summary of performance appraisal essay

70 Performance Review Summary Examples (Strengths, Weaknesses)

By Status.net Editorial Team on October 18, 2023 — 11 minutes to read

• Performance Review Summary Examples: Strengths Part 1
• Performance Review Summary Examples: Weaknesses Part 2
• Examples of Feedback for Improvement Areas Part 3
• Positive Performance Review Summary Examples Part 4
• Development Goals Examples Part 5

Performance reviews are an opportunity to unlock the full potential of your organization and employees. A performance review summary is a powerful tool that can help you identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses, and pave the way for growth and development. Let’s dive into the world of effective performance reviews and discover how you can take your organization to the next level.

Part 1 Performance Review Summary Examples: Strengths

In this chapter, we will explore some examples of performance review summaries highlighting employee strengths. From exceptional communication skills to outstanding leadership qualities, we will showcase how to effectively communicate an employee’s strengths.

• Excellent communication skills : “Mary consistently demonstrates strong communication abilities, effectively collaborating with team members and conveying complex information with clarity.”
• Strong problem-solving capabilities : “Tim excels at identifying and resolving issues before they escalate, showcasing his aptitude for efficient problem-solving.”
• Exceptional organizational skills : “Jenny’s organizational abilities ensure that all tasks are completed accurately and on time, greatly contributing to the team’s overall productivity.”
• Solid critical thinking and decision-making : “Mark has shown his talent for evaluating situations and making well-informed decisions, which has positively impacted project outcomes.”
• Positive attitude and strong work ethic : “Samantha consistently displays a can-do attitude and is always ready to tackle new challenges, inspiring her colleagues in the process.”
• Effective time management : “Andrej effectively manages his workload by prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines, ensuring smooth project execution.”
• Keen attention to detail : “Rebecca’s attention to detail has resulted in a high quality of work, catching errors before they negatively impact the business.”
• Adaptability and flexibility : “John regularly adapts to new situations and willingly takes on additional responsibilities when needed, making him a valuable asset to the team.”
• Consistent reliability : “Lilly is a reliable team member, always completing assignments on time and providing support to colleagues when necessary.”
• Proactive and self-driven : “Mike consistently seeks opportunities for improvement and takes the initiative to address these areas, highlighting his proactive mindset.”
• Active listener : “Nina is an active listener, creating a comfortable environment for her co-workers to openly share ideas and concerns, fostering excellent collaboration.”
• Great customer service skills : “Simon has received numerous positive customer reviews, demonstrating his ability to provide exceptional customer service in all situations.”
• High level of expertise in their field : “Daniela is well-versed in her area of expertise, and her in-depth knowledge has consistently contributed to project success.”
• Continued professional development : “Oscar consistently pursues professional development opportunities, staying up-to-date with industry trends and further enhancing his skill set.”
• Team player : “Ella is a true team player, consistently collaborating with her colleagues and offering assistance when needed to drive team success.”
• Positive Collaboration: “Sarah consistently demonstrates a willingness to assist her teammates with their tasks and brings creative ideas to the table.”
• Effective Communication: “John actively listens to his colleagues while always expressing himself clearly and professionally.”
• Time Management: “Emily consistently meets deadlines and is proactive in completing her tasks ahead of schedule.”
• Adaptability: “Michael is quick to adapt to changes in procedures and implement new strategies efficiently.”
• Leadership Qualities: “Daniel leads his team effectively, offering guidance, mentorship, and support to ensure success.”
• Commitment to Learning: “Sophia is always eager to learn new skills and invests time in her professional development.”
• Conflict Resolution: “Oliver effectively handles conflicts within his team by actively listening to all parties and working towards a fair resolution.”
• Customer Focus: “Maria consistently receives positive feedback from clients due to her exceptional customer service skills.”
• Innovative Thinking: “Lucas is a creative problem solver, constantly exploring new and innovative ways to address challenges.”
• Attention to Detail: “Grace demonstrates a high level of accuracy and precision in her work.”

Part 2 Performance Review Summary Examples: Weaknesses

Let’s dive into some examples of performance review summaries that effectively address employee weaknesses. From time management issues to communication breakdowns, we will show you how to provide constructive feedback to help your employees improve.

• Collaboration Opportunity: “While James contributes to group projects, encouraging him to proactively reach out and collaborate with others will foster increased teamwork.”
• Enhanced Communication: “Mary can improve her communication skills by consistently following up on emails and discussing ideas with her team.”
• Time Management Growth: “Robert occasionally misses deadlines, but setting up reminders and prioritizing his tasks could improve his time management skills.”
• Adapting to Change: “Encouraging Anna to remain open-minded and receptive to changes in the work environment can boost her adaptability.”
• Leadership Development: “Greg could benefit from attending a leadership workshop to hone his team management skills and enhance his delegation techniques.”
• Commitment to Learning: “Millie can further her professional growth by attending conferences, webinars, and engaging in peer collaboration.”
• Conflict Resolution Skills: “Kelly can work on her conflict resolution abilities by learning to address challenges proactively and communicate empathetically.”
• Customer Focus Improvements: “Ryan could attend customer service training to sharpen his skills and increase client satisfaction.”
• Innovative Thinking Boost: “Encouraging Lisa to brainstorm and explore unique solutions will support her development as an innovative thinker.”
• Attention to Detail Growth: “By employing checklists and reviewing work carefully, Sam can strengthen his attention to detail.”
• Leadership Skills: “Encouraging John to take on more leadership roles and delegate tasks to his team members can help him develop his leadership skills.”
• Problem-Solving Abilities: “Samantha can improve her problem-solving abilities by taking a step back and analyzing situations before jumping to conclusions.”
• Technical Skills: “Attending training sessions and keeping up with the latest industry trends can help Alex improve his technical skills.”
• Creativity and Innovation: “Encouraging Sarah to think outside the box and explore new ideas can help her develop her creativity and innovation skills.”
• Goal Setting and Planning: “By setting specific goals and creating a detailed plan to achieve them, Michael can improve his goal-setting and planning skills.”
• Presentation Skills: “Attending public speaking classes and practicing presentations can help Julia improve her presentation skills and feel more confident when presenting to clients.”
• Time Management: “By prioritizing tasks and creating a schedule, David can improve his time management skills and meet deadlines more effectively.”
• Interpersonal Skills: “Mark can enhance his interpersonal skills by actively listening to his colleagues and fostering stronger relationships with them.”
• Professionalism: “By maintaining a positive attitude and displaying a professional demeanor, Laura can improve her professionalism and build a stronger reputation in the workplace.”
• Adaptability: “Tom can improve his adaptability and preparedness for unexpected situations by cultivating a flexible and open mindset, enabling him to adjust to changing circumstances and navigate challenges more effectively.”
• Attention to Safety: “By following safety protocols and being vigilant in identifying potential hazards, Rachel can improve her attention to safety and help create a safer work environment.”
• Negotiation Skills: “Attending negotiation workshops and practicing negotiation scenarios can help Mike improve his negotiation skills and achieve better outcomes in business deals.”
• Writing Skills: “Sarah can refine her writing abilities by practicing regularly and seeking feedback from colleagues, leading to more effective written communication.”
• Attention to Customer Needs: “By actively listening to customer feedback and addressing their concerns, Emily can improve her attention to customer needs and increase customer satisfaction.”
• Conflict Management: “By learning conflict resolution techniques and practicing active listening, Jessica can improve her conflict management skills and reduce workplace tension.”

Part 3 Examples of Feedback for Improvement Areas

Handling negative performance reviews can be a difficult task for managers. When writing a performance review summary for an employee who has areas that require improvement, it is important to maintain a constructive and supportive tone.

For example, if an employee is struggling with time management, the summary could say something like:

“Although she consistently delivers high-quality work, meeting deadlines has been a challenge. Implementing time management strategies could increase efficiency and ensure timely completion of assignments.”

Another common concern may be an employee’s difficulty with communication. In this case, a summary example might be:

“While he is a talented problem solver, conveying his thought process to team members has been a hurdle. Practicing open and clear communication can enhance collaboration and make teamwork more enjoyable.”

Sometimes, employees might face challenges with adaptability or handling change. An appropriate summary in this scenario could be:

“As the company continues to evolve, adapting to new roles and processes quickly is vital. Embracing change and seeking guidance from team members can help her grow within the organization.”

In situations where an employee demonstrates a lack of initiative, the summary might read:

“He often waits for instructions to start a task or project, which can delay overall progress. Taking the initiative to proactively identify areas for improvement and seeking opportunities to contribute will demonstrate a strong work ethic.”

Interpersonal skills and teamwork might be an area of concern for some employees. A summary in this context could say:

“Although she is committed to her individual work, collaborating with others and contributing to group efforts have proven challenging. Fostering strong interpersonal relationships and actively engaging in teamwork can lead to a more fulfilling work environment.”

Related: 28 Essential Areas of Improvement for Employees [Examples]

Part 4 Positive Performance Review Summary Examples

When writing a performance review summary for an employee who has demonstrated exceptional skills and achievements, highlight their accomplishments in a clear manner. This way, you can help the employee understand their strengths and build confidence in their abilities:

“Steve excels in managing his team and keeping everyone motivated, resulting in a high-performing and cohesive group. His strategic planning has driven impressive results in the department.”

“Jane consistently exceeds sales targets and establishes strong connections with clients, contributing to the company’s overall growth. Her communication abilities make her a valuable team member.”

“Mike demonstrates excellent problem-solving skills when addressing customer issues, and his friendly demeanor leaves a positive impression. Clients frequently praise his ability to resolve their concerns efficiently.”

“Laura excels at identifying technical challenges and providing innovative solutions. She has a vast understanding of the system, and her coding skills have played a significant role in completing projects on time.”

“Sally consistently sets and achieves her targets. Her dedication to meeting goals allows her to excel in her performance.”

“John is always willing to collaborate and supports his teammates. He frequently steps up to assist coworkers with their tasks.”

“Mary demonstrates exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal. She keeps her team informed and helps resolve any misunderstandings.”

“Tom effectively prioritizes tasks and delegates when needed. He is never late with deadlines and respects others’ schedules.”

“Jane frequently offers innovative solutions to workplace challenges. She’s not afraid to think outside the box and encourages her colleagues to do the same.”

“Lisa consistently meets her obligations and commitments. Her dependability is an asset to the team, as they know they can count on her support.”

“Jim always seeks opportunities to expand his skills and knowledge. He attends workshops and training sessions regularly, enhancing his value to the organization.”

“Susan has proven her ability to adapt to changes quickly and efficiently. She maintains a positive attitude even during challenging circumstances.”

“Alex demonstrates compassionate leadership, taking the time to understand the needs and concerns of his direct reports. He fosters an inclusive and supportive work environment.”

“Kim excels in using software and tools to improve her work. Her technical proficiency has led to increased productivity for the entire team.”

Part 5 Development Goals Examples

Setting personal development goals can significantly impact an employee’s performance at work and help them grow professionally. Here are some performance review summary examples that showcase various development goals:

1. Improve Time Management Skills (Employee Name) can work on enhancing their use of work hours by setting priorities, creating a daily task list, and breaking down larger projects into smaller tasks. This will result in increased efficiency and better time management.

2. Develop Stronger Communication Skills (Employee Name) should focus on improving their verbal and written communication abilities. Joining a public speaking group and participating in writing workshops can help them become more clear and concise in their interactions with colleagues and clients.

3. Enhance Problem-Solving Abilities (Employee Name) can benefit from perfecting their problem-solving strategies by learning new techniques and finding creative solutions to complex issues arising in their role.

4. Strengthen Leadership Skills (Employee Name) can improve their leadership qualities by taking on new responsibilities, seeking feedback, and attending management training programs.

5. Expand Technical Knowledge (Employee Name) should invest time in learning new software applications, programming languages, and tools relevant to their field. This increased understanding will help them excel in their current role and prepare them for future projects.

6. Cultivate Emotional Intelligence (Employee Name) can work on developing empathy, active listening skills, and emotional self-awareness by attending workshops, participating in role-playing exercises, or seeking additional resources on the topic.

7. Foster Collaboration and Teamwork (Employee Name) can enhance their teamwork skills by actively participating in group projects, sharing knowledge with colleagues, and helping teammates when needed.

Related: How to Write a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you effectively summarize self-performance goals.

To effectively summarize self-performance goals, focus on these key points:

• Identify the specific goals you have been working on.
• Present the progress made towards achieving those goals.
• Discuss any challenges faced along the way.
• Share any learned skills or techniques that have been helpful in reaching your goals.
• Demonstrate a future-oriented mindset and plan for continued growth.

Always aim to be honest and self-reflective when summarizing self-performance goals. Related: 60 Self-Performance Review Goals Examples

What should be mentioned when writing a performance review?

When writing a performance review, make sure to discuss the following:

• Achievement of objectives: Highlight how effectively the employee has met their goals over the review period.
• Quality of work: Describe the employee’s work quality, consistency, and precision.
• Communication and teamwork: Assess the employee’s ability to work collaboratively with others and maintain open lines of communication.
• Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills: Evaluate the employee’s ability to analyze situations and find optimal solutions.
• Leadership and initiative: If applicable, acknowledge the employee’s contributions as a leader and their willingness to take on new responsibilities.

While focusing on these key areas, use examples from specific projects or tasks to support your points. Try to maintain a balanced perspective by acknowledging both strengths and areas for improvement.

• Flexibility: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Initiative: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Decision Making Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Cultural Awareness: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Productivity: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Conflict Resolution: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples

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.
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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.

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53 performance review examples to boost growth

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The importance of performance reviews

53 performance review examples, 3 tips for delivering a performance review to an underperformer, a performance review is an opportunity to foster growth.

Even the most well-intentioned criticism can be hard to hear. 

