How to Write a Performance Review (With Sample Comments)
The performance review process is something most people dread – employees and managers alike. Employees find it daunting to be evaluated, while managers think it is a burden on their time.
Nevertheless, such evaluations do indeed work. Effective performance reviews increase an organization's chances of meeting its financial goals by 30% and are also three times as likely to manage change successfully.
The Purpose of Performance Reviews
When done right, performance reviews enable employees to give valuable feedback to the company, as well as move their career development forward. Additionally, managers can give actionable appraisals to their direct reports. This can boost employee engagement, offer powerful encouragement and reward, and build concrete, accountable avenues for growth.
Furthermore, performance reviews align an employee’s role and responsibilities with the organization's overarching goals. In contrast to simply asking them to follow instructions, this helps employees in understanding how their work matters to the company. This gives employees the impression that they are important members of a bigger team rather than just a cog in the machine.
Writing a Performance Review (Example Comments Included)
When it comes to the performance review itself, managers need to make clear the standards by which the review will be conducted. Importantly, performance reviews are not a one-way street – managers need to listen to employees as well to strengthen and improve effectively.
In addition, knowing what comments to give on the performance review can motivate employees to do better and improve on their weaknesses.
Here are some example positive comments that you can use as a manager:
- Shows a great understanding of the product and the company’s mission.
- Completes all deliverables in a timely manner.
- Produces high-quality work with attention to detail.
- Consistently delivers great results that the team can rely on.
- Takes ownership and accountability for his/her work.
- Has strong communication skills, which can express ideas effectively.
- Demonstrates the ability to actively listen and understand the perspectives of others.
- Has great teamwork spirit and helps out wherever possible.
- Works well with colleagues from other departments.
- Demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness when solving problems.
- Makes decisions based on objective facts and careful analysis.
On the other hand, negative feedback should not be a criticism of the employee. Instead, it should be constructive and targeted towards improvement.
Here are some constructive comments that you can use. Note that these are the opposite of the positive comments above:
- Needs to work on their product knowledge.
- Needs improvement in planning work to be able to meet deadlines.
- Needs to review the key requirements of the job to understand the quality of work expected.
- His/her output requires rework and revision by colleagues.
- Struggles with ownership of his/her work, instead constantly delegates it to other colleagues.
- Needs to work on communication skills to avoid being misinterpreted.
- Can improve listening skills to take into account other points of view.
- Is great at doing individual work, but can benefit from collaboration with colleagues.
- Has a tendency to ‘silo’ work within his/her own department.
- Tends to treat problems inflexibly and with difficulty.
- Has difficulty analyzing and collecting information before making a decision.
Whether the feedback is positive or negative, these comments are not the end of the conversation. Instead, they should be the starting point for a fruitful collaboration. While no employee is perfect, we can always seek out improvement.
Own Performance Reviews with BrioHR
The performance appraisal cycle can seem like a chore, but it is crucial for employee engagement.
BrioHR’s performance management module helps you design your performance management process. Whether you prefer regular check-ins or yearly performance reviews, you can define performance appraisal frequency, foster 1-on-1 coaching discussions between employees and managers, as well as collect 360° feedback on how your company can be a better place to work.
With a secure, scalable, user-friendly platform, BrioHR covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.
This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.
Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.
The performance review process is something most people dread – employees and managers alike. Employees find it daunting to be evaluated, while managers think it is a burden on their time.
Nevertheless, such evaluations do indeed work. Effective performance reviews increase an organization’s chances of meeting its financial goals by 30% and are also three times as likely to manage change successfully.
The Purpose of Performance Reviews
When done right, performance reviews enable employees to give valuable feedback to the company, as well as move their career development forward. Additionally, managers can give actionable appraisals to their direct reports. This can boost employee engagement, offer powerful encouragement and reward, and build concrete, accountable avenues for growth.
Furthermore, performance reviews align an employee’s role and responsibilities with the organization’s overarching goals. In contrast to simply asking them to follow instructions, this helps employees in understanding how their work matters to the company. This gives employees the impression that they are important members of a bigger team rather than just a cog in the machine.
Writing a Performance Review (Example Comments Included)
When it comes to the performance review itself, managers need to make clear the standards by which the review will be conducted. Importantly, performance reviews are not a one-way street – managers need to listen to employees as well to strengthen and improve effectively.
In addition, knowing what comments to give on the performance review can motivate employees to do better and improve on their weaknesses.
Here are some example positive comments that you can use as a manager:
- Shows a great understanding of the product and the company’s mission.
- Completes all deliverables in a timely manner.
- Produces high-quality work with attention to detail.
- Consistently delivers great results that the team can rely on.
- Takes ownership and accountability for his/her work.
- Has strong communication skills, which can express ideas effectively.
- Demonstrates the ability to actively listen and understand the perspectives of others.
- Has great teamwork spirit and helps out wherever possible.
- Works well with colleagues from other departments.
- Demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness when solving problems.
- Makes decisions based on objective facts and careful analysis.
On the other hand, negative feedback should not be a criticism of the employee. Instead, it should be constructive and targeted towards improvement.
Here are some constructive comments that you can use. Note that these are the opposite of the positive comments above:
- Needs to work on their product knowledge.
- Needs improvement in planning work to be able to meet deadlines.
- Needs to review the key requirements of the job to understand the quality of work expected.
- His/her output requires rework and revision by colleagues.
- Struggles with ownership of his/her work, instead constantly delegates it to other colleagues.
- Needs to work on communication skills to avoid being misinterpreted.
- Can improve listening skills to take into account other points of view.
- Is great at doing individual work, but can benefit from collaboration with colleagues.
- Has a tendency to ‘silo’ work within his/her own department.
- Tends to treat problems inflexibly and with difficulty.
- Has difficulty analyzing and collecting information before making a decision.
Whether the feedback is positive or negative, these comments are not the end of the conversation. Instead, they should be the starting point for a fruitful collaboration. While no employee is perfect, we can always seek out improvement.
Own Performance Reviews with BrioHR
The performance appraisal cycle can seem like a chore, but it is crucial for employee engagement.
BrioHR’s performance management module helps you design your performance management process. Whether you prefer regular check-ins or yearly performance reviews, you can define performance appraisal frequency, foster 1-on-1 coaching discussions between employees and managers, as well as collect 360° feedback on how your company can be a better place to work.
With a secure, scalable, user-friendly platform, BrioHR covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.
This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.
Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.
