Review Examples for Managers & Employees

Most employees instinctively aspire to do well at work, but the catch is, how do you know how well you are doing without being gauged? Thus, Performance Reviews aren’t just feedback mechanisms for organizational or employee growth; they offer better clarity of employer/organizational expectations. They improve communication between employees and managers, which impacts understanding and collaboration. More importantly, performance reviews aid in job satisfaction by aligning with individual goals while focusing on the company’s objectives — a complete win-win.

Without feedback, employees are just going through the motions of working without knowing exactly how well they are doing or how much value they are providing. With structured feedback comes transparency, which builds trust and provides the ground for recognizing employee contributions while providing input for improvement. Employees get to know they matter, how they matter, and how what they do benefits the organization and, indirectly, themselves, creating a motivated and proactive workplace.

Below is a list of the best performance appraisal phrases based on 4 prime key attributes:

1. Performance
2. Communication
3. Accountability
4. Reliability

4 Best Examples of Performance Reviews by Key Attributes (approved by HR managers)

1. Overall Performance

Overall performance is impacted by an employee’s ability to meet expectations, show initiative, participate with the team, contribute, display a good work ethic, and provide results. Based on these parameters, performance review examples of overall performance have been listed below based on the degree of performance.

Outstanding Overall Performance

• You have been consistent in exceeding expectations and providing significant results.
• You have shown an admirable tendency towards taking initiative and solving problems with creativity and research.
• You are active when it comes to finding new opportunities, be it for innovation or improvement.
• You are an exceptional yet humble leader with unparalleled mentorship qualities, which have helped improve team morale and work.
• You can meet work commitments while delivering quality work on time.

Good Overall Performance

• You are meeting expectations while being consistent in the delivery of quality work.
• You take the initiative proactively when faced with new work challenges.
• You actively participate and provide good insights during team meetings.
• You display a positive attitude, along with your strong work ethic.
• You meet deadlines and follow company-set policies and procedures.

Average Overall Performance

• You complete basic tasks and assignments on time.
• You do take some initiative and display a moderate level of problem-solving.
• You participate in team meetings but could work on providing better input.
• Your work attitude and work ethic are satisfactory, but you could do better with more enthusiasm.
• You have successfully met deadlines with little additional assistance.

Poor Overall Performance

• You have displayed a constant inability to meet deadlines and targets.
• Your work lacks self-initiative as you depend more on your team for support.
• You have neglected to attend meetings and have been unable to contribute substantially during discussions.
• You pair a negative attitude with a poor work ethic, which is not very constructive.
• You are unable to complete tasks without constant support and supervision.

2. Communication

Successful communication depends on factors like effective communication of ideas, listening to and understanding others' perspectives, rapport with colleagues and clients, presentation skills, and raising or lowering the bar while communicating with mixed audiences. Considering this, performance review examples of communication performance have been put together below based on the level of communication skills displayed.

Outstanding Communication Performance

• You can communicate complex ideas effectively with clarity and conciseness.
• You are an active listener who values input from your colleagues and team members.
• You create a strong rapport with colleagues and clients by listening to them and acting accordingly.
• You can present information with confidence and persuasiveness.
• You are able to adapt communication styles to suit differences in situations and audiences.

Good Communication Performance

• Your communication with colleagues and clients is to the mark.
• You are an active listener and not shy when asking for clarifications to avoid miscommunication.
• You are active in participating in meetings and in sharing of ideas.
• You have a good grasp of presenting information with clarity and conciseness.
• You are transparent when communicating.

Average Communication Performance

• You are able to communicate effectively when dealing with basic information.
• You are an active listener, but are not so active when it comes to engagement.
• You are participating in team meetings but cannot contribute meaningfully.
• You straightforwardly present information without too much embellishment.
• You occasionally struggle with verbal and written communication.

Poor Communication Performance

• You are unable to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients.
• You are not an active listener and do not let others complete their thoughts.
• You are rare in your participation in team meetings and sharing of ideas.
• You are not confident when presenting information, which lowers the overall effectiveness.
• Your verbal and written communication skills are poor and need considerable improvement.

3. Accountability

Accountability is one ingredient of the secret sauce that marks how successful an employee will be in an organization and their integrity and quality of work. An accountable employee takes ownership of tasks that are to be done with responsibility and commitment, follows company protocol, and appreciates feedback. Keeping these points in check, performance review examples of accountability performance have been listed below based on accountability parameters.