If you need to give feedback to a peer or employee, you might feel nervous. After all, you can probably empathize — most of us have been in their position. You want the person to know where they excel and how to improve, but you don’t want to come off as harsh or lose your authority. It’s a delicate balance.

When sharing professional feedback, you need to achieve that perfect equilibrium to motivate your team to continue doing their best work. Perfect your delivery by studying these 53 performance review examples.

A performance review -– also known as a performance appraisal — evaluates how well an employee is tracking toward goals and upholding the company vision and values . This formal assessment documents strengths and weaknesses , expectations for improvement , and other relevant employee feedback , like kudos for a standout performance. 

Performance reviews are essential because they provide managers (or employees assessing their peers) with a set time and structure for delivering in-depth, example-driven feedback. It’s also an opportunity for the reviewer to set metrics-based expectations so the reviewee knows how to improve for next time. 

Plus, performance reviews are an excellent opportunity to open lines of communication between peers or a manager and their direct reports. Both sides can clarify questions or concerns about performance, and the reviewer may use this time to motivate the reviewee. These types of workplace conversations build more trusting, engaged, and caring professional relationships. 

Unfortunately, typical performance reviews only inspire 14% of employees . In other words, reviewers need to step up their own performance if they want to make an impression during these meetings.

Effective performance reviews are level-headed and honest. They aren’t excuses to scold an employee for a mistake or poor performance . They make time to offer constructive criticism, praise what the team member is doing well, and provide suggested areas for improvement. 

To keep the conversation as productive as possible, study our list of performance evaluation examples that provide focused feedback and maintain an upbeat, inspiring tone that doesn’t undermine the seriousness of the commentary. 

Here are 53 employee evaluation examples for various scenarios. 

Communication

Good workplace communication helps teams clearly express ideas and work through problems effectively. Respectful communication also fosters healthy social relationships between peers, which are essential for a positive work culture. 

When you assess a colleague on this interpersonal skill , focus on the politeness of their interactions, the coherence of how they present information, and their ability to listen to others actively .

Use performance evaluation comments like the following when a colleague has done an exceptional job of clearly and respectfully communicating:

1. “I’ve noticed how clearly you communicate complex concepts to clients. I really admire this ability.” 

2. “You’re excellent at solving conflicts . Thank you for taking on this responsibility.” 

3. “Several of your teammates have told me how pleasant it is to work with you. Thank you for being such a respectful communicator.”

4. “I’ve been observing your standout negotiation skills and will continue to look for opportunities for you to use them.”

5. “I’d like to congratulate you on your clear and easy-to-follow presentations. Would you consider giving a workshop for your teammates?”

Improvement suggestions 

Poor communication leads to confusion and fraught interactions. Plus, muddled instructions or explanations can cause project errors, and negative delivery can harm team and stakeholder relationships . It’s important for each team member to have this skill.

Here’s how to cite communication that needs improving: 

6. “I’ve noticed that you sometimes miss part of an explanation. I have helpful materials on active listening I recommend taking a look at.” 

7. “Clients have noted that your explanations are difficult to understand. You have a strong grasp of complex concepts, but let’s work together on ways to break them down for an unfamiliar audience.”

8. “I’d appreciate it if you could communicate when there’s an issue on a project or you have a question. I’ve seen delays and errors due to a lack of updates.”

9. “Some of your emails to clients have had spelling and grammar errors. Could you make an extra effort to check your work so that we keep our company communication as polished as possible?” 

10. “Your teammates have cited rude interactions with you. We must keep communication respectful. Is something going on that’s causing you frustration or prompting these interactions?”

Innovation and creativity 

Innovative solutions and creativity allow organizations to generate new products and services, build a more resonant brand image, and connect successfully with their target audience. When giving a performance review, provide positive feedback on how the person contributes to the team or company’s growth. 

Teammates who offer fresh ideas for projects or ways to improve company processes to boost efficiency deserve a proverbial pat on the back. Here are five performance appraisal examples that show how to give it:

11. “Last quarter, you saved our team 50 hours of administrative work with your solution for streamlining databases. Thank you for this invaluable idea.”

12. “The marketing campaign you created to target younger audiences has been one of our most successful. Everyone on our team has something to learn from you.” 

13. “You’ve been integral to launching one of the most innovative apps on the market. You should be proud of yourself. You’re helping a lot of end users.” 

14. “I admire the way you creatively approach complex problems . You resolved a tricky supply chain issue that kept our deliveries on track.”

15. “You deeply understand the brand image and voice. All of your marketing copy and designs represent us well.”

Improvement suggestions

Team members in creativity- and innovation-driven roles may stagnate. Your organization might have a performance review template you can follow to zero on in how to improve in these areas. You can also use the following feedback pieces to push them in the right direction:

16. "You’re one of our most valued graphic designers. However, I’ve noticed that your recent designs have been similar. Let’s talk about ways to innovate.”

17. “Since you’re in a leadership role, I would like it if you took more initiative to offer creative solutions to problems . I have some reading to guide you.” 

18. “I’ve noticed that your copy lacks that fresh voice we admire. Have you also tracked this change, and what solutions do you have to liven up the writing?”

19. “You’ve offered some of the most innovative development ideas our company’s seen. But you’ve been quiet in brainstorming sessions lately. Let’s talk about what may be going on.”

20. “Your latest product innovation had flaws resulting from rushed work and a lack of attention to detail. Does that resonate?”

Everyone can be a leader — regardless of their rank at an organization. Team members set examples for their peers, and managers guide reports toward success. Whether you’re giving a performance review for a veteran or an entry-level employee, address their leadership skills where you can. 

When an employee exceeds expectations by mentoring others, taking charge of problems, and upholding organizational values , recognize their outstanding work with phrases like the following:

21. “Your positive attitude , willingness to take on more responsibility, and ability to explain concepts to your peers makes you an example to all.”

22. “I appreciate your advances in developing better leadership skills, like clear communication and excellent negotiation tactics. Kudos.” 

23. “I know you started here recently, but many people already look up to you. You take initiative, aren’t afraid to share ideas, and treat your peers respectfully.” 

24. “Since you’ve become a project manager, the development team consistently delivers quality outputs on time. You’re doing a great job guiding the group.” 

25. “When there was a conflict with a client last month, you stepped in to manage it. You have the makings of a great leader.”

If an employee like a project manager or team lead isn’t mentoring others as well as they could, a performance review is the perfect moment to tackle the issue. And if you have a stellar employee who isn’t showing the leadership and initiative required to earn them a promotion, they might need some encouragement to strengthen these skills. Use the following examples as a guide for wording your feedback:

26. “You’ve consistently been an excellent leader, but teammates have reported a lack of mentorship on recent projects, leading to confusion and poor results. What can we do to improve the clarity of your communication and guidance?”

27. “I’ve noticed that you’re stepping back from public speaking opportunities. You’re a strong leader already, but giving talks is an inevitable part of your role. Here’s information on a speaking course I took that could help.”

28. “Some of your teammates have said you’re difficult to approach with a problem. Let’s work to improve your communication skills to make others comfortable asking you for help.” 

29. “Your communication and mentorship skills are unmatched, but you still have to improve your time management skills. Several projects have run late, impacting client deliveries.” 

30. “You form excellent social relationships with your team, but you may be getting too close. I’m concerned you could lose your authority if you continue to act more like a peer than a mentor.” 

Collaboration and teamwork

Teams must work well together — it’s synergy that allows them to accomplish more than they’d be able to alone. Collaboration drives better organizational results and fosters a communicative, innovative work environment. Here’s how to tackle this topic in a performance appraisal.

Certain team members go above and beyond to help peers, manage conflicts, and share their knowledge. Reward them with statements like the following: 

31. “You’re an excellent resource for new team members. Thank you for being willing to share what you know.” 

32. “Your ability to adapt when obstacles arise and encourage your teammates to do the same has saved us from late deliveries several times. Congratulations, and thank you.”

33. “You didn’t have to navigate that conflict between your peers last week, but you stepped up. I think everyone in your group learned something from you that day.” 

34. “I know you’d like to be doing more on projects, but I appreciate that you’re splitting the work with newer teammates so they can learn. Exciting opportunities are coming your way soon.” 

35. “Your team traditionally had trouble working together. Thank you for identifying their strengths and guiding them as a leader to use them in harmony.” 

Employees resisting participation in a team or creating conflicts must change behaviors to help their peers thrive. Here are a few ways to suggest improvements: 

36. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been canceling team meetings and avoiding social events. Let’s talk about what’s going on.” 

37. “It’s great to challenge your peers' ideas, but I’ve repeatedly observed you push contrary thoughts when the rest of the team has reached a consensus. This can hold up projects, so I’d like to ask you to be more flexible.” 

38. “I know you’ve been very busy, but could you take more time to share your skills with others? There are new team members who could learn from you.” 

39. “You’re sometimes quick to nix others’ ideas. Try listening to their suggestions with a more open mind to be a better team player.” 

40. “You’re an involved leader, and that’s an excellent trait. But sometimes, you get too close to a project, and your guidance borders on micromanaging . I’d encourage you to try taking a step back when the team is working well together.”

Work ethic and organization

Punctuality, time management , and planning keep work flowing. In performance reviews, ensure all team members understand how their work ethics contribute to overall success.  

Show your appreciation to those employees who keep administrative tasks running smoothly. Here are some examples:

41. “Thank you for changing our customer relationship management system. Now everyone can access data more easily, and it’s improved our workflow.” 

42. “Your persistence in implementing the Agile project management framework has paid off. We’re delivering better, more timely products to clients.”

43. “You’re never late and sometimes even early. I appreciate your dedication to punctuality. It helps meetings run on time, and the day gets off to a strong start.”

44. “You always answer clients’ emails promptly. Thank you for your dedication to excellent customer service.” 

45. “As a project manager, you do a great job resolving teammate’s blockers efficiently. This allows them to perform tasks confidently and keeps projects on track.” 

Improvement suggestion

Employees who consistently arrive late or have trouble organizing tasks and following company processes negatively impact others’ ability to work well — not to mention their own. Here are constructive employee review examples for those cases: 

46. “You’re often tardy to meetings, which causes your teammates and clients to wait. This can be frustrating for stakeholders. I’d like to share some tips for time management.” 

47. “I’ve noticed you consistently turn in work late. I’m concerned you may have too much on your plate. Let’s assess your workload.”

48. “Client emails are falling through the cracks, making us look like we don’t care. Here’s a system I use to ensure I respond to every email quickly.”  

49. “I understand the new customer relationship management system is tricky, but we need everyone to get on board. Would it be helpful if I set up an additional training session to walk you through the software?”

50. “You didn’t meet your goals this quarter, so I’m modifying them for the upcoming one. Please let me know if you need tools, skills, or support to make achieving these goals possible.”

Performance review summary examples

Wrap up your review by revisiting what the employee has done well and highlighting the improvements they should make. Here are three examples you can model your performance review summary on:

51. “You’ve improved your communication and public speaking skills this quarter, making you a stronger leader. But you can still work on your task and time management skills by implementing better organizational practices.” 

52. “Your first few months at the company have been a success. You’ve learned to use our tools and processes, and your teammates enjoy working with you. Next quarter, I’d like you to take more initiative in brainstorming sessions.” 

53. “You’re a long-time valued employee, and you have a unique talent as a graphic designer. Your social media campaign last quarter was top-notch, but others have been stagnant. I know you can tap into your talents and do more innovative work.”

You’re a compassionate leader and never want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But in a performance review , you may have to deliver tricky constructive criticism . You’re giving this feedback with the best intentions, but doing so might make the other person defensive. Keep the conversation productive and focus on framing improvement as a positive with these three tips:

• Start and end on a high note: Open the conversation with what the employee has done well and circle back to this point after giving criticism. This will remind the employee of their value. 
• Use metrics: Don’t run a performance review on “gut feelings.” Quantifiable metrics and clear feedback allow you to identify areas of improvement. You must demonstrate specific examples and measurable figures to back up your claims. Otherwise, your criticism can seem unfounded. 
• Offer suggestions: An employee may not know how to interpret feedback and translate it into action items. And they might have some concluding performance review questions about how to improve. Offer help and a professional development plan so the person feels inspired, capable, and supported in making the changes you suggest.

Many fear receiving and giving sub-optimal feedback. However, in performance reviews, colleagues inevitably highlight negative aspects of a person’s work.

But if you establish a healthy balance between recognizing an employee’s strengths and offering constructive feedback for improvement (like in our performance review examples), these sessions turn into growth opportunities. Your colleagues take on new challenges, acquire better skills, and become more understanding teammates thanks to criticism.

And guess what? The next performance review will be less nerve-wracking for everyone involved.

Lead with confidence and authenticity

Develop your leadership and strategic management skills with the help of an expert Coach.

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

How to coach your team to success: 5 key tips for managers

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What is the Essay Method for Performance Appraisals?

While some would label it as the “grandfather” of performance appraisal methods, the essay method is still a commonly used appraisal method in a variety of business models. The essay method, sometimes known as the “free-form method,” is a performance review system where a superior creates a written review of the employee’s performance.

These essays are meant to describe and record an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in job performance, identifying problem areas and creating a plan of action to remedy them. Whether the essay is written by the appraiser alone, or in collaboration with the appraisee, essays provide supervisors the opportunity to assess behaviors and performance with greater complexity and attention to detail.

There are many reasons that the essay method--which was one of the first methods used to evaluate performance--is still effective today.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of essay appraisals is their free-form approach to performance reviews. Whereas some employers can feel limited by rigid performance appraisal criteria, the essay method takes a far less structured stance than typical rating scale methods. In so doing, the appraiser is able to examine any relevant issue or attribute of performance that is pertinent to an employee’s job description or overall company growth.

