Performance reviews are normally conducted on a quarterly, semiannually or annually basis for all employees. They are designed to review worker performance and make constructive suggestions for improvement in the future. These documents are considered an important part of any business, since it determines the growth of an employee. Some companies ask an employee to fill up a self-evaluation document, as part of the performance review process, while others conduct a performance appraisal based on the supervisor’s assessment of the employee and his company performance. Performance review examples help to guide people to draft effective employee performance appraisals.

Most employers will admit that the process of performance reviews of employees can be quite cumbersome and they are stuck with review forms that are too lengthy. When you keep the performance review form short and specific, it is a huge relief not only to employees, but also to managers who would rather get on with their job than spend hours doing paperwork. Can an example of a two-pager performance review be successful? In most cases, it is likely to have a greater impact on the review than a weighty and long review form. Here are some performance review examples of essential information that should be included in all appraisals.

  • Employee Strengths

Every performance review form should include at least 3 to 5 strengths of the employee along with supporting examples of situations where the employee used their strengths to create positive impact at the workplace. The employee should see how their strengths add value to the way they work – this way they will be more conscious of using their strengths in the future. Link the strength to a key skill by creating performance indicators and behavioral guidelines at the workplace.

  • Development Areas for the Employee

The key thing to remember is to refrain from calling this a weakness. When you get into too many negative conversations, it can affect the morale of the employee and reduce their effectiveness in the workplace further. Consider including 2 – 4 areas of development for the employee to show them what they can improve and how their improvement will make a positive impact in the workplace. Be specific when you’re making recommendations. For example, your employee is a good worker, but tends to forget a few steps along the way. Encourage them to write down their tasks everyday, so that they follow all the steps properly. Think about an area that has a positive impact on the employee’s work role. Highlight the value that it will bring to the employee.

  • Tangible Goals

It’s easy to set goals and then forget about them for the rest of the year, especially if you as a manager don’t really see them as achievable. It’s a fruitless exercise to set goals that cannot be achieved. When employing areas of development for the employee – link them to goals that can be achieved in the workplace. Tangible goals must be relevant, smart and time-bound.

  • Previous Goal Reviews

Create a part in the performance review form that analyzes previous goals based on tangible ideas and employee strengths. You may want to start your performance review with this factor, so that you can discuss with your employee about the goals achieved and the reasons why others were not. It provides a steady flow into the rest of the performance review process.

Conducting Positive Evaluation

When conducting a performance review, you can start with reviewing the precious goals as a flow into the rest of the appraisal process. Discuss certain difficulties that you’ve noticed with the employee and the areas you see them able to develop. Address difficulties individually and thoroughly. Here are some basic guideline examples to follow for good performance reviews.

o   Discuss a performance issue

o   Understand the employee’s perspective

o   Emphasize performance expectation

o   Create an improvement plan

o   Offer assistance

o   Highlight potential

Always use a clear and nonjudgmental tone with a focus on getting results. For example, don’t use statements like “your work is messy and unacceptable.” This is a vague and judgmental statement. For a more positive discussion, you can use a statement like “I’ve noticed that there have been a few errors in your work of late. Is there any reason?” Ask the employee for his feedback on what he sees are areas to improve his performance. This could lead to a healthy two-way discussion.

Performance appraisals can be stressful to both the employee and employer. Drafting effective feedback to help employees perform better is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

Take a look at our performance appraisal ebook or performance review templating system for help in writing just the right employee evaluation phrases