Outstanding Accountability Performance

• You readily take ownership and ensure that tasks are completed within the deadline.
• You have the foresight to identify potential issues and proactively see that they are addressed.
• You have always displayed a strong work ethic of commitment and responsibility.
• You follow the procedures and policies set by the management.
• You have shown that you use mistakes as an opportunity to grow by learning from them.

Good Accountability Performance

• You show responsibility when tasks are assigned and ensure you meet the deadlines.
• You, time and again, have shown yourself to be unfazed by new challenges and take them up willingly.
• You ensure you keep to the company’s policies and procedures.
• You accept it when you make a mistake and do what can be done towards its rectification.
• You have proactively asked for feedback and instilled it in your future performance.

Average Accountability Performance

• You do complete the tasks assigned to you, but occasionally, you need reminders to see to their completion.
• You are responsible and committed to a moderate degree.
• You, at times, do not follow the procedures and policies set by the organization.
• You have made mistakes occasionally but have also taken steps to address them.
• You do request feedback but fail in its practical application.

Poor Accountability Performance

• You miss deadlines frequently and are unable to complete the tasks assigned to you.
• You are not displaying sufficient responsibility and commitment.
• You do not follow the company protocols, procedures, or policies.
• You are making mistakes frequently and neglecting to correct them.
• You are not happy to receive feedback or look for ways to learn and improve.

4. Reliability

When employees are reliable, they meet deadlines with quality work, display a positive attitude with a strong work ethic, are available to assist their team and clients, are careful about making mistakes in their work, and are dependable. The performance review examples below include these.

Outstanding Reliability Performance

• You have been consistent in meeting deadlines and in providing high-quality work.
• You have shown a positive attitude and a strong work ethic.
• You have always shown yourself to be available to assist your colleagues and clients.
• You ensure that you meet a high standard of attention to detail and accuracy in your work.
• You have proven to be a team member who can be relied on and depended upon.

Good Reliability Performance

• You meet deadlines and provide satisfactory work.
• You have shown a positive attitude and a good work ethic.
• You are available when your colleagues or clients require assistance.
• You submit work that is pretty accurate and shows attention to detail.
• You have shown yourself to be a reliable team member.

Average Reliability Performance

• You are not able to deliver work as per expectations and do miss deadlines at times.
• Your attitude and work ethic could be more receptive and enthusiastic.
• You have, at times, assisted your team and clients.
• You have occasionally made errors due to a lack of attention to detail.
• You need to work at being a more reliable team member.

Poor Reliability Performance

• You have missed deadlines frequently and have delivered work of poor quality.
• You do not display a positive attitude and have a poor work ethic.
• You are mostly unavailable when you need to assist clients and colleagues.
• You have shown a consistent lack of attention to detail and make frequent errors.
• You have been an unpredictable and unreliable team member.

6 Performance Review Examples by Job Type (created by HR managers)

Based on the job profile, how performance is reviewed changes. Though the key attributes do stay the same, they are joined by additional parameters unique to the job type, as have been demarcated in the general examples below.

1. For Sales Teams

Sales are primarily target-based, and so a performance review for a sales job profile would need to factor in meeting targets, rapport, acquisition, selling, market analysis, etc.; for which the performance review examples are as follows:

• Consistently meeting targets: You are able to consistently meet your sales targets and even surpass them at times with little or no support.
• Building rapport for furthering business opportunities: Your ability to build rapport with decision-makers and clients helps maintain the brand’s presence where it is needed.
• Successful deal closure: You have been integral in closing complex deals after the negotiation of favorable terms.
• Acquiring new customers: You are enthusiastic about expanding the present customer base through acquiring new customers.
• Retaining present customers: You are able to build upon customer loyalty and provide existing customers with consistent positive brand experiences.
• Dynamic selling: You are enthusiastic and look out for selling opportunities, be it upselling or cross-selling.
• Management of the Sales Pipeline: You effectively manage the sales pipeline and are able to forecast future sales revenue.
• Good knowledge base: You have good product knowledge, which you use to outline the product’s value proposition skillfully.
• Identifying and analyzing market trends: You are proactive about identifying new market opportunities through an analysis of ongoing trends.
• Improving the sales process: You have considerable improved the sales process through an identification of the areas of optimization.