The essay method assumes that not all employee traits and behaviors can be neatly analyzed, dissected, and rated--instead, it allows appraisers to place varied degrees of emphasis on certain qualities, issues, or attributes that are appropriate. Rather than being locked into a fixed system, this open-ended method gives supervisors the freedom of expression and critical thought. For appraisers, there exist special services such as StudyCrumb , which help in writing accurate essays.

When preparing an essay, a supervisor may consider any of the following factors of an employee as they relate to the company and employee relationship: potential and job knowledge, understanding of the company’s policies, relationships with peers and supervisors, planning and organization, and general attitudes and perceptions. This thorough, non-quantitative assessment provides a good deal more information about an employee than most other performance appraisal techniques.

However, as with all performance appraisal methods, there are a few limitations that the essay method suffers from that are worth examining.

One of the major drawbacks of the essay method is its highly subjective nature--they are often subject to bias, and it can be difficult to separate the assessment of the employee from the bias of the evaluator. While the essay can provide a good deal of information about the employee, it tends to tell more about the evaluator than the one being evaluated.

Another element that essays leave out (that other appraisal methods rely heavily on) is comparative results. Instead of utilizing standardized, numeric questions, these appraisals rely only on open-ended questions. While the essay method gives managers the ability to provide detailed and circumstantial information on a specific employee’s performance, it removes the component of comparing performance with other employees. This often makes it difficult for HR to distinguish top performers.

Overall, the appraisal method’s greatest advantage--the freedom of expression for the evaluator--can also serve as its greatest handicap. Even the actual writing of the reviews can upset or distort the process of employee appraisals, as the introduction of inconsistent, unorganized, or poor writing styles can distort and upset the review process. An employee may be unfairly helped or harmed by an evaluator’s writing ability. An evaluator can also find themselves lacking sufficient time to prepare the essay, and can write an essay hurriedly without accurately assessing an employee’s performance.

What is the essay method best used for?

Appraisal by essay is generally most effective in performance reviews for employees with atypical job descriptions or non-numerical goals. While other appraisals work well in analyzing performance for jobs that are subject to goals based on numbers, essays offer a more subjective analysis of performance for employees with managerial or customer service positions.

When analyzing production, the essay method is most effective in combination with another appraisal method. Using a graphic rating scale along with essay appraisals allows one method to focus solely on numbers, while the essay portion can be used to analyze other performance goals.

Doing essay appraisals right

Here are 3 things to strive for in order to set your company up for success in essay performance appraisals:

• Consistency.

Keeping a standard for style and length of essay appraisals can make the biggest difference in ensuring that your reviews are effective. Essays that are unstructured and unnecessarily complex can be detrimental to an employee’s rating, as well as using unspecific, flowery language that is not relevant to the employee’s performance. In order to remain efficient and effective, today’s evaluators should focus on making appraisal essays short and specific, ensuring that the entire review reflects the performance of the employee.

The appraiser should also ensure that they are making sufficient time in their schedule to prepare the essay. A busy evaluator may compromise an employee’s performance rating by writing a hurried essay, or running out of time to thoroughly assess employee performance. It’s important for all participants of essay appraisals to take enough time to write a consistent, accurate, and succinct review in order to set employees up for success.

2. Proficiency.

If you’ve chosen to use essay appraisals in your organization, it’s important to ensure that your appraisers possess the ability to write well. Even if an essay contains detailed, circumstantial information, it becomes difficult to extract valuable data from a poorly written essay. To ensure that nothing stands between an HR professional’s ability to assess an employee’s performance, evaluators should be trained as well-equipped writers.

Giving writing assistant tools or tips to supervisors can make all the difference in the accuracy and efficiency of an employee’s performance review.

2. Objectivity.

Subjectivity is both a strength and a weakness in essay appraisals. Not only are essays themselves often biased, but the misinterpretation of essays can even further distance the main evaluator from an accurate portrayal of an employee’s performance. Including objective standards in a performance review results in a more balanced and productive review process, and helps to eliminate the forming of incorrect conclusions about an employee’s behavior and performance.

Organizations often implement this goal by pairing essay appraisals with another appraisal method, such as graphic scale ratings, to draw more accurate conclusions and performance data. In so doing, evaluators can utilize all of the free expression and open-ended characteristics of an essay appraisal, while still maintaining accurate, easily translated results that are effective for the overall organization.

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Blog Human Resources How to Write a Performance Review That Inspires Growth (With Examples & Templates)

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

Written by: Jessie Strongitharm Jan 18, 2023

Newsflash: employee performance reviews don’t have to be stressful, tedious or boring. Once you learn how to write reviews that are inspiring, impactful and actionable, these goal-setting sessions are a great opportunity to realign and re-energize your team. 

So if you’re looking for tips to write effective performance reviews that motivate employees to reach their highest potential, look no further. In this article, I’ll show you how to write performance reviews that inspire meaningful growth, plus tons of examples and customizable performance review templates to get you started.

Click to jump ahead: 

What is a performance review.

• What is the purpose of writing a performance review
• How to write a performance review 

How to write a negative performance review

• Performance review FAQ

A performance review, also known as a performance appraisal or evaluation, is a formal assessment of an employee’s contributions within a certain time period. During an employee performance review, managers or team leads will evaluate an employee’s work, provide constructive feedback, identify strengths/weaknesses and help set goals. 

The review process typically involve filling in a document to keep record of the assessment and any expectations communicated, like so:

Employee performance reviews also give staff the opportunity to ask questions and share feedback with managers. 

The time and scope of the review process can vary depending on the company, company size and their goals for conducting the review. They may take place monthly, quarterly…

…annually, or at some other frequency decided upon by leadership. 

Prefer watching instead? Check out this video for a summary of our article  21 Engaging Performance Review Examples [+ Tips From an HR Manager]   for best practices, templates and more.

Return to Table of Contents

What is the purpose of a performance review?

Performance reviews are key for aligning team members and cultivating the continued success of a company. As a talent management tool , these formal processes give managers the opportunity to

• reflect on an individual’s performance and achievements
• communicate expectations
• increase employee engagement
• course-correct and find solutions for any issues
• provide reinforcement and assurance

On the administration side of things, performance reviews are used to… 

• offer employees advice on how they can improve
• decide bonuses or raises
• identify opportunities for internal promotions 
• justify letting employees go in the future

But remember: these reviews aren’t just a chance for managers to relay observations. When conducted effectively, they offer a space for conversation, consideration and collaboration from  both parties.

Employees should ask questions and share feedback with their manager. Filling out a self-evaluation may be part of the review process too. 

(Psst! If you like any of the templates you’ve seen so far, know that you can 100% customize their content to work for your evaluation needs. Just click the template and sign up for free to get started. Select any text box to change the words or the font — i.e. your brand font — or any other visual asset on the page.)

All in all, the more people are on the same page, the better the team alignment and output will be.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: with all these positive outcomes, how come performance reviews are so…scary?

Well, it all depends on the kind of feedback you provide. In fact, research shows traditional methods for giving feedback are received so poorly that one-third of employees’ performance actually gets worse! 

That’s why knowing how to write a performance review with impact, and one that pushes people to meaningfully improve, is so important.  

What to include in a performance review

While performance reviews may touch on a number of topics, virtually all involve assessing an employee’s…

• Areas of strength 
• Areas of improvement or development
• Contributions (or opportunities for contributing) to the team and company culture
• Alignment with a company’s core values or goals, as demonstrated through their actions 

Here’s a customizable performance evaluation template that provides some examples.

As you can see, common things taken into consideration include an employee’s communication, teamwork, punctuality, reliability, quality of work, work ethic and goal completions. During a performance review, everything from day-to-day behavior to big project outcomes are up for discussion.

Self-assessments can include space for the employee to comment on all the above. You may also want to ask what kinds of personal development goals they have, or learning areas they may be interested in. This is key for showing staff that you value them as people. 

Ready to write a performance review that truly paves the way for more good to come? Let’s get to it.

How to Write a Good Performance Review (+ Examples & Templates That Motivate) 

No matter whether this is your first time or your fiftieth, here are eight tips and performance review examples that’ll guide you through the process and empower your team.

Organize your thoughts and streamline the process 

Before you even begin to consider holding a formal review, it’s crucial you have a system in place to help you organize your approach. This helps you call up specific examples from their past performance and evaluate all actions that took place over the review period easily. That way, you don’t fall victim to recency bias — in other words, considering an employee’s recent behavior only.

Employee evaluation forms are a key piece of your performance management system . In addition to saving you time, these forms ensure everyone receives the same evaluation.

Without them, you may fall into an inconsistent method of evaluation, which isn’t exactly fair to your team. 

What’s more, these visual documents allow employees to reference everything said during a review. And when it comes time for promotions or firings, you have a track record to look back on.

(Psst! Once again, feel free to customize any of the templates you see to suit your own needs. It’s super easy!) 

Be honest, objective and empathetic

In order to build trust and respect with the employee — not to mention, maximizing their potential for growth — being honest, objective, and empathetic during the performance review is essential.

First, honesty is key in order to provide employees with an accurate assessment of their performance . All communications should be made in good faith, and staff shouldn’t have to feel like they need to read between the lines to understand what your feedback really means. 

Similarly, you should aim to be as objective as possible . If you don’t qualify statements with tangible examples, it’ll give the impression you either failed to pay attention, or worse, based your observations on personal opinion. 

This is where correct documentation comes into play!

Use performance checklists whenever possible prior to your review. A well thought-out list is your secret weapon for evaluating employees objectively and thinking critically about areas they can improve. The employee checklist templates below can easily be adjusted to reflect critical improvements and action steps. 

Treat these documents as an important part of your performance management systems for keeping employees engaged and motivated. 

Finally, it’s vital to be empathetic and open to conversation when delivering feedback. Only then will you get the full picture and insights into what might hindering their performance, so you can both find solutions that work.

Use specific examples to back up your points

Providing specific examples and observations you’ve made is integral to a productive performance review process. 

While the overarching theme of their work performance may seem clear to you, the only way you’ll be able to clearly demonstrate where employees hit or missed the mark is by providing concrete evidence. So do your very best to give employees an accurate representation of their performance by pointing out specific instances. 

(Hint: this is why organizing your thoughts is so important!) For added assurance, relay these instances in an editable performance review document that employee can reference easily, like the example below. (If you need more room, just use Venngage’s intuitive visual editor to apply changes in a flash).

By using specific examples, you provide them with a more tangible understanding of how their performance has been, rather than just general statements which might be hard for them to comprehend and correct. 

Additionally, concrete examples serve as a reference point for their future performance, as well as a means of measuring progress made. Ultimately, they allow the employee to have a better understanding of their performance and provide them with the motivation to do better in the future.

Choose your language carefully

When writing or communicating your observations during a performance review, it’s crucial you choose your words wisely. 

Of course, honesty is key. But you also want to frame the conversation so that employees feel inspired to improve. A Gallup survey found employees who feel inspired to do better after receiving feedback were nearly four times more engaged than employees who felt negatively.

Here are some best practices to follow while writing or delivering a performance review:

• Use action verbs to clearly articulate the behavior demonstrated: check out this appraisal action verbs list for inspiration. 
• Use specific examples to back up your assessments : discussed in #3.
• Don’t speak in absolutes , i.e. “He’s always late” or “She’s never a team player”: even if the behavior is repetitive, these statements demonstrate a black and white way of thinking about something (or someone!) and rarely reflect the truth. 
• Focus on solutions, not problems: when bringing up undesirable behavior, do your best to specify a path forward — you may want to create an action or development plan to delineate these steps clearly. 

As far as the last point goes, you can easily edit this template to record your plan effectively and set everything into action. Simply edit the sections and text content to create your ideal document.

Looking for concrete examples of what to write or say?

Here are a few adapted from the articles 13+ Constructive Performance Appraisal Examples & Phrases to Simplify Review Season and 21 Engaging Performance Review Examples [+ Tips From an HR Manager] :

• Highly organized and excellent at time management — responds to all communications in a timely manner (within 24 hours). 
• Collaborative with others and available to assist when needed.
• Maintains a culture of transparency and encourages knowledge-sharing across all teams in the department .
• Consistently provides reports the training and resources needed to meet their goals .
• Talented at thinking outside of the box and finding creative solutions to blockers .
• Actions constructive criticism and strives to improve performance .
• Not afraid to ask questions to clarify or resolve issues before they become major problems.
• Develops innovative solutions to problems and works proactively to avoid future issues .

Needs improvement

• Struggles to adapt to change and embrace new technology or processes .
• Struggles to deliver work on time .
• Shows a pattern of failing to communicate or ask for assistance when it’s needed .
• Hesitant to cooperate with requests from other departments .
• Shows bias when addressing team, openly favoring some employees over others. 
• Fosters disconnect by consistently communicating different messages to different reports .
• Excels when working alone, but has trouble working collaboratively with a team .

Pair critical feedback with positive observations

A phrase that’s always stuck with me is, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”.

Now look, I know no one is in the business of catching flies. But the gist is: you get better results by treating people with kindness and respect than you do with condescension or disregard .

The same applies for performance reviews — it’s best to bolster any less-than-favorable observations with positive comments or constructive solutions.

Not only will team members feel their existing strengths are appreciated and remain open to your critiques, but they’re more likely to see the review as an opportunity to improve, rather than a stain on their tenure.

This editable template contains a few examples of ways you can frame these observations in your writing. Note the focus on solutions rather than problems!

Another way to action this advice is to comment something positive before giving a critique. For example, “ Jennay consistently produces high-quality work, however she often struggles to deliver work on time .” 

Then, follow up with ideas to mitigate this issue.

Encourage employee input at every level

The most valuable and productive performance reviews foster open dialogue between the employee and manager. And when it comes to writing them specifically, getting employees to fill out a self-assessment prior to the review is smart. By providing a robust employee evaluation form that poses thoughtful questions, you’ll tease out nuggets of important info and get a better understanding of their perspective — before you’ve even talked. 

