Manager Evaluation Comments: Performance Review Phrases to Help Managers

What is a performance review?

A performance review is an appraisal of how an employee has performed at the workplace over a specified period of time, such as a quarter or a year. It is important to celebrate whatever the employee has done positively. If improvements need to be made, reviewers should shine a light on these as constructively and supportively as possible. Performance review comments are crucial for providing structured feedback tailored to various aspects of performance, such as teamwork, job knowledge, and creativity.

What’s the purpose of a performance review?

The goal of a performance review is to help employees grow and perform better at their jobs. Using positive performance review phrases ensures that feedback is constructive and not perceived as a personal attack on the employee's character. Constructive reviews build people up while excessively critical reviews can reduce self-confidence and lead to deteriorated performance on the job.

Useful Read: Mastering Employee Evaluations: Key Performance Review Questions

How to write a performance review

• Ideally, a performance review should be succinct yet thorough. Employees might not read overly long reviews, but failing to cover key points will not result in strengthening any weaknesses.

• The person writing the review must ensure they have all relevant data to make a proper evaluation of the employee.

• Don’t rush the review. Take your time to ensure that comments are made as thoughtfully and helpfully as possible.

• The choice of language is important. A positive, helpful tone is best. After reading the review, employees should feel encouraged and confident that they can improve their interpersonal skills, which are crucial for effective communication, teamwork, and relationship building within the organization.

• Above all, you should avoid any biases. If you do not feel confident that you can provide useful performance review phrases because of any inherent biases, you should request that someone else does the review on your behalf.

• It’s important to ensure the correct gender pronouns are used for the person being reviewed. Make an effort to discover what these are and then write the review accordingly, so as to be as inclusive as possible. We provide examples using multiple pronouns, but these would of course need to be modified according to the person being reviewed.

75 performance review phrases — strengths

Strengths should be honest and accurate. There is no need to make the statements long. Succinctness goes a long way.

Knowledge and skills examples of performance appraisals — strengths

• He has excellent knowledge and skills fitting to his job, often proposing innovative solutions that enhance team creativity and problem-solving.
• She possesses the right expertise to perform at her job.
• They have excelled at learning about their functions.
• He has shown diligence by studying up on the products he is working with.
• Her assignments are routinely completed on time.
• Their attention to detail when performing tasks is exemplary.
• His technical knowledge of his field is superb.
• She has made sure to stay up-to-date on the latest developments of her field.
• Their excellent performance demonstrates that they have a core knowledge of their primary task.
• He has made exceptional efforts to study up on the company’s brand.

Reliability performance review examples — strengths

• She shows dedication by often working overtime to ensure team projects are completed.
• Their performance is routinely top-quality.
• He is extremely reliable.
• She can be counted on to deliver on time.
• They often exceed expectations.
• His commitment to getting the job done is laudatory.
• She can be depended on no matter what needs to be done.
• They are always willing to help.
• His performance is reliable and steady.
• She is always willing to do what it takes.
• They make a conscientious effort to get projects completed efficiently.
• He is the team's go-to guy and has proven that he will always get the job done.

Attendance appraisal examples — strengths

• She is always on time.
• They are always on time for team activities and meetings.
• He can be counted on to maintain his work schedule.
• She has a perfect attendance record.
• They set an excellent example of following a schedule which colleagues try to emulate.
• When he starts work in the morning, he already knows what tasks need to be done and gets started on them immediately.
• She completes all weekly and monthly tasks assigned to her, on time.
• They are always punctual.

Cooperation and collaboration examples of performance appraisals — strengths

• His co-workers rely on him for help because he always helps them with tasks even when they are not directly his responsibility, showcasing his strong interpersonal skills.
• She is a real team player.
• They consistently help others.
• He has excellent teamwork skills.
• Her personality often brings the team together.
• They are very uplifting of others in team projects.
• He shows great strengths pulling the group together during collaborative projects.
• She is very easy to work with.
• They always help others when they are having trouble.
• He naturally engenders a sense of cooperation in others.
• Others rely on her to bring the team together.
• They are always willing to assist fellow coworkers.
• He works closely with management to make things happen.

Work quality and productivity performance review examples — strengths

• She pays close attention to detail and consistently provides creative solutions.
• The quality of their work is always superb.
• Clients often go out of their way to comment on the quality of his service calls.
• She has a very friendly and professional manner with clients, as revealed by recorded customer support calls.
• The work they do is always accurate.
• His reports always provide exactly the information needed.
• Her presentations are professional and to the point.
• They have a strong work ethic and it motivates others to work better.
• He is always willing to take on extra responsibilities, and then carries out those responsibilities diligently.
• She gets on with the job and makes an effort to learn what needs to be learned to do it properly.
• They do not need any additional guidance or assistance when given a project. They just handle it themselves and get it done.
• He understands his job responsibilities fully.
• She improved the team’s sales performance by X%.
• They were responsible for exceeding yearly targets by X%.

