There are many reasons leaders don’t feel comfortable or confident running employee appraisals. Maybe they’ve never received training on communicating feedback effectively, or they’re first-time managers who are new to the experience and don’t know exactly what a good example of a performance review looks like. Show
But here’s the thing: three in four employees want more constructive feedback and feel dissatisfied with their organization’s review process.* They expect managers to be able to run effective reviews that celebrate their successes, help them build their skills, and support their growth. Developing a strong review process that’s effective for managers and employees alike can help you create a thriving feedback culture in your organization. By making regular, constructive communication a cornerstone of your operations, you can encourage teams to value and welcome each other’s input. HR can lead the movement by setting up effective and regular review cycles and giving managers guidance on running them. To help you get started, we’ve created this list of performance review examples you can use to motivate and inspire your teams. *Leapsome Workforce Trends Report, 2023 ❗Ensure your performance reviews make a real difference Why it’s important to get performance review phrases rightUsing the right review phrases is essential to delivering actionable feedback. Employees need to walk away from appraisals knowing how to leverage their strengths and address areas of growth. The best performance evaluation phrases take a fair, kind approach to pointing out concrete areas where people to improve. You’re more likely to see good results if you pair constructive employee feedback with clear next steps. Great appraisal phrases also acknowledge good performance. If you can cite a specific scenario where an employee performed well or embodied a company value, people will know which behavior to repeat. For example, since taking ownership is one of our company values at Leapsome, we might praise a team member who volunteered for a challenging project and saw it through from beginning to end. Evaluation wording even contributes to business success. When reviews hit the mark, employees are 63% less likely to leave your company. Indeed, 17% of candidates say insufficient feedback is the main reason they’re looking for another job. 🧤 Make your software fit your employees — not the other way around How to use our different performance review examplesOur sample performance review comments are a great starting point. Managers can use them to get started and can also tailor these to suit your unique company culture. Making the comments authentic is essential: employees are up to eight times more likely to see how to improve when they receive feedback that’s honest and true to organizational values. Using people enablement software like Leapsome can help you streamline the process. Our Reviews module not only automates cycles but gives you access to aggregated data and notes so managers have all the previous information to draw on during the review. Leapsome’s AI tools can also help reviewers quickly and easily turn their ideas into constructive comments with action plans. This means reviewers can put their focus where it should be — on giving fair, honest, and personal feedback. Leapsome’s performance review tool saves time with automated review cycles and easy-to-understand analytics In this section, we’ll break down the different types of performance reviews, some key best practices, and how to tweak our performance review examples to fit your organizational context. Performance reviews for employeesDuring one-on-one meetings, managers should focus on individual performance and whether reports are achieving their goals. It’s also an opportunity for them to discuss how the employee’s role ties into the bigger picture at your organization. When using metrics to assess performance, it’s important to make sure reviewers stick to discussing KPIs that their report can directly influence so they know what next steps to take. For example, you might measure progress on something like client satisfaction ratings, value added to the client, and how many successful project deadlines your report has met. You should also take business size into account in performance evaluation wording. In a small company, managers are more likely to work directly alongside reports and have close relationships with them. They may wish to take a more informal — though still professional — approach to appraisals that reflects the tight-knit nature of the team. Performance reviews for teamsWith team appraisals, managers emphasize collective goals. They can still touch on performance data but ensure they’re related to group skills like collaboration or wider team KPIs. These metrics are likely to be industry-specific as, for example, tech companies would prioritize project milestones or measurable business metrics. Reviews can also mention obstacles the department has faced and how successfully they overcame them. A good team evaluation example might be: “Despite the major supply chain disruption, you all worked together to restructure the workflow and establish new vendors. Your great work meant there were no interruptions to our service.” One challenge of team reviews is accounting for different roles and working arrangements. For instance, feedback for remote workers may not apply in exactly the same way to in-office employees. Managers should acknowledge these discrepancies and consider segmenting some review sessions. Performance reviews for leadersIn manager appraisals, team leaders are assessed on their ability to lead their teams and collaborate with other departments. If you have a small team, managers are more likely to be both team leaders and key decision makers. You can emphasize hands-on leadership and direct involvement in projects, alongside their ability