2. For Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare professionals, when reviewed for performance, would have attributes like patient care, bedside manner, and collaboration with staff and colleagues as points to consider during performance reviews, of which the examples are listed below:

• Caring for patients: You are professional and able to show the right amount of care towards your patients to make them feel like individuals.
• Empathy and bedside manner: You show a proper amount of empathy for patients and are able to understand them.
• Problem-solving: You are able to identify medical problems and find a resolution to them.
• Paying attention to detail: You are meticulous when it comes to patient care, and so go through all the details.
• Communication skills: You are good at communicating in a diplomatic yet empathic manner with patients and their families.
• Working with the team: You work well with other healthcare professionals and communicate well with colleagues.
• Time management: You are efficient at time management and can prioritize tasks without supervision.
• Clinical knowledge: You are proficient in clinical knowledge and its related skills.
• Professional attitude: You maintain a professional attitude even in times of crisis.
• Staying up-to-date with recent developments: You are careful about keeping up-to-date with medical advancements and are a fast learner.

3. For Technicians and Engineers

Technical fields prize expertise, innovation, and troubleshooting abilities, and thus, these, along with problem-solving are essential parameters for a performance review along with those listed below:

• Technical skills: You have a good grasp of technical knowledge and skills.
• Problem-solving ability: You are efficient at identifying and resolving technical difficulties.
• Troubleshooting: You can diagnose and resolve technical difficulties accurately.
• Innovative approach: You are able to contribute with innovative improvements and solutions.
• Attention to detail: You are detail-oriented in your approach and task completion.
• Managing time: You manage your time effectively and meet deadlines.
• Working as a team: You collaborate effectively with your colleagues.
• Communicating: You are able to communicate concisely and clearly, even when the information is technical.
• Adaptive approach: You have shown that you are quick to adapt to changes in technology and work environments.
• Adopting a continuous learning curve: You consistently stay current with industry trends and the latest technology.

4. For Customer Service Representatives

Customer service representatives need to have excellent communication skills and problem-solving abilities, as well as empathy and patience. Considering this performance review, examples factoring these and other attributes like product knowledge and active listening have been listed.

• Ability to communicate: You are able to communicate efficiently and effectively to resolve client queries and issues.
• Active listening: You listen actively and contribute relevant information to the client, reinforcing their faith in the company's support.
• Problem-solving skills: You have demonstrated a knack for innovatively solving problems without additional support.
• Professional abilities: You are professional in your approach to resolving client issues.
• Patient listening: You patiently hear the customer’s difficulties and avoid jumping to conclusions.
• Empathic approach: You are empathic and can make customers feel that their pain points matter to you and to the company.
• Knowledge of product: Your thorough knowledge of the product is useful when it comes to selling the product, based on its unique advantages, and even during troubleshooting.
• Managing time effectively: You can manage your time effectively and meet targets.
• Positive attitude: You maintain a positive attitude even when the going gets tough.
• Focus on the customer: You focus on the customer’s problems and follow up to ensure they are sorted as required.

5. For Creative Roles (Writers, Designers)

Employees in creative roles have different performance review parameters, as creativity, originality, audience engagement, and meeting deadlines are all paramount. Below are listed performance review parameters based on this:

• Innovative/Creative: You are able to generate original and innovative ideas.
• Time management: You meet deadlines consistently and submit quality work.
• Pays attention to detail: You pay attention to detail and provide work without errors.
• Can engage the audience: Your content is suited to and engages the target audience.
• Has adaptability: You can adapt to changes in briefs and inculcate feedback.
• Collaborates well: You have good collaboration and interpersonal skills and work well with your colleagues.
• Is a problem solver: You provide creative solutions and identify and solve problems through innovative solutions.
• Good storyteller: Your storytelling skills lead to creating pieces with good audience engagement.
• Able to visually communicate: Your communication skills are excellent, and you are able to effectively communicate through visual means.
• Self-motivator: You can work independently and are able to motivate others and yourself.

6. For Leaders and Managers

Leaders and managers are required to have leadership skills and be able to coach and mentor their teams as needed. They also need to be able to manage their team, have strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, and make decisions and delegate work accordingly. The performance review examples below reflect these points.

• Leadership quality: You are a good leader as you are able to inspire and motivate your team members.
• Team management: You are good at building teams that are high-performing with strong morale.
• Strategy-based thinking: You have demonstrated yourself to be an effective strategist, whether it be building or developing the same.
• Quick decision-making: You are quick at making effective and sound decisions.
• Task delegation: You are able to delegate tasks based on the capability of team members in an effective and empowering manner.
• Communication abilities: You have demonstrated concise and effective communication with colleagues and clients.
• Quick problem-solving: You solve complex problems quickly and are able to identify potential issues.
• Adaptability to change: You are able to adapt to challenges and change with grace.
• Mentoring and coaching skills: You share knowledge and skills with your colleagues and do not hesitate to coach or mentor them proactively.
• Performance management: You independently can set clear expectations based on workload and ensure you provide regular feedback on the same.

