and any areas needing improvement.

Set clear, achievable long-term and short-term objectives for the next performance review cycle. These should match the company's goals and support both employee progress and organizational growth.

Have an open dialogue to boost employee engagement. Offer clear examples of past performance and provide constructive feedback to guide the conversation.

For employees:

Reflect on your performance. Identify strengths and areas for growth. Use the employee self evaluation form to organize your thoughts and achievements.

Think about your career goals. Set key performance indicators (KPIs) that support these goals, and prepare to discuss them with your manager.

Prepare specific examples of your work to discuss , including achievements, challenges, and the support you need moving forward to improve your performance rating and growth.

Employee performance evaluation follow-up

Both managers and employees should actively engage in follow-up actions after a performance evaluation. This ensures that feedback and action plans are effectively implemented, setting the stage for professional development. Here’s where employee development plans and performance improvement plans turn evaluation insights into actionable growth strategies.

Employee development plan

An employee development plan outlines a roadmap for an employee's professional growth and skill enhancement. Here are a few details to include:

Define specific goals based on appraisal insights to guide employee progress.

Identify essential skills and competencies for career development.

Set clear milestones, metrics, and timelines for achieving professional growth objectives.

Maintain ongoing communication and make necessary adjustments to the development plan as needed.

Employee performance improvement plan

When a performance review form identifies areas for improvement, an employee performance improvement plan specifies those areas and outlines specific, measurable goals for boosting performance.

To ensure accountability, establish realistic metrics and timelines for achieving each goal.

Conduct regular employee progress reviews to monitor advancements and tackle challenges.

Provide continuous support and adjust the plan as needed to ensure the employee's success.

How to give constructive feedback

Before you dive into the structure and style of various performance reviews, you must understand how to give constructive criticism effectively. Constructive criticism focuses on providing helpful feedback supported by specific examples. This gives team members the context they need to understand why they received the feedback they did.

To give effective and detailed feedback , be sure to do the following. 

Notify the employee before you meet

If you don't have a lot of experience giving feedback, it can be tempting to launch into a feedback session and get it over with as soon as possible. But in fact, the opposite is true. The more time you give your team member to prepare to receive the feedback, the more valuable the session will be. That’s because team members who are notified in advance can get into the right mindset to receive feedback openly without becoming defensive or passive. 

Be sure to let the employee know about the feedback session before you sit down for the official conversation. If possible, tell the employee what the feedback will be about. For example, you might say “During our quarterly performance review next week, I’d love for you to walk through your three proudest accomplishments from the last quarter and three things you want to focus on during the next quarter. Then, I’ll share the same thing. Together, we’ll come up with next steps and focus areas for you to dive into in the coming months.” This will give them time to prepare for the meeting and prep any relevant questions on their end.

Communicate in private

It’s easy for constructive feedback to accidentally turn into a negative experience if you share it in a group setting. No matter the type or style of performance review, make sure you’re communicating feedback in a private one-on-one setting. This ensures the employee doesn’t feel targeted in a group setting. 

If the type of performance review style you’re using includes feedback from more than one person—for example, peer reviews—it’s your responsibility as the team manager to aggregate that feedback and present it to your team member in private. Keeping the feedback session between you and your team member gives them a chance to process the feedback on their own time.

Offer actionable feedback

To ensure your feedback is constructive, always pair it with data-backed insights and actionable next steps. Doing so creates transparency around why the employee got a specific review based on their work. Offer specific feedback with details around what's been working well, what they can improve, and how to get there.

For example, imagine your team member has missed some important deadlines. You want to share that feedback with them so they can prioritize hitting their due dates in the coming months. In this example, it's significantly more valuable if you can include specific examples of due dates they missed. That way, you and your team members can refer to specific instances, work to figure out what went wrong, and then come up with concrete action items and processes they can implement in the future.

Document feedback in writing

Be sure to document constructive feedback in writing. You can do this in a feedback system or a tool like Asana . This way, you and the employee can look back on past performance and measure objectives accordingly.

This goes for positive as well as constructive feedback. Oftentimes, we overlook documenting positive feedback since, well, it’s positive. But keeping track of the team member’s major wins is a great way to increase team morale while reducing impostor syndrome and burnout .