Below is one such example:

As you can see, these forms provide employees the opportunity to reflect and share their thoughts on their responsibilities, goals, and any aspects of their role or environment they may be struggling with. It also prepares them for the review process at large. 

At Venngage, we ask our employees to fill out a self-assessment about their favorite projects and moments of discouragement, team contributions and requests for support. Employees then assess how well they’ve embodied Venngage’s core values out of five, and whether they’ve achieved their goals.

We also ask them to place themselves on a matrix, so everyone can visualize their growth as time goes on. Edit the template above to try this out with your team! All in all, we’ve found self-assessments are instrumental. They help employees know exactly what to expect from the performance review process, and encourage them to be proactive in figuring out how they can improve.

Visualize performance with a skills/values matrix

As mentioned, our own performance reviews involve placing an employee on a matrix. This is an incredibly effective way of visualizing progress, streamlining the performance review and making any development goals stick. 

As an evaluation tool, both parties can plot where they think the employee ranks for certain core values or skills. Since each quadrant corresponds with key learnings, you can find worthwhile discussion points and paths forward.

Read this post on performance analysis quadrants to learn more .

Here’s another take on a performance matrix that could work for your team. You could use one for each core competency and skill. Or, give your employee a bird’s eye view by creating a matrix that encapsulates their wholesale performance. 

End on a positive note

Last but not least, it’s a good idea to wrap things up in a way where mutual respect is apparent. 

Even if the review was more critical than complementary, use your final moments as an opportunity to set action plans into motion that address areas for improvement. And no matter their behavior and output, be sure to express good feelings about their future prospects at the company. 

Now with all that said, you might be looking for some advice specific to less-than-favorable performance reviews…

As a lead, it’s your job to deliver performance reviews that are both honest and constructive — no matter what kind of feedback you’re delivering. For a negative performance review this is especially important. 

Consider it a chance to show your own managerial strengths as someone who can drive change and inspire others. 

Begin on a positive note before providing any constructive feedback. Be sure to note a few things they’ve done well in the time period, so they’re more receptive to what you have to say. 

Afterwards, you may start identifying areas in which the employee has underperformed (e.g. missed deadlines, mistakes, poor communication). Provide specific examples that support your points so they know exactly what behavior you’re referring to. 

Make sure to provide clear and actionable feedback on how the employee can improve, and leave room to hear what they have to say. This will give you a better understanding of their mindset, and any blockers you may not have known about.

Offering support and resources can help them make progress too — it’s one way you can end a difficult conversation on a positive note. Here’s an HR infographic template with some ideas:

Above all else, remember to remain professional and courteous throughout the review. Focus on facts rather than personal opinions, and provide action steps rather than accusations. 

Instead of saying “You make careless mistakes constantly and everyone is frustrated”, try: “I encourage you to take some extra time once you’re done to review your work. This will help speed up our processes and make things much more efficient.” 

The bottom line: just because you’re giving a negative review doesn’t mean you have to deliver the news negatively. 

Performance review FAQ 

What should you say during a performance review.

When conducting a performance review, it’s important to give honest, fair and constructive feedback. Do your best to provide positive reinforcement for good behavior and use constructive criticism when explaining areas in which the employee can improve.

It’s also important to discuss the employee’s goals and the progress they have made towards those goals, and provide specific examples of how the employee has contributed to the success of the team or organization. Finally, make sure to provide clear and achievable steps the employee can do to improve in the future.

How do you start a performance review?

Before beginning a performance review, ensure the employee is comfortable and ready to engage in a productive, two-way conversation. Then, outline the purpose of the review, its format and how it will be conducted (providing a time range and setting expectations in advance is always helpful). 

It’s a good idea to outline the goals and objectives of the review, and how they relate to the employee’s career development. Finally, give them a chance to ask any questions prior.

Motivate meaningful progress with an effective performance review 

Conducting performance reviews can be a daunting task. But hopefully with the examples, tips and best practices I’ve outlined, you can feel confident writing performance reviews that leave employees determined — not disheartened. 

Venngage’s customizable performance review templates and intuitive visual editor make it a breeze to streamline the entire process. With these tools, you can organize, document and deliver motivational performance reviews that inspire employees to reach their goals. Start writing reviews that empower today!

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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).

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25 Performance Review Examples (+ Templates, Tips & Phrases)

Written by: Heleana Tiburca

Performance reviews can help you evaluate your employees’ attitude, skills and goals and whether they align with your business or not.

If done right, an effective performance review can lead to incredible, positive changes in your employees, and leave them inspired to do even more and better than before.

In this article, we’ll show you 25 performance review examples to get you confident and in the perfect position to conduct appraisals and evaluations.

We’ve also included expert tips and phrases to use to ensure successful outcomes and help your employees become the best version of themselves.

Ready to create a visual performance review? Use our professional document creator to build engaging appraisal and evaluation forms that employees take seriously.

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit performance review templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

Table of Contents

What is a performance review, 25 performance review examples & templates, 5 tips for conducting a successful performance review, 80 encouraging performance review phrases to use.

A performance review is a meeting between an employee and manager, team lead or HR manager, where they evaluate and discuss past performance, areas of success, areas to improve and future steps to take to ensure success at the company or business.

Performance reviews are also commonly known as performance appraisals, employee evaluations and performance evaluations.

Depending on company policy, performance reviews or employee evaluations can take place monthly, quarterly, yearly or whenever HR sees fit. Thus, they can also be called quarterly employee evaluations, yearly performance reviews and so forth.

A performance review generally includes a few different phases:

• An employee's work is reviewed over the last quarter, year or a specific period.
• The manager gives feedback on the positive aspects of that work.
• Any areas of improvement are highlighted via constructive criticism.
• The company’s future goals are stated to align the employee with those goals.
• A game plan is made and communicated to ensure they achieve those goals.

Let’s look at some examples and templates of performance reviews to help you create your own appraisal document.

When you use a professional document creator ,  you can create a visual and impactful performance review that will help your employee see exactly where they stand in the company.

You can use diagrams, graphs and other data visualization tools to help them see how they’ve been doing, their successes, shortcomings and more at a glance.

Below you’ll find 25 performance review examples and templates that can be fully customized and branded to fit your company’s needs to have a successful performance review this quarter.

Find one you like below, be inspired by our design tips and start customizing it immediately!

1. Temp Performance Review

This performance review template is great for visualizing progress. It's ideal for those in a temporary or basic position, as it's easy to understand at a glance and not very complex.

To make your feedback helpful and easily understood, you can use a rating system of 1-5 to mark evaluation standards from poor to excellent.

For example, you can use blue for “excellent”, pink for “mediocre” and pastel orange for “needs improvement”.

You may want to try to avoid harsh colors like bright red as it may be too intense and cause discomfort for employees. Try using one of Visme’s pastel color palettes, as seen in the image above, to instill calm.

2. KPI Performance Review

KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are crucial for tracking success in a business’ endeavors.

This KPI performance review template can help you and your team measure and visualize the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of a project or task at hand.

This template is fully customizable, as are all of our performance review example templates, and you can add your own branded content to it.

Edit the text surrounding the KPI, the target and the actual outcome to make it your own and inspire your team by visualizing their hard work that has come to fruition.

3. Team Leader Performance Review Template

Everyone needs to be evaluated and this doesn’t exclude team leaders.You can review your team leads and managers with this performance review template.

Show them their strengths and weaknesses by scoring them on administration, communication, dependability and more.

Just click on the text boxes to write a description of their work and add in accurate details to complete this performance review template.

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4. Customer Service Performance Review

This customer service employee evaluation template is perfect for highlighting your employee’s greatest achievements and giving quick, yet efficient ratings for each task.

In this customer service performance review template, you can see four tasks Jacqueline has accomplished and the quality of her work listed out via the color coding of a star icon next to that task.

You can customize these vectors and add as many or as few tasks as you want on this employee appraisal template. Change out the text and font to match the tasks at hand and then add your employee profile image at the top left.

You’ll want your employee to quickly be able to see the areas of work you’re proud of them for and the places they could still develop.

To make this process easy on both of you, add a shape to your document and make it a color that contrasts well with the background, such as blue on white, as you can see in the image above.

Then, use another high contrast color for the font. In my case, I used white. This will make your employee performance review document look sleek and professional.

5. Self-Evaluation Performance Review

Sometimes, to get a better insight into how your company’s performance is going, you can allow for self-evaluations.

In this self-evaluation performance template, you’ll see there are four questions that employees can answer via a percentage rating, based on their true opinions.

This is a great way to assess employee performance self-worth, as they might feel more comfortable being honest when they get to answer on paper rather than in person and you’ll be able to tackle any problems head-on.

6. Student Internship Performance Review Template

Interns always benefit from a thorough description of their performance at your company or business and they can be incredibly helpful in their career growth.

What better way to show them their progress than with this internship performance template?

Display their work achievement, knowledge and skills by using cool data visuals and bright colors in this performance review.

Customize the text in the dedicated comment sections, work ethics sections and more to make it personal for your intern.

7. Clinical Psychologist Performance Review

If you’re looking for a sleek, minimal and professional performance review template, then try this one out. Take advantage of the 8 pre-written performance indicators, or edit the text and create your own.

Once you have your evaluation indicators in place, create a scoring system of your own to show your employees where they stand and how they’re performing.

8. Simple Performance Review

This classy and sophisticated performance review example is great for sharing employee strengths and skills.

As you can see, all of Rachel’s skills are listed out on the left-hand side and then have a corresponding rating directly below it.

This makes for clear communication on how the employee is doing at their job, with no questions left to wonder after the meeting.

As you can see in the image above, Visme has lots of free, built-in vector icons you can choose from to help represent a task at hand or the quality of a skill.

You can browse through thousands of custom icons or use the search bar to find an icon to work with whatever you had in mind. Or, upload your own icon if you have one!

9. Executive Director Performance Review

This modern performance review template is amazing for technology companies and large corporations.

You can give clear feedback by using the graph in the template to specify areas where an employee exceeds expectations, meets them and areas where they need to develop.

You can use a check to mark where they stand or any other icon you’d like.

Add your own images, logo and text and you’ll have your performance review template ready in no time.

10. Tech Shop Performance Review

A tech shop or any IT company for that matter can benefit greatly from a modern performance review template, like this one.

Full of customizable and professional vector icons for each section and customizable color schemes, it’s a great way to show your appreciation for your employee’s performance over the last period.

11. CEO Performance Review Template

Is it that time of year to evaluate your CEOs? Use a professional performance review template like this one to highlight your CEO’s leadership skills, strategy and people management skills!

Once you evaluate them on different criteria, use the comments section in this performance review template to give your CEOs any additional tips, suggestions or things to change in the future.

12. Teacher Performance Review

This no-nonsense performance review template for teachers and educators is clear, concise and straight to the point.

With a bright-gradient scale, it’s easy to show employees where they stand regarding their performance.

List out the performance standard and add the coinciding score to give employees clarity on how well they’re performing.

You’ll want to make your performance review documents easy to read and keep everything clean.

That’s why we recommend using fonts that are easy to read, such as Helvetica and Arial for example,  and using no more than 3 fonts per document, as any more fonts on a single page tend to look a bit messy.

13. Annual Employee Performance Review

Annual employee performance reviews can be nerve-racking for many, but they’re a great opportunity to look back on the past year and set new goals for the upcoming year.

This annual employee performance review template is perfect for the job.

Encourage your employees by listing out a percentage representing the effectiveness of their performance, quality of work, delegation and more in this template.

14. Managerial Performance Review

Everyone needs to be held accountable, including managers. This is because if the head is healthy, the rest will follow suit.

You can keep your managers on task and accountable by using a sleek managerial performance review template like this one.

The green color scheme of this performance review makes all the information pop and you can customize anything on it, from text to icons. Add in your evaluations and have your review ready in minutes.

15. Lawyer Performance Review Template

A professional career demands a professional performance review and this self-evaluation template stands out for the occasion.

You can replace the logo in this template with your own when you add it to your brand kit. Additionally, add your corporation’s brand colors and other brand elements to make it unique to your brand.

Once you added your own criteria and images to the template, give it to your employees to fill out themselves and see where they think they stand in regards to their performance.

16. Agency Performance Review

This agency performance review template is broken down into clear sections with graphical representations of efficacy data that is easy for employees to grasp.

By having clear sections with data listed out, it’s easy for employees to see and understand their strengths and weaknesses at just a glance.

17. Mid-Year Employee Performance Review

If things are not going as you planned, then having a mid-year employee performance review can be just the thing you need to turn things around for the rest of the year.

This mid-year employee performance review template has four clearly defined sections that are great for highlighting the quality of their work, cooperation, achievements and so on.

Because our performance review templates are fully customizable, you can make the sections read whatever you need them to match your personal needs.

18. Nurse Performance Review

Show your staff where they stand in regards to professionalism and communication with this detailed performance review template.

These two sections of review are incredibly detailed but can be customized to suit whatever criteria you’d like to touch on with your employees. Score them on 5 different criteria, then add a smiley vector icon next to each observation according to their performance.

19. Quarterly Employee Performance Review

Some companies prefer quarterly performance reviews over annual reviews as they offer three times the number of opportunities for improvements and changes.

This quarterly employee performance review template is sophisticated, tasteful and simple.

Here, you can praise your employee for their creativity, give them helpful comments and tell them your targets and expectations for the next quarter so you can plan a successful rest of the year.

20. ​​Internship Performance Review

In this colorful and modern internship performance review template, you can show your interns or junior employees their performance in a fun way.

After all, you can make your reviews a time to let your employee’s best qualities shine and make them relaxed and have an enjoyable time.

This internship performance review example goes by the SWOT model and has sections that highlight strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Customize each section to your intern’s unique set of skills and have your performance review document ready in minutes with the help of Visme.