to perform multiple functions and their strategic skills. In larger companies, where they’re more likely to be focussed on management, comments might focus on consistency and delegation. Likewise, feedback may differ depending on whether managers have hybrid or remote teams. A good manager appraisal example for a remote team might include comments on their ability to keep employees engaged from afar and use digital tools effectively. Collecting employee feedback on performance reviews for managers helps you conduct a well-rounded evaluation. Performance management software like Leapsome can guarantee anonymity and help you generate actionable insights from the team’s input. Monthly and quarterly performance reviewsRegular, short-interval appraisals should focus on short-term goals, ongoing projects, and immediate needs. If reviewers look too hard at overall performance, which is unlikely to change significantly between months, they won’t be able to provide meaningful feedback and review meetings may feel repetitive. Reviewers can still consider the big picture by tracking progress in the employee’s performance over time. Their monthly or quarterly check-in comments could cover whether team members are becoming more efficient or effective at specific tasks or projects. Leapsome’s HR analytics features allow you to measure and track performance metrics and even qualitative review feedback. You can visualize trends in ratings for skills you define like time management or creativity. Then, when you’re considering team performance, you can filter by department or roles. 🧠 No need to spend your team’s energy on crunching numbers Annual and semiannual performance reviewsWhile regular reviews can look at day-to-day progress, mid-year and year-end reviews can take a wider perspective. Annual and semiannual performance review examples usually involve managers discussing each report’s long-term goals and role within the organization, as well as their performance over the year. Annual review comments can also touch on any progress the employee made since the previous review. For example, a manager might measure how close reports are to meeting their objectives, compared to the previous year. Small companies are more likely to have team members perform multiple roles. These yearly review comments could focus on how well they’re balancing different responsibilities. If your organization is growing, and the employee’s duties are shifting, the appraisal could discuss how successfully they’ve adapted to the changes and whether they need any support to grow and develop in their role. Framing positive and constructive performance feedbackFeedback is one of the most important elements of a performance review. A 360° performance assessment feedback format will let you gather input from different sources. That means including not only the manager’s point of view, but also self-assessments, peer reviews, and the opinions of the reviewee’s direct reports or mentees. Make sure everyone involved knows to include a balance of both positive and constructive feedback. 💡 Tip to follow as you run performance review cycles: Be transparent and thoughtful about any correlation between compensation and performance, and make sure you’re not relying only on specific development goals as a single source of truth in your reviews. A holistic approach is best. It’s important to be focused and targeted with your feedback. The truth is that an incredibly generic piece of feedback like “you should be more communicative” lacks specificity and will leave employees wondering what they’re supposed to do next. Constructive feedback is about striking a balance between being too direct and being so vague that the person on the other end doesn’t understand the message and how to improve. Here are a few concrete feedback examples we recommend checking out to guide you in your performance appraisal: For example, when conducting a performance appraisal, you might say, “Your new sales technique really helped the team meet the targets. Thanks for sharing your idea with us and keep up the great work.” If you need to deliver constructive criticism, you could try, “I suggest you give yourself two chances to solve a problem by yourself and then come to us for guidance.” Examples of positive employee review comments
Examples of constructive employee review comments
135 examples of performance review phrases by skillIf managers are new to writing performance reviews, or could benefit from a different approach, you can use our samples to guide them. We’ve compiled 135 effective employee evaluation example phrases across different skills. All reviewers need to do is adapt and individualize them according to the context. 🪚 Shape reviews to your business and employee needs Leapsome offers in-depth customizations and expert-backed review templates for all occasions, from 360° reviews to anonymous leadership assessments. 👉 Book a demo CommunicationClear, effective communication is crucial for a team to thrive. It’s important for managers to highlight employees’ communication skills, and determine whether they’re facilitating team efficiency or whether they could improve. As communication is closely tied to general social skills, it’s essential to avoid giving feedback about the employee’s personality. You don’t want to suggest the employee is either unfriendly or too talkative. Here are some samples of performance review comments that focus solely on job-related communication. Positive
Constructive
Creative ideas & innovationCompanies need creative ideas and innovation from employees across all levels and roles, to face the challenges of a constantly changing world of work. While creativity is essential for any job, some roles might require an extra emphasis on this skill. For example, managers might want to especially focus performance review comments on innovation capabilities for roles like product designers. Employees in more technical roles like data analysts and engineers may require some extra explanation to see how this skill applies to their work. Positive
