What are 20 of the most useful Performance Review Phrases for Managers?
As you know, performance review season can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Awkward interactions. Mixed signals. Long faces. Defensive responses. Sound all too familiar? Often, conversations between managers and employees to discuss performance descend into one or more of the abovementioned themes.
Managers and employees may find giving and receiving a performance review challenging and maybe even uncomfortable. But as a manager or business leader, you can avoid that anxiety by structuring your employee performance reviews to exude awesomeness rather than dread. One of the best ways to do that is to be aware of the right performance review phrases.
Role of managers in Employee Performance Reviews
According to Fast Company, 74% of younger employees leave performance reviews not knowing what their managers think of their performance.
Imagine that!
There is a lot of pressure on you as a manager to offer feedback to your direct reports in an effective manner. But as you know, getting the right amount of constructive and encouraging feedback may be a delicate balancing act.
Hence, we have put up this collection of performance review phrases to point you in the right direction and help you improve your ability to give constructive feedback. This article will help you by covering some effective performance review phrases and the situations in which you can deliver them.
But first, let’s quickly look at the benefits of using performance review phrases.
- Avoid using clichés or buzzwords
- Personalise each employee’s performance review
- Provide context or quantify the review terms
- Use context-specific performance review phrases
- Use performance review phrases to pinpoint critical behaviors for each section of the performance appraisal
20 most Effective Performance Review Phrases for Managers
- Overall performance
Here are two very different employees’ high-level summaries or overall overviews: X, who performs exceptionally well, and Y, who could use some improvement.
Positive Performance Reviews
1. [X] has proven the value they bring to the company and routinely performs above and beyond their requirements.
2. [X] has earned the respect of their coworkers and senior stakeholders since they work great with the team.
Negative Performance Reviews
3. [Y] appears to be having trouble understanding and adjusting to some of the demands and expectations of their job.
4. [Y’s] slightly bitter attitude at work affects their team’s morale and attracts criticism from senior stakeholders and coworkers.
- Achievements
Recognising an employee’s achievements is a tried-and-true method of lowering employee turnover, especially during the first six months of employment.
Recognising your employees’ accomplishments also might help your team become more productive because 69% of employees claim they would work harder if they were more appreciated at work.
Positive performance review phrases
5. [X] saved the business [amount of money] by [particular task].
6. [X] spearheaded [project] that produced [result].
Negative performance review phrases
7. [Y’s] previously set [goal] was missed for [reason].
8. [Y] requires additional instruction in [process] for [reason].
- Productivity
According to a Gallup report, 85% of employees are either not interested in their jobs or are actively disengaging from them, which leads to a yearly productivity loss of an estimated $7 trillion. Regular performance reviews can increase your employee’s likelihood of performing at their best by 4.6X.
Positive performance review phrases
9. [X] has by [activity] contributed to the department’s success.
10. [X] has strong time management abilities and has demonstrated by [example].
Negative performance review phrases
11. [Y] failed to submit [task] on time for [reason].
12. [Y] has made little progress since the last performance evaluation concerning [objective].
- Teamwork
Teams that work well together produce results more quickly, impacting the business’s performance as a whole. However, remember that some people require coaching and guidance since they are not born team players.
Positive performance review phrases
13. [X] has raised the collaborative environment of the team by [activity].
14. [X] ensures that the whole team is involved in helping solve problems like [examples]
Negative performance review phrases
15. [Y] is unwilling to assist if necessary, which affects the team’s effectiveness as a whole.
16. [Y] provokes arguments from others and negatively affects the mood of the team.
- Creativity and problem-solving
Although a 2010 survey revealed that CEOs consider creativity the #1 indicator for future success, only 35% of employees claim they can be creative on several occasions during the year.
After all, performance reviews need to highlight your employees’ creative skills and recognise the instances in which their creativity has helped the company solve problems.
Positive performance review phrases
17. During a team meeting, ]X] proposed [project], and it achieved [objective].
18. [X] searches for creative solutions, such as [example], which produced [result].
Negative performance review phrases
19. In team meetings, [Y] tends to be quiet and rarely comes up with new ideas.
20. When interacting with customers, [Y] is frequently too “by the book,” which results in [negative outcome].
Using Employee Performance Reviews to build relationships
Regular performance reviews like annual performance reviews are an effective technique for enhancing the productivity of your employees. But beyond that, a successful performance review forges a solid employer-employee bond.
The best approach to creating lasting relationships is through effective communication. That connection can inspire your team to perform at their best.
This is where Synergita’s performance management software comes into play—it helps to digitise and simplify regular performance reviews. You get a holistic view of your employees with performance reviews, reports, analytics and more. At Synergita, we believe in creating great places to work. The quality of the overall employee experience is intrinsically linked to helpful feedback, an effective performance management system, and other variables.
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