100 Performance Appraisal Comments For Your Next Performance Review

Conducting performance reviews can be tricky, especially for managers. Sometimes there's a vast difference between what they say and what they want to convey. To improve this, it's important that employers must practice the art of delivering constructive performance appraisal comments.

In fact:

1. One in five employees isn't confident that their managers will provide regular, constructive feedback.

2. 68% of employees who receive accurate and consistent feedback feel fulfilled in their jobs. (Source- Clutch)

A wholesome appraisal process will consist of both positive and negative appraisal comments. Therefore, understand appraisals as a program where you have to find faults or only praise someone. Instead, conduct feedback that gives employees an overall understanding of where they can improve and excel.

Furthermore, conduct your reviews in a regular and timely fashion.

65 percent of employees say they want more feedback, but nobody is giving it to them.

Regular appraisal and evaluation of an employee’s performance can help them get clarity of their actions. In addition, it will also direct them towards the areas where they need to improve. In short, effective review phrases can improve an employee’s performance and help them progress.

Examples Of Performance Appraisal Comments

So, how should a manager comment on the performance appraisal process? Here are some sample employee evaluation comments that you can refer to while conducting the next appraisal review.

1) Attendance

Punctuality is one of the strongest virtues an employee can possess. They must arrive on time, take the designated time breaks to ensure efficiency and productivity.

However, you can't ignore that attendance is one of the touchiest topics, and employees don't like to discuss coming late or the reasons for exceeding their lunch breaks. But, if conducted properly, attendance appraisal processes can prove to be very useful.

POSITIVE

a. “You always come in on time, follow your schedule and adhere to your designated lunch break time.”
b. “She meets all company standards for attendance and punctuality.”
c. “You schedule your time off in advance and can be relied upon for completing your tasks on time.”
d. “He replies to emails and calls in time.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “He takes too many personal calls in a day.”
b. “You repeatedly exceed your lunch break time that interferes with your work schedule.”
c. “You often come late to the office, causing scheduled meetings to start late. It also affects others’ schedules. You need to keep up with your schedule so your coworkers can keep up with theirs too.”

Managers are often confused about how to conduct a performance review, and as if things weren't bad enough, performance reviews are highly inefficient. To help you in this drilling process, here's our detailed analysis on Performance Reviews and How to get them Right!

2) Innovation and Creativity

Creativity and the free exchange of ideas can only flow when employees have a healthy work environment. But interpersonal conflicts and strict hierarchical work culture can hinder an employee from expressing freely. As a manager, it is your responsibility to appreciate employees who help foster a creative environment and approach employees who have trouble doing so.

Here are a few employee performance appraisal comments to stir innovation and creativity:

POSITIVE

a. “You often find new and innovative solutions to a problem.”
b. “She has a knack for thinking outside the box.”
c. “His creative skills are an asset to the team.”
d. “You have a unique imagination and have come up with some of the most creative ideas we’ve ever seen.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “You tend to avoid projects that require creative thinking.”
b. “He likes to take a traditional and risk-averse approach to things over a creative one.”
c. “You do not encourage your team to find creative solutions.”
d. “You are too afraid of taking risks on a creative solution.”
e. “Your approach to problems is often rigid and conventional.”

3) Leadership

Employees in managerial positions are people who are always looking after others, i.e., their team members. They are constantly guiding others to progress and advance. However, they need guidance to reach their goals too. Managers who receive feedback on their strengths are 8.9% more productive. They are more effective and profitable post-intervention.

Here are some critical appraisal comments for leaders and managers.