For example, if you run a clothing store that targets Gen Z, then you may want to use a bright and colorful performance review template that reflects that, like in the image below.

If you work at a law firm, you may want to use a performance review template that is a bit more serious and uses simple fonts and colors, like on the left side menu bar in the image above.

21. Night Shift Performance Review

If you're looking for a performance review template that also doubles as a shift inspection report, this template is perfect for your needs.

This evaluation form comes with a table, which makes it easier to mark items as yes or no, and even add remarks or comments in the column on the right.

There's also a dedicated space at the bottom for any additional feedback. You can easily modify this template in Visme by changing the design, or adding or removing rows and columns.

22. Food Service Performance Review

Every industry needs a great performance review document, but especially those in the service industry.

The way your employees treat customers and do their job in the service industry could make or break your business. Be honest and get into the nitty-gritty of their performance in this detailed service industry performance review template.

23. Versatile Performance Review

This versatile performance review template is great for any company, position or time of year for reviews.

This template can be customized with your company branding elements such as your brand colors, logo, fonts and more.

24. Sales Performance Review

If you’re ready to give your sales team some feedback, this performance review example is perfect for the job.

It has many sections that can be packed full of information pertaining to their target achievements for the quarter, areas that need some improvement, how they manage their customers and so much more.

At the bottom of this performance review example, you can encourage or inspire your employee to do better by leaving them an overall performance rating.

25. Gauge Performance Review

Sometimes, all you need to do is give your employees a quick number or percentage that shows them how well they're doing. This is exactly where a gauge chart template like this comes in handy.

You can use this employee performance gauge template as part of your reports or presentations, or share on its own to give employees a quick glimpse before discussing their work in more detail later.

Performance reviews can be management’s most powerful tool in motivating employees and facilitating real change in the business.

When performance reviews are conducted correctly, they can inspire your team to become their best selves and motivate them to do better than ever before.

On the flip side, if you are harsh and critical without offering the right tools to make a change, you can destroy employee morale and do more harm to the team than good.

Here are 5 tips for conducting performance reviews that have a successful outcome.

1. Foster a Comfortable Environment

It’s normal for employees to get nervous before evaluations, as many times they view it as a  moment of judgment.

This is why the first step to a successful performance review as an HR manager is creating a space where employees feel comfortable and not anxious.

After all, you want this meeting to be impactful and have them remember what you discuss to create real change, and that can’t happen when employees are anxious.

Especially considering that anxiety has a direct impact on one’s ability to recall information and retrieve memories.

By offering a smile when they walk through the door, having a bottle of water on the table when they sit down and starting out with a bit of small talk revolving around things other than work, you’ll calm them down and prepare them for a successful meeting.

2. Use Positive Review Phrases, Criticism and Feedback

One of the most important phrases that one can live by is, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”.

Anything that you need to say, whether positive or negative, can be said in such a way that it’s not hurtful, but actually helpful.

This is all done through the beauty of language and positive criticism. There are lots of different positive criticism methods you can use, but let me just give you one example.

Say an employee is not meeting their established quota for this quarter.

Instead of saying:

• “Your numbers are down.”
• “This isn’t what we agreed on. Why aren’t you working harder?”

You could say something like:

• “We’ve noticed that your numbers are a bit lower than what we established at the beginning of the quarter. How can we help and support you in order to achieve that goal?”

This is just one simple example of positive criticism put into use.

We have an entire section down below dedicated solely to phrases to use during employee evaluations that will help you have a successful outcome. Check them out to help you in your next meeting.

3. Remember: Coaching Over Judging

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”

It’s no wonder this phrase is so popular. When everyone has their special part to play in the team, they feel valued and are more inspired to work better.

In the same way that, many times, a team framework works better than a set hierarchy, you need to remember that coaching works better than judging.

If you just point your finger and highlight only employee mistakes without offering a solution, you become a judge.

Instead, be an encouraging coach. Watch how the game is going and offer a game plan of change. You can be kind and still be the strong leader that directs your team to a win.

4. Ensure a Two-Way Conversation

Everyone wants to be heard and no one likes to be talked ‘at.’

Make sure that you allow for a two-way conversation and ask open-ended questions that your employee can truly answer.

If they have any grievances, make sure you’ve created a space where they feel safe to let you know what’s been going on.

On the flip side, allow them time to tell you what they’re proud of and things they’ve been loving about the company.

This evaluation can be as much about them as it is about the company. It’s a time to see the areas in which you’re winning or falling short.

Use this time wisely to gather information and make changes on both sides of the camp.

5. Create a Plan to Take on the Future Together

Finally, once you’ve discussed all there is to discuss about past performance, it’s time to look to the future.

Create a roadmap together or prepare a document that breaks down how you, your employee and the entire team can reach their goals together.

For example, if you're overseeing a company project, you can create a communication plan to help your team members collaborate effectively and stay on the same page.

Here's a communication plan template you can use right away:

If you conduct a performance review without presenting or creating a plan for the future, you’ll find your employees exactly where you left them at your next evaluation.

Set them up for success and inspire them by setting clear goals for the future and a plan to achieve them together.

The way you communicate and the language you choose to use during a performance review will directly impact the outcome of your appraisal and how your employee will feel about their job when they leave.

In fact, your language and communication are so important during a performance review that if you use them incorrectly, up to 24% of your staff might consider quitting their job .

Additionally, 74% of employees say that they feel more confused about how their managers actually feel about their performance after an evaluation is finished, rather than before.

With alarming statistics like these, it’s imperative that you make your evaluation count and you use proper phrases and clear communication.

Below we will be sharing 80 performance review phrases to use for administration, leadership, achievements, communication and more that will help make your employee evaluation a success.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Administration

1. X always keeps important documents and information organized so as to not create any miscommunication or duplicate files.

2. X continuously comes up with ideas on how to improve company procedures.

3. X put new work processes into place that brought about impressive results, such as [state the results].

4. X created a new way for teams to gather information by [state the task that resulted in this success].

5. X exhibits incredible administrative skills and finds ways to integrate them into daily work tasks.

6. X always delivers time-sensitive tasks with zero delays.

7. X performs well in high-stress situations, can think clearly and provide solutions under pressure.

8. X is a team player and is constantly coming up with solutions to problems within the team.

9. X is constantly looking for ways to improve systems of function to increase team efficacy, time and resource management.

10. X follows and respects company policies and inspires others in the team to do the same.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Leadership

11. X uses constructive criticism to help redirect his colleagues and team in times of need.

12. X delegates their team efficiently and uses company resources to the best of their ability.

13. X is always willing and ready to help where they are needed.

14. X makes everyone’s opinions heard and facilitates real change.

15. X is able to take on grievances from the workplace and make changes that help team members and co-workers.

16. X encourages open communication and helps team members speak their minds.

17. X pays credit where credit is due and makes everyone feel appreciated for their work.

18. X uses active listening skills to make team members feel seen and heard.

19. X is a prime example for fellow co-workers to follow and be inspired from.

20. X always motivates their team to do better than the day before.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Employee Achievements

21. X constantly achieves and exceeds goals set by the team.

22. X creates a plan and meets with others to achieve the goals set by the team.

23. X exhibits great brainstorming qualities and troubleshooting skills to solve a problem.

24. X is eager to look for areas to improve and ways they can help.

25. X has exceeded their goal of the quarter, from X to X.

26. X uses careful planning and takes calculated steps to ensure they can meet the expectations set by management.

27. X takes initiative in projects to ensure they get tasks done within the established time frame.

28. X goes above and beyond company set goals to ensure the highest quality results.

29. X took initiative and developed a solution to the problem X.

30. X sets real, achievable goals for themselves and their team to deliver great results to a task at hand.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Communication

31. X excels at communicating tasks and deadlines to the team.

32. X keeps all team members in the loop so no one is left behind.

33. X takes the time to explain tasks in great detail to other team members to ensure quality results with minor issues.

34. X takes criticism and applies it extremely well.

35. X fosters a comfortable environment for coworkers to speak freely and share ideas.

36. X makes sure everyone feels heard and listens to all ideas and suggestions.

37. X ensures that everyone understands the project and task at hand before moving on to anything else.

38. X communicates clearly to all members of the team so that there is no miscommunication on what is expected of them.

39. X excels at communication and delivers all information clearly, without need of further explanation.

40. X handles conflict within the team extremely well, handling all situations with poise and grace.

41. X is able to remind team members of company policies without making others feel less than.

42. X can break down technical issues in such a way that anyone can understand and makes everyone feel like they're on the same page.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Delegation

43. X is a natural leader and divides tasks seamlessly amongst team members.

44. X motivates team members by delegating tasks and presenting inspiring rewards.

45. X delegates tasks to new team members to help them gain experience and learn the ropes.

46. X communicates set timelines and deadlines of a task with coworkers and ensures everyone respects that timeline.

47. X knows how to distribute tasks amongst the team to get a job well done.

48. X allows and encourages creativity from individuals to get the job done in their own way, as long as the results are positive.

49. X clearly explains tasks to each team member and explains the desired end results to ensure a minimal amount of hiccups.

50. X supports team members wherever they can to make sure they reach the intended end goal.

51. X is able to identify the right task to the right person with just the right skill set.

52. X will take the time to learn the skill set of each new employee to ensure they delegate appropriate tasks to them.

53. X gives clear instructions along with each delegated task to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Cooperation

54. X is always eager to take on new tasks.

55. X understands the value of teamwork and helps where they are needed.

56. X is always willing to help a colleague in need.

57. X is always open to sharing information and helping others learn a new skill.

58. X is able to delegate multiple teams at once and have them all cooperate successfully.

59. X always boosts team productivity by leading by example.

60. X is a great team player and works well with anyone on the team.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Punctuality

61. X is always on time for meetings.

62. X always comes in first to the office.

63. X can successfully conduct and respect the time limit for meetings.

64. X has set a standard for other coworkers by always being punctual to work.

65. X has had a perfect attendance record in the past quarter.

66. X is always reliable when it comes to being punctual to meetings.

67. X comes to work prepared and on time every day.

68. X can always be counted on in regards to punctuality.

69. X shows immense amounts of respect by always being punctual.

70. X always finishes all tasks and projects before the specified deadline.

Performance Review Phrases to Use for Areas of Improvement

71. While X has been on time for many meetings in the past, there is room for improvement in this area.

72. Although deadlines are communicated, X has been late in delivering certain tasks and projects.

73. X is sometimes reluctant to help colleagues in need, even when asked.

74. X can be reluctant to accept new ideas or processes presented by other team members.

75. X can improve in active listening and taking on constructive criticism.

76. X has great leadership skills but can benefit from delegating tasks in more of a team manner.

77. X can be biased when hearing other’s ideas and opinions and can benefit from active listening.

78. X has great ideas for change but needs to learn to communicate them respectfully and humbly.

79. X needs to learn to be objective when solving issues with others or within the company.

80. X can be extremely honest but needs to learn to communicate their honesty respectfully.

Performance reviews can be a stressful time for everyone. But with proper preparation and appropriate language, you can make them enjoyable and help guide your employees to become the best version of themselves.

Ready to Conduct a Successful Performance Review?

We hope you’re feeling inspired by these performance review examples and are excited to take on your next performance review meeting.

If you want to customize any of the performance review examples you saw in this article or want to create your own from scratch, then you should try out Visme's professional document creator .

It comes packed with features like data widgets, free fonts, built-in icons and vector graphics, animation, the ability to embed links and videos, and much more to help you create engaging and interactive performance reviews that leave a powerful impact on your employees.

Explore all of our performance review templates , or browse through other categories like training manual templates , employee handbook templates and more to take your business to success.

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About the Author

I’m Heleana and I’m a content creator here at Visme. My passion is to help people find the information they’re looking for in the most fun and enjoyable way possible. Let’s make information beautiful.

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 

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.

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

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.

1. 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.  

2. 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.  

3. 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.

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The term “performance appraisal” refers to the regular review of an employee’s job performance and overall contribution to a company. Also known as an annual review, employee appraisal, performance review, or evaluation, a performance appraisal evaluates an employee’s skills, achievements, and growth, or lack thereof.

Companies use performance appraisals to give employees big-picture feedback on their work and to justify pay increases and bonuses, as well as  termination decisions. They can be conducted at any given time but tend to be annual, semiannual, or quarterly.

Key Takeaways

• A performance appraisal is a regular review of an employee’s job performance and contribution to a company.
• Performance appraisals are also called annual reviews, performance reviews or evaluations, or employee appraisals.
• Companies use performance appraisals to determine which employees have contributed the most to the company’s growth, to review their progress, and to reward high-achieving workers.
• Although there are many different kinds of performance reviews, the most common is a top-down review in which a manager reviews their direct report.
• Employees who believe that the evaluation’s construction isn’t reflective of their company’s culture may feel dissatisfied with the appraisal process.

Understanding Performance Appraisals

Performance appraisals are usually designed by human resources (HR) departments as a way for employees to develop in their careers. They provide individuals with feedback on their job performance, ensuring that employees are managing and meeting the goals expected of them and giving them guidance on how to reach those goals if they fall short.

Because companies have a limited pool of funds from which to award incentives, such as raises and  bonuses , performance appraisals help determine how to allocate those funds. They provide a way for companies to determine which employees have contributed the most to the company’s growth so that companies can reward their top-performing employees accordingly.

Performance appraisals also help employees and their managers create a plan for employee development through additional training and increased responsibilities. They help to identify ways that employees can improve and move forward in their careers.

Ideally, the performance appraisal is not the only time during the year that managers and employees communicate about the employee’s contributions. More frequent conversations help keep everyone on the same page, develop stronger relationships between employees and managers, and make annual reviews less stressful.