What are Performance Reviews?

Performance reviews are a form of evaluation that can be formal or informal. They evaluate an employee's work performance and are integral to employee and organizational growth.

To be effective, a performance review needs to fulfill 5 primary purposes as listed under:

1. Aligning with the individual’s and organization’s goals: A performance review must provide 360-degree feedback and be aligned with an individual’s professional aspirations and goals.
2. Providing a means for constructive feedback: Performance reviews provide constructive and continuous feedback, which helps employees identify their strengths and how they can further improve in their job roles for better professional growth.
3. Facilitating employee growth and development: When employees' strengths and weaknesses are known, arranging additional training to meet employee development needs is easier.
4. Fosters healthy workplace culture: Effective performance reviews focus on creating an environment of positive feedback through conversations with employees that build the foundation for transparency, trust, and open communication between employees and managers.
5. Being a structured follow-up mechanism: Performance evaluations that are followed up upon help in the continuous improvement of employees, as they form a check and balance system where employees are motivated towards making positive changes.

While employee performance improvement is the most easily noticeable outcome of a suitable performance review mechanism, performance reviews have other benefits. Let’s get to those now!

Benefits of Effective Performance Reviews

Apart from their positive effects on employees' personal and career development, effective performance reviews indirectly affect an organization’s performance through these 7 factors:

1. Encourages growth and development: Unlike annual performance reviews, frequent and structured performance reviews help employees set performance goals, as specific feedback is more suited to gauging individual strengths and weaknesses. This allows employees to grow as individuals while meeting organizational goals.
2. Builds a culture of feedback: Performance reviews are a proactive approach to creating a positive and transparent workplace environment, as feedback is then taken positively and considered a means of improvement.
3. Identifies strengths and weaknesses: Job performance reviews improve how employees approach their jobs, as managers and employees can better understand strengths and areas for improvement.
4. Aligns individual goals with organizational objectives: Proper performance reviews make it easier to see that employees favor team collaboration and organizational objectives without sacrificing their aspirations.
5. Enhances communication: With a regular list of performance reviews, employees, and managers are better able to communicate and work together on employees' strengths and weaknesses so that they can better meet targets and fulfill their personal goals.
6. Boosts employee engagement and retention: Employee motivation and engagement depend on an employee’s feeling valued, supported, and recognized. When there is a structured review period, employees know what to expect for their efforts, which helps build loyalty.
7. Establishes transparency in goal setting and achievement: Employees need to feel heard and assisted, and so transparency is created through performance review management. Employees who are clear on their goals can better show strong commitment and align themselves with the organization’s goals.

While the benefits of performance reviews cannot be denied, not all reviews need to be formal ones, nor is it mandatory to only have annual reviews. To best know what is in the offing, it makes sense to have a fair idea of the types of performance reviews as have been listed below.

5 Types of Performance Reviews

From formal reviews to self-assessments, here is a comprehensive list of the 5 types of performance reviews so that you can alternate your method of feedback.

1. Formal Reviews: Formal reviews are structured and focused feedback oriented sessions which are scheduled to occur semi-annually or annually. Examples of these are annual and mid-year performance reviews.
2. Informal Reviews: Informal reviews are less structured and more like check-ins or ongoing conversations. These reviews are more frequents as they are like regular one-to-one meetings or feedback sessions that are impromptu. Weekly meetings are a good example.
3. Self-Assessment Reviews: When employees are given a chance to introspect with the goal of doing a self-assessment, it not only encourages employees to take time out and consider their performance but also, find their strengths and weaknesses. Through self-assessment reviews, employees can identify areas of improvement themselves, which makes it easier to take feedback from managers.
4. Peer Reviews: Feedback from peers helps in gauging collaboration skills and how others perceive an employee. This helps in creating a well-rounded review.
5. Follow-up Reviews: While structured and unstructured reviews are important, followups are needed so that there is practical application of feedback conversations is done.

While using various performance review types adds diversity to the feedback collected, there are some key components that need to be kept in mind so that performance reviews are effective.