Boost collaboration with performance review templates

A performance review is an excellent way to measure a team member’s performance. It offers transparency around expectations and serves as an opportunity to communicate honestly with your team. 

Making the process as transparent as possible is the best way to foster honest feedback and the desire to improve performance. Communication is at the center of an effective review process. 

From giving feedback with context to streamlining collaboration, Asana can help. Improve your communication not only during a performance review but every day with Asana’s team communication software.

Related resources

Fix these common onboarding challenges to boost productivity

30-60-90 day plan: How to onboard new hires with ease

What is self-management? (7 skills to improve it)

Don’t like giving feedback? These 20 tips are for you

30 Examples of Constructive Criticism: Negative Performance Review

By Status.net Editorial Team on February 3, 2024 — 11 minutes to read

Constructive feedback is a vital tool in the workplace that helps employees grow and develop their skills: by providing guidance and support, you can help your team members realize their full potential.

What are the best ways to phrase constructive criticism in a performance appraisal?

Rather than pointing out their shortcomings, you can highlight the areas they need to work on. For instance, instead of saying, “You don’t meet deadlines consistently,” you could say, “It would be beneficial for the team if you could enhance your time management skills to meet deadlines more consistently.” Use phrases like “one area to focus on” or “an opportunity for growth” to present the criticism positively.

• 1. Instead of saying “Your reports have had several errors,” try “Paying closer attention to detail could help improve the accuracy of your reports.”
• 2. Rather than “You need to manage your team better,” suggest “Developing stronger leadership skills could help increase your team’s performance.”
• 3. Instead of “You’re not proactive enough,” recommend “Taking initiative on projects can showcase your ability to lead and problem-solve.”
• 4. Instead of “You’re too quiet in meetings,” encourage “Your input is valuable, and we would benefit from hearing your ideas during our meetings.”
• 5. Rather than “You need to improve your sales numbers,” frame it as “Exploring new sales strategies could help you exceed your current targets.”
• 6. Instead of “Your work has been inconsistent,” suggest “Striving for consistency will enhance the quality of your output.”
• 7. Rather than “You don’t work well with others,” say “Building on your collaboration skills can enhance team synergy and productivity.”
• 8. Instead of “You need to manage your workload better,” advise “Improving your prioritization skills can help you manage your workload more effectively.”
• 9. Rather than “You lack technical knowledge,” suggest “Expanding your technical skills will greatly contribute to your role’s effectiveness.”
• 10. Instead of “You seem disorganized,” recommend “Enhancing your organizational skills can help you perform your tasks more efficiently.”
• 11. Rather than “You missed your sales targets,” frame it as “Identifying new approaches to meet your sales targets is a great opportunity for growth.”
• 12. Instead of “You have a problem with punctuality,” say “Consistent punctuality will help in maintaining team efficiency.”
• 13. Rather than “Your presentations need improvement,” suggest “Refining your presentation skills could make your communication even more impactful.”
• 14. Instead of “You need to communicate better,” encourage “Strengthening your communication skills will help you and the team work more cohesively.”
• 15. Rather than “You’re resistant to change,” advise “Adapting to change can be challenging, but it’s a valuable skill that can lead to personal and professional growth.”
• 16. Instead of “You need to be more flexible,” recommend “Showing greater flexibility can help the team adapt to the dynamic nature of our work.”
• 17. Rather than “You need to work on your customer service skills,” suggest “Enhancing your customer service skills can lead to higher satisfaction rates among our clients.”
• 18. Instead of “You don’t take enough initiative,” encourage “Embracing opportunities to take initiative can demonstrate your leadership potential.”
• 19. Rather than “You’re often late on projects,” say “Finding strategies to complete projects on time will contribute to the team’s success.”
• 20. Instead of “You need to manage your stress better,” advise “Developing stress management techniques can improve your overall well-being and productivity.”
• 21. Rather than “You’ve made some poor decisions,” suggest “Reflecting on decision-making processes can help you make even stronger choices in the future.”
• 22. Instead of “You struggle with complex tasks,” recommend “Breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps can help you tackle them more effectively.”
• 23. Rather than “You’re not adapting well to the new system,” say “Investing time in learning the new system can enhance your performance and efficiency.”
• 24. Instead of “You could be more creative,” encourage “Exploring creative solutions can bring fresh perspectives to our projects.”
• 25. Rather than “You need to show more enthusiasm,” advise “Displaying enthusiasm can inspire the team and positively impact the work environment.”
• 26. Instead of “You should stop making so many mistakes,” suggest “Double-checking your work can help reduce errors and improve quality.”
• 27. Rather than “You’re too dependent on others,” encourage “Developing self-sufficiency can empower you and reduce the team’s workload.”
• 28. Instead of “You need to improve your professional relationships,” recommend “Investing in professional relationships can lead to better teamwork and collaboration.”
• 29. Rather than “You don’t handle feedback well,” say “Being receptive to feedback can provide you with valuable insights for personal and professional development.”
• 30. Instead of “You’re not meeting performance standards,” advise “Focusing on key performance areas can help you align with the expected standards and contribute more effectively to the team’s goals.”