Constructive
Adding concrete examples to personalize appraisals can show employees their manager has noticed their work and values their contributions Time managementAlthough companies have largely moved away from overemphasizing rigid schedules and in-person attendance with remote and hybrid work, time management and punctuality remain important values to encourage in employees. Here are some examples of performance evaluation comments that reflect the new organizational skills that modern workforces require. Positive
Constructive
Attitude & dependabilityThe way team members think and feel about their work guides their actions. If they see the value of their contributions, employees are more likely to take ownership and have a positive influence on their peers. Have managers try these performance evaluation examples when evaluating reports on how their behavior impacts others in the workplace. Positive
Constructive
AdaptabilityAdaptability means more than a willingness to learn new things or work across different departments. It also means a team member knows how to pivot priorities when needed. New hires may not have developed an instinct for problem-solving in your specific context yet. In these reviews, managers can use our evaluation phrases focused on learning from others and seeking collaboration opportunities. Positive
Constructive
Appraisals can impact the reviewee’s team if they receive constructive feedback about how to work alongside others Interpersonal skills & teamworkA team filled with different types of people and working styles can be a great asset for leadership and the company as a whole — as long as they work well together. As with communication, make sure that managers avoid phrasing around interpersonal skills that judges somebody’s personality directly. You should make them aware of loaded adjectives as well. Research shows that language bias remains an issue when describing soft skills — for example, women are twice as likely to be described as ‘helpful’ whereas men are more likely to be called “confident”. Positive
Constructive
LeadershipThese performance review example comments focus on the qualities and skills needed by effective leaders. A good manager nurtures leadership within their team, encouraging employees to take the initiative to start projects, ask questions, and mentor others. It may also be appropriate to use some of these management performance review phrases in employee appraisals, too, if they’ve shown leadership skills — perhaps they’ve led a project or mentored a less experienced employee. Positive
Constructive
Comments about leadership skills aren’t just for managers — encourage employees to cultivate them, too Performance & work qualityIt’s important that performance phrases for quality of work help employees understand how their work affects the rest of the team and company results. As well as the following performance review example comments, you can give team members concrete illustrations of where their efforts have helped you meet targets. Positive
Constructive
Coachability & competency developmentResearch shows that career progression is the next most important priority for employees after compensation, so it’s important for team members to understand their progress and potential to develop along their chosen path. Review phrases on coachability and development should focus on how well employees engage with feedback and actively strive to learn the skills they need. Positive
Constructive
PlanningEmployees’ organizational and planning skills impact the rest of their team. Combine these feedback phrases with clear examples of the positive impact of their strong organizational skills, and/or the knock-on effect it has when they don’t focus on organization and planning. For instance, did a last-minute request for a deadline extension cause issues with a client or stress for the rest of the team? Positive
Constructive
Drive and motivationYou want your employees to get real purpose from their work. The following phrases for feedback flag when a report is demotivated or takes an instrumental attitude toward their work which affects their performance. That’s the first step to finding out why and seeking to restore their motivation. Positive
Constructive
Goal-settingSetting realistic yet ambitious objectives helps employees stay motivated. If goals are too easy, they won’t find their tasks engaging, but it’s important to strike a balance as overly difficult — or impossible — objectives are dispiriting. Managers can use these comments, and explain how their reports’ goals align with the overarching business strategy. Positive
Constructive
Improve employee performance reviews with LeapsomeWe’ve curated these 135 phrases as a starting point. Once you’ve tailored them to your unique employee needs, they can serve as a guide for your entire company. But you don’t need to start from scratch or bury yourself in paperwork and multiple tools to run effective performance reviews. Even if your company doesn’t have a refined review process yet, Leapsome has powerful, intuitive, and time-saving Reviews tools. You can access expert-backed, customizable review templates, set up automated review cycles, and easily track development across specific skills and performance markers. Managers can effortlessly turn thoughts into clear feedback and action plans with Leapsome's AI-powered review tools. Leapsome’s AI innovations make the review process even more efficient by generating intelligent feedback summaries, constructive comments, and actionable insights. With the help of Leapsome, people teams and managers can focus their reviews on helping employees to reach their full potential. 🍇 Get your whole team hungry for feedback |