Do you find the morale of your employees go down after each performance review? If yes, then there may be something wrong with the phrases that you use during it. Organizations conduct formal performance reviews to assess employee progress, encourage employee development, and provide constructive feedback.

Providing feedback to employees allows them to know how well they are performing their tasks. However, the performance appraisal review can turn into a negative experience for the employees if wrong performance review phrases are used while communicating his or her performance during the review period.

It is essential that management carefully choose the right performance review phrases while communicating them to employees. This includes phrases that encourage well-performing workers. They should also know the right phrases to use while communicating bad performance reviews that result in order to minimize ill will among team members.

Here are a few phrases you can use to help write your employee evaluations:

Effective Performance Review Phrases

The following is a list of effective performance review phrases that the management should use while communicating good performance review to the employees.

  1. The employee takes initiative in overcoming obstacles and meeting organization’s goals.
  2. The employee’s high ethical standards are apparent through all his or her work activities.
  3. The employee always goes above and beyond his job duties to satisfy customers.
  4. The employee is a compassionate listener that listens to the customers’ concerns and makes them know that they are being heard.
  5. The employee shows great energy in tackling challenges related to the assigned tasks.
  6. The employees’ commitment to punctuality has contributed greatly to the overall success of the team.
  7. The employee is always eager to obtain constructive feedback that ensures that he or she is performing the task adequately. This includes taking negative feedback well and using it for his/her improvement.
  8. The employee instills a sense of teamwork among fellow colleagues that promotes an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration among the team.

Negative Performance Review Phrases

The management should try to incorporate the following phrases in communicating bad performance reviews to the employees that gets the message across without hurting their feelings.

  1. The employee does not take initiative in performing new tasks and/or taking on additional responsibilities.
  2. The employee does not adhere to a normal work schedule and frequently shows up late.
  3. The employee misses his or her daily targets and does not coordinate with the supervisor to take steps in meeting said targets.
  4. The employee does not adhere to company policies while dealing with clients.
  5. The employee does not make appropriate efforts to ensure customer satisfaction. Most of the grievances of the employees are left unresolved.
  6. The employee frequently gets into hostile confrontations with other team members most of whom feel intimidated by his or her presence.
  7. The employee shows inflexibility while performing his or her task. He/she should remain flexible and try to overcome obstacles in a professional and creative manner.
  8. The employee should improve his or her communication skills with coworkers and the management.

These two lists provide some of the examples of good and bad performance review phrases that management should use while conducting performance appraisals of employees. You may find that your biases may affect your employee reviews. These examples will help a lot in preparing the most effective employee performance appraisals. Remember that employees should be given praise where it is due. They should also be provided constructive feedback if their performance is not up to the mark.

The goal of the performance review system should be to improve performance of the employees and not to hurt their feelings. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time can result in ill will and resentment against the organization.