Preparing for the Performance Review

Gather relevant documentation.

Before diving into the performance review, ensure you’ve collected all the necessary documentation to support your feedback. This includes data on the employee’s performance, like project reports, sales figures, client feedback, and any other relevant material. Make sure to organize and analyze this information prior to the meeting. Some examples of documentation you might gather are:

• Performance metrics and KPIs
• Feedback from team members or other managers
• Records of previous performance review discussions
• Specific instances of accomplishments or underperformance

Identify Specific Issues

As you review the documentation, pinpoint the specific issues that need to be addressed. Avoid using vague language or generalizations in your discussion with the employee. Instead, provide clear, concise examples of what behaviors or actions need improvement. Examples could include:

• Consistent failure to meet deadlines
• Poor communication with team members
• Inability to adapt to new processes or client needs

By focusing on specific issues, it will be easier for both you and the employee to discuss actionable steps for improvement.

Set Clear Objectives

Now that you’ve identified the specific issues, it’s time to set clear objectives for the employee to work on. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). When setting these goals, consider how they align with both the employee’s personal development and the company’s objectives. Examples of SMART objectives include:

• Increase sales by 10% over the next quarter
• Attend a professional development course in the next three months
• Submit project timelines to stakeholders one week before project launch

By providing clear objectives during the performance review, the employee will have a better understanding of the steps they need to take to improve their performance.

Conducting the Performance Review

Choose the right setting.

When conducting a negative performance review, it’s important to choose an appropriate setting to have the conversation. Make sure the meeting is held in a private and comfortable space where you can both discuss openly without being overheard. For example, book a quiet conference room or schedule a remote call. You want to ensure your employee feels at ease while discussing their performance.

Start with Positive Feedback

Before diving into the negatives, start with some positive feedback to set the stage. Acknowledge their achievements and praise their strengths; this will make your employee feel valued and their achievements appreciated. For example:

• “You really exceeded expectations on the (…) project.”
• “Your teamwork and collaboration skills are truly appreciated.”

Deliver Criticism Tactfully

When providing negative feedback, it’s important to deliver it in a tactful and clear manner. Instead of being vague or elusive, provide specific and constructive criticism. Here are some examples:

• Instead of “You need to be more organized,” say “Creating detailed to-do lists or using project management tools may help you better manage tasks.”
• Instead of “You need to be a better team player,” say “Let’s work on improving your communication and collaboration skills to help you integrate better with the team.”

These examples focus on actionable suggestions rather than simply pointing out flaws.

Use ‘I’ Statements

Using ‘I’ statements can help communicate your perspective in a non-confrontational way. Framing your feedback in terms of your own thoughts and feelings can make the employee feel less defensive and more receptive. For example:

• “I noticed that you’ve been struggling with meeting deadlines, and I’m concerned about how it may affect the team.”
• “I feel that there’s room for improvement in your time management skills to ensure you meet deliverables on time.”

To enable your employees to understand and accept the constructive feedback, consider adopting the SBI model (Situation-Behavior-Impact):

• Situation : Describe the specific situation where the issue occurred.
• Behavior : Explain the employee’s behavior in that situation.
• Impact : Highlight the effect of that behavior on the outcome, other team members, or the company as a whole.

For example, “During last month’s team meeting (situation) , I noticed that you interrupted others several times (behavior) , which not only disrupted the flow of the conversation but also discouraged team collaboration (impact) .”