Types of Performance Appraisals

Most performance appraisals are top-down, meaning that supervisors evaluate their staff with no input from the subject. But there are other types:

• Self-assessment : Individuals rate their job performance and behavior.
• Peer assessment : An individual’s workgroup or co-workers rate their performance.
• 360-degree feedback assessment : Includes input from an individual, supervisor, and peers.
• Negotiated appraisal : This newer trend utilizes a mediator and attempts to moderate the adversarial nature of performance evaluations by allowing the subject to present first. It also focuses on what the individual is doing right before any criticism is given. This structure tends to be useful during conflicts between subordinates and supervisors.

There are many performance appraisal apps that have been developed to help companies automate the evaluation process.

Criticisms of Performance Appraisals

Performance appraisals are designed to motivate employees to reach and/or exceed their goals. But they do come with a lot of criticism.

An issue with performance appraisals is that differentiating individual and organizational performance can be difficult. If the evaluation’s construction doesn’t reflect the culture of a company or organization, it can be detrimental. Employees may report general dissatisfaction with their performance appraisal processes. Other potential issues include:

• Distrust of the appraisal can lead to issues between subordinates and supervisors or a situation in which employees merely tailor their input to please their employer.
• Performance appraisals can lead to the adoption of unreasonable goals that demoralize workers or incentivize them to engage in unethical practices.
• Some labor experts believe that the use of performance appraisals has led to lower use of merit- and  performance-based compensation.
• Performance appraisals may lead to unfair evaluations in which employees are judged not by their accomplishments but by their likability. They can also lead to managers giving underperforming staff a good evaluation to avoid souring their relationship.
• Unreliable raters can introduce a number of biases that skew appraisal results toward preferred characteristics or ones that reflect the rater’s preferences.
• Performance appraisals that work well in one culture or job function may not be useful in another.

What Are Performance Appraisals Used for?

Performance appraisals are used to review the job performance of an employee over some period of time. These reviews are used to highlight both strengths and weaknesses to improve future performance.

What Are the Benefits of a Performance Appraisal?

When executed correctly, performance appraisals can pay off significantly. Among other things, they are capable of boosting employee morale and engagement, clarifying expectations, helping to get the best out of staff, and incentivizing hard work and dedication.

It’s not just companies that benefit, either. Open lines of communication make it easier for employees to raise concerns, express themselves, find their right path, feel appreciated, and be rewarded when they do a good job.

When Should a Performance Appraisal Take Place?

Performance management is an ongoing process. Throughout the year, managers are encouraged to engage with employees to establish goals, note progress, and provide feedback. Formal reviews or appraisals often take place on a yearly or quarterly basis.

What Is a 360-Degree Appraisal?

Standard performance reviews include an employee and their manager or supervisor. The 360-degree version also solicits input from the employee’s colleagues or co-workers.

Communication between employees and their manager or supervisor can be very rewarding. Performance appraisals are capable of boosting morale and output, benefiting all parties.

That’s assuming they go well, though. Sadly, many performance appraisals aren’t executed in the most effective way. In many cases, they may be rushed or simply follow a set framework that perhaps doesn’t always benefit every type of industry or person.

Poorly handled appraisals can be counterproductive. Without a bespoke approach and careful consideration of how to structure meetings and set reasonable targets, the performance appraisal process can have its drawbacks.

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Performance Appraisal

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist, Valamis

October 24, 2018 · updated April 5, 2024

12 minute read

What is a performance appraisal?

The purpose of a performance appraisal.

• How to organize a performance appraisal process

Performance appraisal examples

Performance appraisal methods.

• 5 Modern method of performance appraisal

A performance appraisal is the periodic assessment of an employee’s job performance as measured by the competency expectations set out by the organization.

The performance assessment often includes both the core competencies required by the organization and also the competencies specific to the employee’s job.

The appraiser, often a supervisor or manager, will provide the employee with constructive, actionable feedback based on the assessment. This in turn provides the employee with the direction needed to improve and develop in their job.

Based on the type of feedback , a performance appraisal is also an opportunity for the organization to recognize employee achievements and future potential.

The purpose of a performance appraisal is two-fold: It helps the organization to determine the value and productivity that employees contribute, and it also helps employees to develop in their own roles.

Benefit for organization

Employee assessments can make a difference in the performance of an organization. They provide insight into how employees are contributing and enable organizations to:

• Identify where management can improve working conditions in order to increase productivity and work quality.
• Address behavioral issues before they impact departmental productivity.
• Encourage employees to contribute more by recognizing their talents and skills
• Support employees in skill and career development
• Improve strategic decision-making in situations that require layoffs, succession planning, or filling open roles internally

Benefit for employee

Performance appraisals are meant to provide a positive outcome for employees. The insights gained from assessing and discussing an employee’s performance can help:

• Recognize and acknowledge the achievements and contributions made by an employee.
• Recognize the opportunity for promotion or bonus.
• Identify and support the need for additional training or education to continue career development.
• Determine the specific areas where skills can be improved.
• Motivate an employee and help them feel involved and invested in their career development.
• Open discussion to an employee’s long-term goals.

Career development plan template

This template helps employees and leaders plan together for career growth: set goals, assess skills, and make a plan.

How to organize a performance appraisal process

Conducting a performance review with an employee requires skill and training on the part of the appraiser. The negative perception that is often associated with the performance appraisal is due in part to a feeling of being criticized during the process.

A performance appraisal is meant to be the complete opposite. Often, the culprit is in the way the appraisal is conducted via the use of language.

The way the sender of a message uses language determines how the other person interprets the message once received. This can include tone of voice, choice of words, or even body language.

Because a performance appraisal is meant to provide constructive feedback, it is crucial that appropriate language and behavior are used in the process.

Human Resources (HR) are the support system for managers and supervisors to be trained in tactfully handling the appraisal process.

The performance appraisal process:

• The assessment process is usually facilitated by Human Resources, who assist managers and supervisors in conducting the individual appraisals within their departments.
• An assessment method should be established.
• Required competencies and job expectations need to be drafted for each employee.
• Individual appraisals on employee performance are conducted.
• A one on one interview is scheduled between the manager and employee to discuss the review.
• Future goals should be discussed between employee and manager.
• A signed-off version of the performance review is archived.
• Appraisal information is utilized by human resources for appropriate organizational purposes, such as reporting, promotions, bonuses or succession planning.

Let’s take a look at one example of a Manager speaking to an employee during a performance appraisal. Below are three versions of the same example.

Compare the difference in language and behavior and how it can change the end-result:

1. An appropriate appraisal example with mixed feedback

“We can start the review by looking at how each project went for you this quarter. Does that sound OK? First, every project you have worked on in the last four months has met the expected deadline and were all within their budgets. I see one project here was even early. They were all implemented successfully. Well done. You have succeeded in the criteria expected of a Project Manager here at ABC Company. Let’s take a look at a few areas where you might be able to develop your project management skills further. In Project A, B, and C, a few team members expressed that they were unsure what to begin working on in the first few meetings and felt that they were engaging in their tasks a bit late. When they tried to express this in later meetings, they felt there was hostility towards them. For upcoming Projects D, E, and F, is there anything that can be done to get team members up and running more quickly? Could more detailed task planning be completed prior to the project kick-off?”

Debrief : This example removes the errors from the first example and puts them in a more constructive light.

• The appraisal begins by involving the employee and making them feel like a valued part of the process.
• The appraiser focuses on measurable outcomes, such as each individual project, instead of broad, baseless generalizations.
• Positives are the focus of the assessment.
• Areas for improvement are offered in a constructive and neutral format by referring to specific events in the employee’s day-to-day tasks.
• The employee is given the opportunity to problem-solve the situation and contribute to their own sense of self-development.
• Constructive solutions are offered so the employee has a clear idea on what they can do better next time.

2. An inappropriate negative appraisal example

“Let’s talk about some of the problems. You are never proactive when it comes to the start of a new project. Things are left too late and there are often complaints. I have heard that your attitude has been less than positive during project meetings. You seem to have things going on at home right now, but they shouldn’t be intruding on your work.”

This example is extreme, but it conveys most of the errors that can occur in a performance review.

• The appraisal begins with a negative. It has been shown that starting with the positives can set the tone for the appraisal and helps employees feel more receptive to feedback.
• The appraiser speaks in a negative, accusatory language and bases the assessment on assumption instead of measured facts. An appraisal needs to be based on measured facts.
• The appraiser makes the discussion personal; a performance review should remain focused on the contributions of the employee to the job and never be about the individual as a person.
• Phrases like “ you are ” or “ you always ” are generalizations about the employee; a performance appraisal needs to be about specific contributions to specific job tasks.

3. An appropriate appraisal example for underperformers

“I wanted to talk to you today about your performance during the last quarter. Looking at the completed project schedules and project debriefs here, I see that each of the five projects was kicked off late. Team members reported having trouble getting the resources and information they needed to start and complete their tasks. Each project was delivered a week or more late and had considerable budget creep. Project A was over by $7000. Project B was over by $9,000, for example. These budget overages were not authorized. I think we really have potential to turn this around and I really want to see you succeed. The role of Project Manager requires you to kick-off projects on-time, make sure your team members have the resources they need, and it’s crucial that any budget issues or delays are discussed with myself or the other Manager. For the upcoming projects this month, I’d like you to draft a project plan one week prior to any project kick-off. We can go over it together and figure out where the gaps might be. Did you have any suggestions on how you might be able to improve the punctuality of your projects or effectiveness of how they are run?”

Debrief : This example deals with an employee who seems to be struggling. The appraiser unfortunately has a lot of negative feedback to work through, but has successfully done so using appropriate language, tone and examples:

• The feedback does not use accusatory language or tone, nor does it focus on the person. This is especially important at the start of a performance review when the topic is being introduced. Being accusatory can make an employee feel uncomfortable, upset or defensive and set the wrong tone for the rest of the review. Comments should remain focused on the employee’s work.
• The comments are constructive and specific. The appraiser uses specific examples with evidence to explain the poor performance and does not make general, unsubstantiated comments. Making general, broad comments like “Your projects have a lot of problems and are always late” are unfair as they cannot be proven. The tone also creates hostility and does not help the employee to solve the problem.
• The appraiser offers a positive comment about improving the situation and also a specific solution to improve the performance. The point of a performance review is to motivate and help an employee, not cut them down.
• The appraiser asks for the input of the employee on how to solve the problem. This empowers the employee to become more involved in their skill development and ends a negative review on a positive note.

4. The inflated appraisal example

“I don’t think we have too much to talk about today as everything seems just fine. Your projects are always done on time and within budget. I’m sure you made the right decisions with your team to achieve all of that. You and I definitely think alike when it comes to project management. Keep up the great work.”

Debrief : This example appears like a perfect performance appraisal, but it’s actually an example of how to inappropriate:

• The feedback glosses over any specifics regarding the employee’s actual work and instead offers vague, inflated comments about everything being great. Feedback needs to refer to specific events.
• Any mention of trouble on the team is ignored. A performance review needs to discuss performance issues before they become serious later on.
• The appraiser compares the employee to himself. This could be referred to as the “halo effect”, where the appraiser allows one aspect of the employee to cloud his or her judgement.
• Nobody is perfect; every appraisal should offer some form of improvement that the employee can work towards, whether it is honing a skill or learning a new skill.

There are many ways an organization can conduct a performance appraisal, owing to the countless different methods and strategies available.

In addition, each organization may have their own unique philosophy making an impact on the way the performance assessment is designed and conducted.

A performance review is often done annually or semi-annually at the minimum, but some organizations do them more often.

5 Modern methods of performance appraisal

There are some common and modern appraisal methods that many organizations gravitate towards, including:

1. Self-evaluation

In a self-evaluation assessment, employees first conduct their performance assessment on their own against a set list of criteria.

The pro is that the method helps employees prepare for their own performance assessment and it creates more dialogue in the official performance interview.

The con is that the process is subjective, and employees may struggle with either rating themselves too high or too low.

2. Behavioral checklist

A Yes or No checklist is provided against a series of traits. If the supervisor believes the employee has exhibited a trait, a YES is ticked.

If they feel the employee has not exhibited the trait, a NO is ticked off. If they are unsure, it can be left blank.

The pro is the simplicity of the format and its focus on actual work-relate tasks and behaviors (ie. no generalizing).

The con is that there is no detailed analysis or detail on how the employee is actually doing, nor does it discuss goals.

3. 360-degree feedback

This type of review includes not just the direct feedback from the manager and employee, but also from other team members and sources.

The review also includes character and leadership capabilities.

The pro is that it provides a bigger picture of an employee’s performance.

The con is that it runs the risk of taking in broad generalizations from outside sources who many not know how to provide constructive feedback .

4. Ratings scale

A ratings scale is a common method of appraisal. It uses a set of pre-determined criteria that a manager uses to evaluate an employee against.

Each set of criteria is weighted so that a measured score can be calculated at the end of the review.

The pro is that the method can consider a wide variety of criteria, from specific job tasks to behavioral traits. The results can also be balanced thanks to the weighting system. This means that if an employee is not strong in a particularly minor area, it will not negatively impact the overall score.

The con of this method is the possible misunderstanding of what is a good result and what is a poor result; managers need to be clear in explaining the rating system.

5. Management by objectives

This type of assessment is a newer method that is gaining in popularity. It involves the employee and manager agreeing to a set of attainable performance goals that the employee will strive to achieve over a given period of time.

At the next review period, the goals and how they have been met are reviewed, whilst new goals are created.

The pro of this method is that it creates dialogue between the employee and employer and is empowering in terms of personal career development.

The con is that it risks overlooking organizational performance competencies that should be considered.

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Performance Evaluation Essay

Performance evaluation essay generator.

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.

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2. Business Performance Evaluation Essay

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3. Work-Based Performance Evaluation Essay

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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.

Text prompt

• Instructive
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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.