5 Key Components of Effective Performance Reviews

Merely having employee performance reviews is not enough. As per McKinsley Company when not done effectively, performance reviews can be seen to be a hindrance to professional development. That is why the performance review phrases used need to be situation-specific, while opportunities for growth need to be supported. Effective performance reviews have these 5 key components in common:

1. Preparation and goal-setting: This needs to be done by both the employee and the manager. Employees have to reflect on their performance, note down their prime accomplishments, and set goals that are realistic. Managers, on the other hand, have to review employee work data and have examples ready to support the feedback given. It is important that both must have the specifics ready with data to support their views.
2. Clear and actionable feedback: Feedback has to be specific, as its being vague is of no benefit. Actionable feedback is what employees appreciate as it guides them as to what is to be done, is achievable and furthers their career goals. From the organizational perspective, actionable feedback works well for the company too, as tangible outcomes can be achieved.
3. Recognition of achievements: When the achievement of employees is highlighted, they not only feel motivated, but also feel enthused to do better. Through the acknowledgement and celebration of employee successes, employees are morally bolstered towards achieving even better.
4. Opportunities for improvement: Improvement is what performance reviews want to bring about, and so when employees are given clarity on where they need to improve with specific guidance and suggestions, it makes it easier for them to do so. A performance review is not a ground for criticism, but critique (constructive criticism) where the focus is on development and growth.
5. Open-ended questions for discussion: Through open-ended performance conversations, there is better collaboration and more transparency between managers and employees. Through open-ended questions, employees can elaborate upon their experience, challenges, and difficulties. By providing suggestions and support, managers can help employees achieve their career goals better, in turn supporting the organization’s goals too.

Apart from these 5 key components, performance reviews are made more effective through well-structured follow-up plans. Through follow-up plans, action plans can be built highlighting specific steps, assignment of responsibilities, timelines, and areas where improvement is required and what goals stand to be achieved. This process can be further streamlined and made easier through the use of performance review systems and tools.

5 Tools and Platforms for Managing Performance Reviews (preferred by industry experts)

Through the use of tools and platforms, HR professionals and managers can make better sense of the employee data they already have, collect and need to analyze as the process is automated. Here are 5 tools and platforms for managing performance reviews that help make the complicated process of managing performance reviews easier.

1. BambooHR: BambooHR simplifies the performance review process through three segments; manager and self-assessments, peer feedback, and goals. Assessments consist of 4 pre-defined objective questions (with 3 custom questions) so that can save time. The best part is the objectivity and the fact that the question set keeps managers, employees, and peers away from being subjectively hung up on how a person is rather than how their performance is.
2. Lattice: Lattice provides an intuitive dashboard for employees so that they can view their agenda, tasks from the previous meeting and view action items along with goals and growth areas. Managers can view how their team is doing overall and also individually, as well as growth areas, which assists in making the most of review meetings.
3. Leapsome: Leapsome provides managers with review templates and timelines that can be reused. It provides employees with the option to write a self-assessment to get direct feedback from their manager. Peer feedback too is an option for a comprehensive approach.
4. PerformYard: PerformYard prides itself on being a flexible performance management software that automates the process of review analytics. Based on the data collected, it sends employees their individual performance report. It also stores the data so that it is accessible to managers so that they can see how engaged employees are and what their past cycles of performance are to check trends.
5. 15five: 15five saves the HR team from getting lost in a maze of employee data through an Outcomes Dashboard that reflects data of employee performance, the impact of managers, and employee engagement and employee retention scores. Based on this, strategic action plans can be made with a reflection on the outcome expected as well.

While using tools and platforms is a great way to make the best out of all the employee data available, it is one of the many things that aid in making performance reviews effective. At times, even with the best intentions, managers tend to make a few common mistakes and these reduce the positive outcomes of a performance review. Let’s get to what to avoid now.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Performance Reviews

While performance reviews are positive for employee aspirations and career growth, in order for the review to benefit the organization and individual, 5 common mistakes must be considered and are listed below:

1. Being too vague or generic in the feedback process: When feedback is unclear, employees are unsure about what actionable steps can be taken, which leaves them demotivated and confused. By giving specific examples, employees can better understand what should be emulated.
2. Focusing only on weaknesses: Employees are demoralized when only their faults are noticed and too little mention is made of their accomplishments. For constructive criticism, it is vital that strengths and targets met are praised so that employees do not get discouraged.
3. Ignoring employee input during the review: Considering that the performance review most affects the employee, by not being heard during the review, an employee will feel undervalued. Employee concerns and feedback are as significant as those of the manager when it comes to the effectiveness of the review process.
4. Failing to set actionable next steps: Employees need some guidance as to what they should achieve to align with the company’s vision, but these need to be actionable as clear action plans awaken the analytical skills of employees.
5. Not setting up follow-ups: Follow-ups are needed, so employees know what to do with the feedback they receive. With regular follow-ups, employees are made aware of where they stand and also appreciated for the ground they have covered.

By setting up performance reviews keeping these common mistakes in mind, it is easier to create an environment where employees appreciate, value, and trust the results of performance reviews without fear of favor or bias.