Offer Support and Resources

When presenting negative feedback, it’s important to also offer support and resources to help your employee improve. For example, you can suggest:

• Online courses or training programs to develop essential skills
• Professional development workshops or conferences your company offers
• One-on-one coaching or mentoring sessions with a senior employee

By providing these resources, you’re showing your commitment to their growth and development, making it easier for your employee to accept the feedback and work on their weaknesses.

Examples of Negative Feedback

Attendance and punctuality.

“You’ve been consistently arriving late to work, which disrupts the team’s schedule. For example, on Tuesday, you were 20 minutes late, and last Thursday, you were 45 minutes late. It’s important to arrive on time to show respect for your teammates and ensure our projects stay on track.”

Quality of Work

“We’ve noticed that some of your recent reports have had errors and inconsistencies. For instance, the financial report from last month contained incorrect data, and the marketing analysis from two weeks ago was missing important information.”

Teamwork and Collaboration

“Your collaboration with your teammates has had some challenges lately. You didn’t contribute to the group discussion during last week’s meeting, and you were defensive during the feedback session on Tuesday.”

Communication Skills

We’ve noticed that your communication skills need improvement. For example, you often provide very brief responses in emails that lack clarity, and you tend to interrupt your colleagues during conversations.”

Ensuring a Productive Follow-Up

Schedule regular check-ins.

After delivering a negative performance review, schedule regular check-ins with your employee to discuss their progress and address any concerns or challenges that arise. For example, you can set up bi-weekly meetings to review their goals and provide them with actionable feedback to help them improve.

Monitor Progress

Actively monitoring your employee’s progress plays a vital role in ensuring that they are on track and working towards achieving their performance goals. By keeping an eye on their work and providing ongoing feedback, you can identify areas where they might need additional support or encouragement.

For example: Jane received a negative review for lacking attention to detail. You can now watch out for any pattern or recurring errors in her work and offer guidance on how to avoid them in the future.

Adjust Expectations as Needed

As a manager, you need to be flexible in your expectations and be willing to adjust them based on the employee’s progress. If it becomes apparent that your initial expectations were unrealistic, then it might be necessary to reassess your goals and help your employee come up with a new plan of action.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can i tactfully deliver a negative performance review.

To deliver a negative performance review tactfully, you should be well-prepared and honest yet empathetic. Approach the situation with a positive mindset, focusing on growth and improvement. Be specific and clear about the areas that need improvement, providing examples to illustrate your points. Encourage the employee to ask questions, voice their concerns, and share their viewpoint. Offer guidance and resources to help them grow professionally.

How should I prepare to give feedback on underperformance in a professional manner?

When preparing to give feedback on underperformance, gather specific examples and evidence of the areas needing improvement. Avoid vague or general statements. Review your employee’s written goals, previous performance evaluations, and any available peer input. Reflect on your own management style to assess whether there’s room for improvement in your approach. Finally, develop an action plan with clear steps and expectations to facilitate your employee’s improvement.

Can you provide examples of how to balance a review with both positive and negative feedback?

To balance a review with both positive and negative feedback, follow the “sandwich method.” Begin by highlighting the employee’s strengths and accomplishments, acknowledging their hard work and achievements. Then, address the areas that need improvement, providing specific examples and actionable steps for growth. Conclude the review by expressing confidence in their potential to enhance their performance and emphasizing the importance of their role on the team.

For instance:

• “You’ve demonstrated excellent communication skills while working with clients. However, you could focus on improving your time management to meet project deadlines consistently. We believe in your potential, and your contributions in this area would further strengthen our team’s success.”

What are effective strategies for writing a response to a negative performance evaluation?

When responding to a negative performance evaluation, first, take the time to process and understand the feedback. Acknowledge areas where you agree with the assessment and clarify any points you believe were misconstrued. Focus on solutions, outlining your plan to address the noted shortcomings, and setting specific, attainable goals to track your progress. Keep your tone professional, and remember to express a commitment to improvement and gratitude for the opportunity to grow.

How can I ensure that negative feedback is received as intended and leads to improvement?

To ensure negative feedback is received as intended, be respectful, empathetic, and supportive. Frame the feedback as an opportunity for growth, and maintain a positive tone. Allow your employee to ask questions, share their thoughts, and express any concerns they may have. Offer resources and guidance to help them improve, and monitor their progress regularly. Lastly, remember to acknowledge and praise their efforts as they work towards improvement.

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