POSITIVE

a. “You effectively manage your team and conduct specific exercises to strengthen the team.”
b. “You are fair and treat every employee in your team equally and respectfully.”
c. “She provides employees with the resources and training required to fulfill a responsibility.”
d. “You hold employees responsible for their performance.”
e. “He maintains a culture of transparency and knowledge-sharing across all levels in your department.”
f. “You communicate openly with your team.”
g. “You acknowledge accomplishments and recognize employees fairly.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “You are biased and favor some employees more than others in your team.”
b. “You get frustrated with new hires easily and don’t coach them properly.”
c. “He provides no recognition to a team member’s effort and hard work.”
d. “You can’t explain the goals and objectives of a task clearly to an employee.”
e. “She often creates a communication gap and withholds information from her subordinates.”
f. “You fail to delegate tasks effectively and fairly among your team.”

4) Communication Skills

Communication is one of the core functions of dynamic work culture. Clear communication makes employees comfortable with each other, makes sharing and exchanging ideas more frequent. It also bridges the gap between departments and makes everyone more productive. Effective teams can only be built when team members communicate with each other honestly and clearly.

Communication appraisal comments, if delivered correctly, can greatly improve an employee's communication skills.

POSITIVE

a. “You are spoken highly of by your peers because of your ability to build good relationships.”
b. "Your communication skills are great, and you can make others understand your point clearly."
c. “She is precise in giving out directions and effectively communicates what she expects from her team members.”
d. “Your willingness to listen to others and understand their point of view is highly appreciated by your peers.”
e. “You are adept at communicating difficult messages and decisions skillfully.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “You fail to communicate with your peers effectively, and this is causing a lot of misunderstanding within the team.”
b. “Your direct and impersonal approach to handling discussions is ineffective in boosting the morale of those around you.”
c. “You need improvement in replying to emails promptly.”
d. “You humiliate peers on a regular basis.”
e. “He interrupts others in discussions and important meetings.”

Related: The 10 Secrets to Strong Communication Skills in the Workplace

5) Collaboration and Teamwork

Collaboration drives results. When teams work together, they can reach solutions faster. They brainstorm ideas in order to arrive at a decision and generate these ideas together. In order to ensure collaboration, you need a healthy team environment. But not all employees are natural-born team players. But with appraisal comments, you can help employees overcome their personal conflicts and contribute to the team.

POSITIVE

a. “You are a great team player. Your team members respect and appreciate you.”
b. “You can be relied upon by team members.”
c. “He works to be the best for the team and not be the best of the team.”
d. “You support others in fulfilling their tasks and are always ready to help others.”
e. “You respect others and give everyone equal opportunities to express their opinions.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “You are inconsiderate towards’ others’ opinions and ideas.”
b. “She tries to take credit for the work done by her team.”
c. “You try to use your seniority to dominate your team members.”
d. “He rarely comes up with concrete solutions that will help the team complete the project.”
e. “You exceed expectations when working solo, but you seem to have trouble expressing ideas and opinions in a team.”

6) Time Management

In corporates, both big and small, where pressure is insurmountable, employees often have a hard time finishing work in time. They are unable to delegate and prioritize tasks. Time management appraisal comments can enable you to appreciate the ones who are managing effectively. Similarly, it gives you a way to encourage those who aren't being able to manage their time.

POSITIVE

a. “You deliver urgent work without compromising on the details.”
b. “You always meet your deadlines and make the best use of your time.”
c. “She expertly prioritizes work without getting tangled in endless details.”
d. “You exceeded our expectations by delivering more than assigned work despite the tight schedule.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “You constantly push deadlines and fail to deliver on time.”
b. “You are usually unable to calculate the time required to complete a task and therefore end up missing deadlines.”
c. “She lacks a sense of urgency.”
d. You have started delivering low-quality work just to finish your work on time."

7) Customer Experience

Customer focus and customer service is the key to building everlasting relationships with customers. Therefore, employees need to acquire skills that will help foster an enriching customer experience.

To improve customer experience in your organization, you can refer to these performance review comments:

POSITIVE

a. “He works well with all types of clients.”
b. “Clients usually seek your guidance and expertise.”
c. “You are honest and always admit when you don’t have the knowledge about something.”
d. “You regularly follow up with existing and new clients to make sure they feel valued and reminded about us.”