Performance Management and Appraisal Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Elements of a performance management system or practice that inspire and motivate employees

Employee relations is a practice that inspires employees at the workplace. This is the aspect of maintaining good relationships with employees. Employee relations determine the achievement of goals because it creates a favorable environment to communicate effectively. Employee relations also improve the dispute resolution process because the parties involved can solve conflicts easily.

When proper employee relations processes are maintained, discrimination in the workplace is avoided. Employee relations create an avenue for the management to practice leadership skills. Therefore, the managers should practice the necessary leadership skills to encourage employees to achieve the organizational goals (Subrahmaniyam, 2009).

Employee engagement is another practice that inspires employees. This is determined by the involvement of employees in all activities of the organization. When employees are engaged, they feel secure, and they trust the management. This increases their performance.

Employee engagement encourages employers to have good leadership strategies so as to address all the issues affecting the employees. The problems affecting employees are easily identified when an engagement is employed. This is because the managers work together with the employees, and problems can be identified and resolved within the required time (Subrahmaniyam, 2009).

A labor union is another performance management system that promotes employee motivation. This deals with labor unions and the issues that affect labor unions. Labor unions form the link between the employees and the employer. This system ensures that the needs of employees are addressed. In addition, labor unions are involved in dispute resolution.

The employees are motivated to work when they have a work union because all their problems are solved easily. In addition, the employees can talk to the management through the union officials.

The unions protect the interest of the employees because the employer cannot impose issues onto the employees. Therefore, the employees can strike when they feel that their needs are not fulfilled. The union protects the employees from being sacked when they are on strike (Subrahmaniyam, 2009).

How performance evaluations can lead to or detract from employee engagement in the workplace

According to Albrecht (2010), performance evaluation enhances the engagement of employees because it helps employees to know how they perform at the workplace. In addition, performance evaluation helps the management and employees to be connected. This is because there is a close supervision and interaction between the management and employees.

When reviews are done regularly, the employees and the management understand the business processes appropriately. The reviews also lead to employee engagement when proper communication is practiced. Evaluations improve the employee engagement because they encourage leaders to identify the needs of the followers.

In addition, employees with poor performance have the risk of being fired. This encourages employees to improve their performance and engaged in all the activities of the organization. Therefore, evaluations promote improvements in the quality and quantity of work done because employees are corrected in areas where they have weaknesses (Quality Digest 2010).

On the other hand, performance evaluation can detract employee engagement when the reviews are not done regularly. In such a case, the reviews are perceived as events rather than processes to enhance the performance of employees.

In addition, reviews detract employee engagement when they are not linked to the goals of an organization. Employees usually expect an increase in wages after the performance reviews are done, and this may detract them from achieving the goals of the organization (Quality Digest 2010).

Albrecht, S. L. (2010). Handbook of employee engagement: Perspectives, issues, research and practice . Cheltenham, Glos, UK: Edward Elgar.

Quality Digest (2010). Turn Your Performance Review System Into One That Works . Web.

Subrahmaniyam, M. M. (2009). Performance management: Measure and improve the effectiveness of your employees . New Delhi: Global India Publications.

• Performance Appraisal
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IvyPanda. (2019, April 17). Performance Management and Appraisal. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-management-and-appraisal/

"Performance Management and Appraisal." IvyPanda , 17 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/performance-management-and-appraisal/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Performance Management and Appraisal'. 17 April.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Performance Management and Appraisal." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-management-and-appraisal/.

1. IvyPanda . "Performance Management and Appraisal." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-management-and-appraisal/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Performance Management and Appraisal." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-management-and-appraisal/.

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108 Performance Review Phrases (With Examples)

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Performance reviews are a great opportunity to give an employee feedback on their poor performance to help them improve or to give them recognition for a job well done. Common performance review skill categories that are reviewed include productivity, work quality, and attendance. The right performance review phrases said in a goes a long way to motivate an employee to continue their good performance or improve on weaknesses.

If you’re a supervisor or manager looking for the right performance review phrases to recognize employees’ good work and address their weaknesses, this article will provide ideas for topics to discuss and examples of phrases you can use in your next performance reviews.

Key Takeaways:

Annual performance reviews are a good opportunity to talk about employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and growth, as well as to discuss training opportunities, goals, and any pay adjustments.

It’s a good idea to discuss employees’ productivity and work quality as well as their soft skills such as cooperation, accountability, and communication.

Give your employees plenty of notice about their performance review and then prepare for it by looking at their job description and KPIs and making a rubric based on those.

Examples of performance review phrases for productivity

Examples of performance review phrases for quality of work, examples of performance review phrases for attendance, examples of performance review phrases for punctuality, examples of performance review phrases for communication, examples of performance review phrases for teamwork and cooperation, examples of performance review phrases for interpersonal abilities, examples of performance review phrases for adaptability, examples of performance review phrases for problem-solving, examples of performance review phrases for achievement, examples of performance review phrases for leadership, examples of performance review phrases for innovation, examples of performance review phrases for attitude, examples of performance review phrases for accountability, what is a performance review, how to prepare for a performance review, performance review faq, final thoughts.

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Positive productivity performance review phrases

“Always manages their time well and is extremely well-organized.”

“Displays endless drive to improve productivity, profits, and meet business goals.”

“Your excellent work ethic speaks for itself.”

“Consistently contributes measurable value to company goals and projects.”

Negative productivity performance review phrases

“Often resists changes that could lead to an increase in productivity.”

“Distracts coworkers, impacting their productivity.”

“Poor time management often leading to failure to complete assigned work on time.”

“Sets a low bar and does as little as possible to get by.”

Positive quality of work performance review phrases

“Positively contributes to the performance of the team through their high-quality work.”

“Can be relied upon to consistently maintain a high quality of work.”

“I was blown away by the quality of your work.”

“Most employees aren’t as thorough in their work as you.”

Negative quality of work performance review phrases

“Often expects coworkers to complete unfinished tasks.”

“Regularly fails to follow established processes.”

“Delivers work of an inconsistent quality.”

“Rarely attains monthly performance goals.”

Positive attendance performance review phrases

“Begins every day fully prepared and ready to work.”

“Shows respect for the time of others by always coming to work on time.”

“A reliable worker who is always there when you need their help.”

Negative attendance performance review phrases

“Fails to meet company standards for attendance.”

“Often offline on communication channels when working remotely.”

“Regularly take more frequent or longer breaks than permitted.”

“Has not met attendance objectives set at previous performance appraisal.”

Positive punctuality performance review phrases

“Always follows through on their promises and delivers work ahead of time.”

“Consistently meets deadlines and can always be relied upon.”

“You’re among the most reliable workers I’ve ever had.”

“I really respect how you always take your promises seriously.”

Negative punctuality performance review phrases

“Meeting times often start later than scheduled or run over time.”

“Regularly late to work without reason.”

“Needs to work on responding to meeting invitations.”

“I want our team to be known for respecting others, and when you arrive late to meetings, it’s disrespectful.”

Positive communication performance review phrases

“Is mindful of the team and provides any updates when their situation changes.”

“Is able to effectively break down complex ideas and bring everyone on board.”

“Has a way of explaining complicated subjects to anyone.”

“ Thank you for always speaking up during team meetings and providing important updates.”

“You’re always quick to answer and follow up on emails .”

Negative communication performance review phrases

“Actively avoids conversations with managers and supervisors.”

“Struggles to communicate ideas and information with team members.”

“Often fails to provide timely project updates.”

“Has a tough time communicating constructive feedback to others.”

Positive teamwork and cooperation performance review phrases

“Extremely easy to work with and respects all team members.”

“Always puts the team first and adapts to any situation.”

“Improves team atmosphere by resolving conflicts between others.”

“Everyone tells me they really enjoy working with you.”

Negative teamwork and cooperation performance review phrases

“Often sticks to a small team, failing to find help and resources in other departments.”

“Unwilling to help others with tasks when asked.”

“Prefers to work alone, even when a project has multiple stakeholders.”

“You’re very skilled in what you do, but I’ve noticed you haven’t joined any of the new projects our team has taken on. You have a lot to offer, and I’d love to see you stretch yourself and take on some of these new responsibilities and challenges.”

Positive interpersonal abilities performance review phrases

“Has a pleasant personality that contributes to a positive team environment.”

“Maintains positivity and raises team morale during challenge circumstances.”

“Is thoughtful of other team members and is always pleasant to work with.”

“You always know how to cheer everyone up.”

Negative interpersonal abilities performance review phrases

“Does not work well with others on the team.”

“Needs to improve attitude when receiving constructive feedback.”

“Your customer satisfaction reviews are always really high on the phone, but they aren’t as great after you meet with a client in person. Why do you think that is? What training or resources can we get you to help with that?”

“I respect and appreciate your ability to be honest and direct with everyone, but sometimes it comes across as unfriendly or even rude. I’d hate to see that hinder your ability to create strong working relationships, so I’d like you to take this course in office communication to help you get your points across more effectively.”

Positive adaptability performance review phrases

“Is extremely understanding and flexible when unforeseen circumstances arise.”

“Can be counted on to be a team player during less than ideal situations.”

“Is able to quickly find ways to contribute when factors that influence business operations change.”

“I want to thank you for how flexible you’ve been during this difficult period.”

Negative adaptability performance review phrases

“Easily becomes frustrated when unexpected challenges arise.”

“Pushes back against new processes and policies without fully implementing or adhering to them.”

“Resists changes that could lead to higher productivity.”

“You do excellent work, and I think you’d do even better if you didn’t let the pressure get the better of you in stressful situations. You’re a very capable employee, and I hate to see you lose your confidence in those times. How can I help you with that?”

Positive problem-solving performance review phrases

“Demonstrates expertise and critical-thinking skills by cleverly finding solutions to problems.”

“Is always a reliable source of help for employees who need assistance.”

“You’re able to overcome any obstacle that stands in your path.”

“Is there anything you can’t do?”

Negative problem-solving performance review phrases

“Unwilling to work on problems outside of skill set.”

“Fails to contribute to group discussions on how to approach problems.”

“Can be indecisive in producing and implementing new solutions.

“Struggles to see patterns in recurring issues.”

Positive achievement performance review phrases

“Always surprises the entire team with the exceptional quality of their work.”

“Is constantly looked up to by staff members for their exceptional abilities.”

“You’re one of the most uniquely skilled professionals I’ve ever worked with.”

“You never fail to break records that we all thought were unbreakable.”

Negative achievement performance review phrases

“Has consistently struggled to meet KPIs.”

“Struggles to set measurable goals that align with the strategic needs of projects.”

“Does not set personal goals for improvement.”

“Unmotivated by achievement.”

Positive leadership performance review phrases

“Improves the job performance of the entire team by leading by example.”

“It’s extremely commendable how you always bring new employees up to speed.”

“Not only delivers high-quality work, but strengthens the entire culture of the team.”

“Having you on the team makes a massive difference.”

“Calling you anything but a team leader would be selling you short .”

Negative leadership performance review phrases

“Struggles to motivate employees to work hard and on task.”

“Indecisive about allocating responsibilities.”

“Sets unclear goals and objectives, making it hard to measure results in a meaningful way.”

“Workers often complain about a lack of recognition for a job well done.”

Positive innovation performance review phrases

“You always bring a unique perspective that nobody else had thought of.”

“It’s admirable how you’re able to view the same situation in a completely new light.”

“Wow, nobody knew it was even possible to do it in a better way until you showed us.”

“You come up with amazing ideas.”

Negative innovation performance review phrases

“Uninterested in trying novel solutions or integrating the creative ideas of others.”

“Has a difficult time formulating new ideas when normal processes fail.”

“Resists implementing new processes that have been proven as more effective.”

Positive attitude performance review phrases

“Everyone appreciates your upbeat attitude.”

“Even when things are tough, you continue to maintain a positive mindset.”

“You’re always quick to offer a healthy perspective.”

Negative attitude performance review phrases

“Inconsistent working relationship with some team members.”

“Often defiant when assigned tasks, openly questioning the wisdom of supervisors.”

“Becomes easily upset when unexpected challenges come up.”

“Noticeably unexcited about company goals, bringing down the enthusiasm of other members of the team.”

Positive accountability performance review phrases

“Shows honesty and strong character by accepting accountability when appropriate.”

“Strives to constantly improve on their work and is never satisfied with less-than-perfect results.”

“Your honesty and prioritization of the team ahead of all else are inspiring.”

Negative accountability performance review phrases

“Often blames others for mistakes.”

“Regularly fails to follow up with clients.”

“Needs to improve the ability to learn from errors.”

Performance reviews are evaluations where supervisors appraise an employee’s performance at work.

The main topics that are commonly discussed during the appraisal process are:

Strengths and weaknesses. Employees are made aware of the areas in which they excel or underperform. This is an opportunity to define performance expectations clearly.

Employee progress. If a particular weakness was identified in a previous performance review, supervisors should comment on whether the employee has taken the necessary actions to fix it.

Training opportunities. Managers may suggest career development resources or certification programs that fit the employee’s situation.

Future goals. Employees and supervisors will often agree to an improvement plan to address weaknesses . Whether the employee met these goals and objectives can be assessed during the next performance appraisal.

Pay adjustments. Performance reviews are also an opportunity to give employees promotions or raises .

Performance evaluations are conducted on a regular basis that’s determined by the organization or team. These periods are typically six months apart but can also be quarterly, monthly, or even more frequent.

Update job descriptions. Employees appreciate clarity in the way their role is defined, and from an organizational standpoint, delineating roles clearly is an important element of planning. You can even have employees help with this process to make sure the written word matches the actual job.

Determine the purpose of the role. With the above point in mind, it’s also crucial to understand why the position exists in the first place. Is the reason you created the role still the primary function or has the need for that responsibility passed?

