Last Updated on November 14, 2023 by Owen McGab Enaohwo
Source: Freepik.com
Did you know that only 20% of US employees claim that they have received meaningful feedback during the last week or so? Contrary to the common misconception, people actually want more feedback!
If you, like many managers, often struggle to come up with ideas for a meaningful performance review, we’ve got you covered. With our performance review examples, that will no longer be the case.
How to conduct performance reviews
There are different methods you can use as a part of your performance management process:
- One-on-one performance review: Schedule a face-to-face or online meeting between the employee and their manager.
- Peer review: Encourage team members to give feedback to each other.
- Rating scale: Do a quantitative evaluation using predefined performance criteria. It’s ideal for quick performance reviews.
- Self-assessment: Ask employees to complete a self-evaluation sheet as a first step for a performance review.
- 360-degree feedback review: Collect and compare feedback from different sources, including peers, managers, subordinates and sometimes even clients, to get a complete picture. This is the most comprehensive performance review.
- Automating the process with performance review software: If you want to introduce regular, continuous feedback and get data-driven analysis while saving a lot of time, performance review software is the right solution for you.
12 performance review examples you can use
Positive performance review examples
You don’t have to wait until some issue comes up to give your employees feedback. Instead, why not use it to reinforce positive behavior and motivate your employees?
According to Gallup, employees who have received feedback during the previous week are four times more likely to be engaged. One of the best ways to motivate your employees is to acknowledge their achievements, big or small. Here are some ideas for positive performance reviews:
- Problem-solving: You’ve demonstrated excellent problem-solving skills. Your analytical skills and solution-oriented mindset have contributed to achieving our goals and hitting the targets before the deadline.
- Customer service: Your communication skills, cheerfulness, and empathy always keep our customers delighted and improve their experience. Thank you for over-delivering and being proactive when it comes to meeting customers’ needs.
- Performance and productivity: You’ve shown exceptional performance this year by not only hitting but also surpassing your targets. Your hard work and efficiency have led to an increase in customer satisfaction and productivity. You’re such a motivation for the whole team!
- Creativity: We appreciate your ability to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas. Keep doing a great job; you’re such an inspiration, and we need more people like you!
- Collaboration: Your clear and effective communication style fosters collaboration among other team members. You’re a great example and an invaluable asset to our team.
- Working ethic: You’ve shown a strong working ethic and commitment to completing the tasks, no matter how challenging they might seem. Thank you for going above and beyond for our team. We appreciate it!
- Resilience: We admire your ability to handle setbacks and challenges with grace. It’s been a rough period for the whole team, but your efforts and ability to bounce back will pay off soon.
Constructive performance review examples
When it comes to constructive feedback, the main rules are to be kind, criticize someone’s behavior instead of the person and offer suggestions for improvement. Start on a positive note and end with an actionable tip, like suggesting adequate employee training. Here are some ways you can do it:
- Leadership: While we value your commitment and hard work, we’d appreciate you showing more initiative. We’d love to hear your ideas and insights about how we could improve things. If you feel like you could benefit from additional leadership training, please let us know.
- Teamwork and collaboration: Your independence and reliability are praiseworthy. However, I believe there’s room to improve interaction and cooperation with the rest of the team. We all share common goals, and younger team members would have much to learn from your experience!
- Organization: We’ve noticed that you’re often late to meetings and struggling to meet deadlines. You are a great employee and a valuable team member, so we were wondering whether everything is okay in your personal life and whether you’d like us to work on time management together as a team.
- Micro-management: Our anonymous feedback shows that you could sometimes be overly engaged in monitoring employees’ day-to-day tasks, which may lead to a sense of micromanagement. While we understand where you come from and that you’re doing it with good intentions, we encourage you to give your team more freedom and trust. The results may surprise you!
- Poor performance: While we appreciate your efforts and dedication, we must note that you haven’t met your monthly targets for the last couple of months. We understand you might be going through a rough period, and we’re here to support you. We encourage you to ask for additional training or coaching if you think it could benefit you.
- Low motivation: We’ve recently noticed a significant decrease in your enthusiasm and drive. We’re worried it could impact your productivity and overall results in the future. Would breaking down bigger goals into smaller milestones help you stay focused and motivated?
- Communication skills: Your technical skills are excellent, and you’re a great fit for this role, but we wanted to address your communication skills. We think there’s room for improving your communication style by actively listening to other team members and engaging in conversations more often. That could create a more positive and productive atmosphere for all of us.
Conclusion
Introducing regular performance reviews as a part of a healthy feedback culture should be your priority. They’re essential for employee training and development as well as boosting engagement and motivation.
Remember to praise your employees for their efforts regularly, but don’t be afraid of giving constructive feedback when needed. It’s often the thing that helps employees grow and develop the most.
We hope our examples will inspire you to develop your own performance reviews.
Author’s bio:
Andrew Makhovskyi is the CEO and co-founder of Effy AI, a 360 feedback and performance review software that is changing the way managers work and run employee reviews.