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. “She delays her responses to clients without giving them any reason for her delay.”
b. “You need to tailor your customer service to suit individual customers’ needs. You ought to provide a diverse customer experience.”

8) Problem Solving

A much-required skill, its importance becomes more prevalent among higher authority employees. Problem-solving is the “skill of defining a problem to determine its cause, identify it, prioritize and select alternative solutions to implement in solving the problems and reviving relationships.”

POSITIVE

a. "You are very articulate and explain your ideas and opinions clearly, leaving no room for miscommunication."
b. "He gathers all the necessary facts and information before finding a solution to a problem."
c. "Your best quality is that when faced with a problem, you listen first, take into account everything and then try to come up with a solution."
d. "She always comes up with unique yet practical solutions."

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. "You need to be more assertive and decisive when giving out directions."
b. "He is always hurrying in making his decisions without taking into account the full details of the problem."
c. "You should collaborate with others more to come up with solutions together."

9) Work-Ethics

An employee’s work ethic involves everything from coming in time, working diligently, being honest to respecting everyone in the workplace. By analyzing an employee's ethics and morals assists in preventing the spread of demotivating and inappropriate workplace behavior.

POSITIVE

a. "You are respectful and fair towards everyone in the organization."
b. "He is regarded as highly credible by those working with him."
c. "She is very punctual and understands the value of others’ time. She is never late to a meeting."
d. "You have portrayed exemplary behavior in all aspects of work."
e. "You abide by the company’s rules and policies."

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. "He sets integrity aside when pursuing his goals."
b. "Your behavior towards colleagues isn't appropriate."
c. "She is unresponsive to employees’ concerns regarding unfair treatment."
d. "You play favorites and are biased in your judgments."
e. "He doesn’t take into account other people’s opinions when making important decisions."

10) Productivity

The quality and quantity of work put in by an employee against the expectations set by the employer is the measurement of his/her productivity.

POSITIVE

a. "You have displayed a highly consistent level of performance in your work."
b. "She is always seeking opportunities to be more productive."
c. "Your positive attitude to your work encourages others to perform well too."
d. "She is a detail-oriented individual, which reflects positively in her work."
e. "He shares his knowledge of industry trends and best practices to achieve enhanced outcomes in his job."

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. "Your work doesn’t comply with the required output standards."
b. "You should take up more training and development courses to enhance your skills and knowledge."
c. "The quality of your work has been unsatisfactory lately."
d. "He needs to focus more on the details and nitty-gritty before handing over a project."
e. "Instead of completing the urgent assignments first, she does the easier ones and puts off the urgent ones."

11) Interpersonal Skills

While interpersonal skills come naturally to some people, for others, they can be cultivated with experience and knowledge. Investopedia defines interpersonal skills as "an employee's ability to work well with others while performing their job." These skills can range from communication, basic etiquette to active listening. In other words, it's the qualities and behavior people use while interacting with others.

POSITIVE

a. "You communicate your ideas and vision clearly so others can understand it easily and quickly."
b. "He appreciates the efforts taken by others to achieve a target and encourages them to be better."
c. "Even when disagreeing with others, you do it gracefully and respectfully."
d. "You can adapt easily to various situations and different kinds of people."
e. "You are equal in your treatment to everyone and communicate with your peers respectfully."

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT

a. "He seems to find it difficult to express his emotions and feelings, which often causes misunderstandings."
b. "When given any kind of feedback, you don’t take it in a positive manner."
c. "She does not take the time to develop and sustain positive and beneficial relationships."
d. "You don’t tend to listen to and take other people’s opinions into consideration."
e. "He doesn't contribute effectively in his teams' activities."

This article is written by Shreya Dutta. She is a content writer and marketer at Vantage Circle She is passionate about all things literature and entrepreneurship. To get in touch, reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com