Recalibrate your KPIs . Again, most employees appreciate concrete goals. But those goals and the ability to replicate them infinitely are not static. Maybe a goal of 100 cold calls a week no longer makes sense when you’ve already reached out to most of the local businesses you could serve, for example.

Identify skill gaps. Sometimes, skill gaps can creep on you and your business. With how fast technology changes in today’s world, you need to constantly reevaluate the skill sets of your employees and lend a hand when they need it.

Make a rubric. Or familiarize yourself with the one provided by your company. It’s good to have a plan for what topics you want to cover and in what order. It might also make sense to change the order of events for certain employees.

Inform employees in advance. It’s best to give at least a week’s notice before performance reviews, but more or less time could make sense depending on the nature and size of your organization. You want to give everyone a chance to consider what they want to discuss at the meeting and prepare responses to questions they know will come up.

What should I say in a performance review?

You should say both positive observations and constructive criticisms to your employee in a performance review. It’s important to let employees know the good things you’ve seen them doing in addition to calling out their weak points, and don’t forget to provide resources and support on how to improve those weak points.

How do you write an impactful performance review phrase?

You write an impactful performance review phrase by being specific and using quantifiers. Saying that an employee is “always positive even in the most stressful situations” is far more impactful than just saying, “they have a good attitude.”

What should I say in my boss review?

You should say positive things in your boss review. Even if you have some negative things to say, they’ll go over far better if you include honest, positive feedback as well.

Are performance reviews important?

Yes, performance reviews can be important because it’s a way to give both the company and employees important feedback. Without feedback, whether positive or negative, managers and employees are not able to improve their skills. Without feedback, someone may be unaware of their poor performance and not be able to change it. It’s also a great opportunity for employers to highlight and give recognition to a job well done.

Effective performance reviews are critical for maximizing employee engagement. Simply recognizing a subordinate’s efforts and delicately addressing their weaknesses can significantly improve the value they bring to your business.

In addition to the example performance review phrases we’ve given you, think of other ways you can sincerely show appreciation to your employees. They’ll be sure to return that appreciation and continue their positive behavior.

MyHR – Why Performance Reviews are Important

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Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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Performance Review Examples

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Reference Examples

More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual . Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual .

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article ) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book ) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book ).

Examples on these pages illustrate the details of reference formats. We make every attempt to show examples that are in keeping with APA Style’s guiding principles of inclusivity and bias-free language. These examples are presented out of context only to demonstrate formatting issues (e.g., which elements to italicize, where punctuation is needed, placement of parentheses). References, including these examples, are not inherently endorsements for the ideas or content of the works themselves. An author may cite a work to support a statement or an idea, to critique that work, or for many other reasons. For more examples, see our sample papers .

Reference examples are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 10 and the Concise Guide Chapter 10

Related handouts

• Common Reference Examples Guide (PDF, 147KB)
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Textual Works

Textual works are covered in Sections 10.1–10.8 of the Publication Manual . The most common categories and examples are presented here. For the reviews of other works category, see Section 10.7.

• Journal Article References
• Magazine Article References
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• Blog Post and Blog Comment References
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Data and Assessments

Data sets are covered in Section 10.9 of the Publication Manual . For the software and tests categories, see Sections 10.10 and 10.11.

• Data Set References
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Audiovisual Media

Audiovisual media are covered in Sections 10.12–10.14 of the Publication Manual . The most common examples are presented together here. In the manual, these examples and more are separated into categories for audiovisual, audio, and visual media.

• Artwork References
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Online Media

Online media are covered in Sections 10.15 and 10.16 of the Publication Manual . Please note that blog posts are part of the periodicals category.

• Facebook References
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What is peer review?

Reviewers play a pivotal role in scholarly publishing. The peer review system exists to validate academic work, helps to improve the quality of published research, and increases networking possibilities within research communities. Despite criticisms, peer review is still the only widely accepted method for research validation and has continued successfully with relatively minor changes for some 350 years.

Elsevier relies on the peer review process to uphold the quality and validity of individual articles and the journals that publish them.

Peer review has been a formal part of scientific communication since the first scientific journals appeared more than 300 years ago. The Philosophical Transactions opens in new tab/window of the Royal Society is thought to be the first journal to formalize the peer review process opens in new tab/window under the editorship of Henry Oldenburg (1618- 1677).

Despite many criticisms about the integrity of peer review, the majority of the research community still believes peer review is the best form of scientific evaluation. This opinion was endorsed by the outcome of a survey Elsevier and Sense About Science conducted in 2009 opens in new tab/window and has since been further confirmed by other publisher and scholarly organization surveys. Furthermore, a  2015 survey by the Publishing Research Consortium opens in new tab/window , saw 82% of researchers agreeing that “without peer review there is no control in scientific communication.”

To learn more about peer review, visit Elsevier’s free e-learning platform  Researcher Academy opens in new tab/window and see our resources below.

The peer review process

Types of peer review.

Peer review comes in different flavours. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, and often one type of review will be preferred by a subject community. Before submitting or reviewing a paper, you must therefore check which type is employed by the journal so you are aware of the respective rules. In case of questions regarding the peer review model employed by the journal for which you have been invited to review, consult the journal’s homepage or contact the editorial office directly.  

Single anonymized review

In this type of review, the names of the reviewers are hidden from the author. This is the traditional method of reviewing and is the most common type by far. Points to consider regarding single anonymized review include:

Reviewer anonymity allows for impartial decisions , as the reviewers will not be influenced by potential criticism from the authors.

Authors may be concerned that reviewers in their field could delay publication, giving the reviewers a chance to publish first.

Reviewers may use their anonymity as justification for being unnecessarily critical or harsh when commenting on the authors’ work.

Double anonymized review

Both the reviewer and the author are anonymous in this model. Some advantages of this model are listed below.

Author anonymity limits reviewer bias, such as on author's gender, country of origin, academic status, or previous publication history.

Articles written by prestigious or renowned authors are considered based on the content of their papers, rather than their reputation.

But bear in mind that despite the above, reviewers can often identify the author through their writing style, subject matter, or self-citation – it is exceedingly difficult to guarantee total author anonymity. More information for authors can be found in our  double-anonymized peer review guidelines .

Triple anonymized review

With triple anonymized review, reviewers are anonymous to the author, and the author's identity is unknown to both the reviewers and the editor. Articles are anonymized at the submission stage and are handled in a way to minimize any potential bias towards the authors. However, it should be noted that: 

The complexities involved with anonymizing articles/authors to this level are considerable.

As with double anonymized review, there is still a possibility for the editor and/or reviewers to correctly identify the author(s) from their writing style, subject matter, citation patterns, or other methodologies.

Open review

Open peer review is an umbrella term for many different models aiming at greater transparency during and after the peer review process. The most common definition of open review is when both the reviewer and author are known to each other during the peer review process. Other types of open peer review consist of:

Publication of reviewers’ names on the article page 

Publication of peer review reports alongside the article, either signed or anonymous 

Publication of peer review reports (signed or anonymous) with authors’ and editors’ responses alongside the article 

Publication of the paper after pre-checks and opening a discussion forum to the community who can then comment (named or anonymous) on the article 

Many believe this is the best way to prevent malicious comments, stop plagiarism, prevent reviewers from following their own agenda, and encourage open, honest reviewing. Others see open review as a less honest process, in which politeness or fear of retribution may cause a reviewer to withhold or tone down criticism. For three years, five Elsevier journals experimented with publication of peer review reports (signed or anonymous) as articles alongside the accepted paper on ScienceDirect ( example opens in new tab/window ).

Read more about the experiment

More transparent peer review

Transparency is the key to trust in peer review and as such there is an increasing call towards more  transparency around the peer review process . In an effort to promote transparency in the peer review process, many Elsevier journals therefore publish the name of the handling editor of the published paper on ScienceDirect. Some journals also provide details about the number of reviewers who reviewed the article before acceptance. Furthermore, in order to provide updates and feedback to reviewers, most Elsevier journals inform reviewers about the editor’s decision and their peers’ recommendations. 

Article transfer service: sharing reviewer comments

Elsevier authors may be invited to  transfer  their article submission from one journal to another for free if their initial submission was not successful. 

As a referee, your review report (including all comments to the author and editor) will be transferred to the destination journal, along with the manuscript. The main benefit is that reviewers are not asked to review the same manuscript several times for different journals. 

Tools and resources

Interesting reads.

Chapter 2 of Academic and Professional Publishing, 2012, by Irene Hames in 2012 opens in new tab/window

"Is Peer Review in Crisis?" Perspectives in Publishing No 2, August 2004, by Adrian Mulligan opens in new tab/window

“The history of the peer-review process” Trends in Biotechnology, 2002, by Ray Spier opens in new tab/window

Reviewers’ Update articles

Peer review using today’s technology

Lifting the lid on publishing peer review reports: an interview with Bahar Mehmani and Flaminio Squazzoni

How face-to-face peer review can benefit authors and journals alike

Innovation in peer review: introducing “volunpeers”

Results masked review: peer review without publication bias

Elsevier Researcher Academy modules

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What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024

What matter most? Eight priorities for CEOs in 2024

What matters most? It’s a question we’ve been investigating for a few years now (here are reports from 2022  and 2021 ). This year, we’re reminded that what matters most are family, friends, values, principles, and commitments.

One of our commitments is to CEOs. It’s a tough job and getting tougher all the time . Just in the past few years, they’ve had to cope with a global pandemic, busted supply chains, war, stubborn inflation, and many other disruptions. Any one of these is enough to derail a CEO’s agenda. Taken together, it’s the most difficult operating environment we can remember.

Both of us talk to hundreds of CEOs every year, and many of our colleagues do the same. We admire how CEOs are leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders. We’ve consolidated the views that have come out of these conversations and are pleased to offer what we’ve heard about how companies can do better for society, communities, and employees—and the prosaic business of how they can pay for it all, and reward investors too.

Here are eight priorities for CEOs in 2024.

Gen AI goes from proof of concept to scale

The biggest story of this year (or decade) was the arrival of generative AI (gen AI). This is the real deal, folks. Thousands of companies in every industry and in every part of the world are already using a simple gen AI interface to radically transform every imaginable business activity. But while innovators dominate headlines, it’s scalers that dominate markets. CEOs need to figure out three things, posthaste: which parts of the business can benefit , how to scale from one application to many , and how the new tools will reshape their industry .

How to outcompete with technology

As the digital era enters middle age, most companies have at least started a digital and AI transformation. But few are getting the results they want; that’s usually because they haven’t done the fundamental organizational rewiring needed to extract maximum value from the hard work of digitizing the enterprise. This year, our colleagues published a bestselling book Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI . It’s a collection of our best insights for digitizing the enterprise. Digital winners grow revenues and cut costs  faster than others.

The biggest capital reallocation in our lifetime

That’s what we said last year  about the energy transition. The bill has only gone up since then, for the simple reason that amid uncertainty, investors and companies have held back from committing their capital, even as the Earth grows hotter. Let’s be clear: what needs to happen is the creation of thousands of new green-technology businesses, in every part of the emerging business system. We have ideas about where , how , and when  companies should invest.

What’s your superpower?

Think of any company you admire, and you can likely rattle off one or two superpowers  that make it uniquely successful. Toyota and its Toyota Production System. LVMH and its exquisite craftsmanship and the entrepreneurship of its brand leaders. Disney and imaginative customer experiences. A distinctive capability can lift a company out of the mire of clogged, commoditized markets and on to the high ground of outperformance. Exceptional implementation  is part and parcel of building a new capability.

Learn to love your middle managers

Waffle House, an American restaurant chain, is famous for never closing; some say its doors have no locks. It should also be famous for its management philosophy. The restaurant’s grill operators are the stars of the show; after years of training, the best get to be called “Elvis of the grill.” After that, they don’t get promoted; how do you top being King? But most other companies would likely promote such people into senior management roles that they don’t want and are not suited for. Companies need to rethink their philosophy  about middle managers and recognize them for what they actually are : the core of the company.

Geopolitics: Beating the odds

As Niels Bohr once said, it’s very hard to make predictions, especially about the future. As CEOs watch the changes unfolding in the global geopolitical order, all agree with the sentiment. What comes next? One thing is for sure: events have an uncanny way of defying the expectations of experts. In the face of that, management teams and boards  should consider black swans and gray rhinos  in their scenarios and build geopolitical resilience  that will serve them well, no matter which side of the coin comes up.

Navigating the road to courageous growth

It’s a funny thing: growth is always job one for CEOs, but the path to get there is never clear. Sometimes it’s about seizing market share ; sometimes it’s about expanding into new markets ; sometimes it’s about making a left turn  into something completely new. The one constant is the ten rules of growth . How will the rules play out in 2024? For many, it will mean rule 4: turbocharge your core, by using technology to power growth . For others, it might mean rule 6: grow where you know, by improving sales productivity . And, as always, the most constant of all is rule 9, acquire programmatically, as the latest installment of our 20-year research effort  demonstrates.

A new lens on the macroeconomy

Nearly four years after COVID-19 rewrote history, some CEOs are still waiting for macroeconomic certainty. That’s unlikely to happen—and that’s OK. Leading firms capitalize on uncertainty: they assess their risk appetite, then invest near the bottom  of cycles. Most rely on scenario planning , not least because the exercise usually reveals the core actions that companies need to take no matter which way the economy trends. CEOs might want to populate their models with the new scenarios we’ve developed to look at the ways the global balance sheet  might develop. Over the past two decades, assets on the global balance sheet grew much faster than GDP—the real economy. But the continuation of that trend is uncertain. Yet another curve ball is the rapid shift of assets from the banking system  to private markets , and what that means for public companies.

We hope this article and the in-depth readings available within it give CEOs and executives some clarity on the big issues on their 2024 agenda. And don’t forget that CEOs need to look after the little things and take care of themselves too.

This article was edited by Mark Staples, an editorial director in the New York office.

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