Communication appraisal examples — strengths

• He has excellent written communication skills.
• Her verbal communication skills are superb.
• Their ability to get their point across is excellent.
• He finds it very easy to build good rapport with fellow workers.
• She has great listening skills which help her to understand her colleagues' needs and so communicate effectively with them.
• They have a very positive attitude which makes them easy to talk to.
• Team members always feel welcome in his presence because of his easygoing nature.
• She welcomes and accepts criticism very well.
• They provide timely information that helps get projects completed on time.
• His instructions are always clear.
• She is a great listener.
• Because they involve others, problems get solved much more rapidly.
• His instructions are clear, and he knows how to set the right expectations.

Time management examples of performance appraisals — strengths

• She excels at time management.
• They can be counted on to carry out a six-month project on time.
• Whether large or small, he completes all tasks promptly.
• She knows how to allot time effectively to various tasks.
• They know how to get the most efficiency out of their team in the given time.

50 performance review phrases — weaknesses

Weakness reviews should be constructive and give the employee a sense of hope that they can do better. This means that they will likely be longer statements, a weakness followed by an attempt to assist. But it's important to build the employee up so that they do improve, so the additional time spent formulating these appraisals will be well worth it.

Knowledge and skills appraisal examples — weaknesses

• He is lacking the fundamental knowledge required to perform his tasks. But his ability to learn is good so he should simply make the time to obtain this knowledge.
• She asks the same question several times. She could reformulate her questions so they more precisely cover what knowledge gaps she is trying to fill.
• They haven't put in sufficient time to attain the skills required for the job, and should rearrange their schedule to do so.
• He lacks the necessary knowledge to understand the company's line of products, but is certainly able to obtain this knowledge if he sets his mind to it.
• She was found not to be as knowledgeable as we had expected regarding her job and its requirements. We recommend a weekly check-in to ensure she is putting in the time to gain the knowledge necessary.
• Their initiative to learn could be stronger compared to colleagues. They should ask for assistance from fellow workers to learn the company's processes better.

Reliability examples of performance appraisals — weaknesses

• The tasks assigned to him are routinely not completed and need to be finished by someone else. Communication skills training is recommended to assist him to communicate the problems he is running into that prevent him from routinely performing his duties.
• She is routinely late for work. A supervisor should get with her to understand the problem(s) preventing her from arriving on time, and find a solution to them.
• Their coworkers are more productive. A supervisor should interview them to better understand any difficulties they are running into.
• He has been found to make certain commitments that he cannot then keep. He should limit the number of promises he makes if he feels he cannot deliver them.
• Her performance levels are inconsistent. She should ask for help to find what prevents her from delivering a consistently high-quality product.
• They frequently make guarantees on deadlines that need to be met but rarely make good on them. They should be made to understand that a promise made is a promise kept.
• He needs to be repeatedly reminded of tasks that must be done. Using a to-do list or app would go a long way to improving his reliability.

Attendance appraisal examples — weaknesses

• Although she is always on time in the morning, she is often late for meetings or team activities. Time management skills development is recommended to improve this.
• Although they try to follow the schedule, they are often late for off-site projects, and also late to return to the office. They should work with their manager to find a more reliable means of transportation.
• He is not punctual and needs skills development in this area.
• She fails to make scheduled meetings on time. Time management skills development is recommended.
• They are often extremely late for work. A flexible work hours policy might be recommended as they do work hard once they get here, and also do put in extra hours to make up the lost time. But company policy doesn't currently accommodate this.

Cooperation and collaboration performance review examples — weaknesses

• He prefers to work alone, which is not necessarily a bad trait, but it can get misunderstood by other team members. Management should consider giving him tasks that don't require team participation so as not to make other team members feel alienated.
• She criticises fellow team members, which causes disgruntlement. She should take a soft skills course to help with communication in the workplace.
• They complain more than expected about colleagues. Team-building exercises are recommended.
• He is extremely timid and needs help to overcome this. He does well in social settings and the company can arrange some of these to build up his confidence with others, in addition to bringing the entire team closer together.
• She does not come across as a team player. Company sports days could help with this.
• They get impatient when others ask for help. He should either be moved to more solitary tasks or given soft skills communication training.
• He does not take constructive criticism very well, even when it is offered in the most sincere manner possible. He should receive soft skills training on this.
• She does not like advising people less skilled than her, and has an almost "aristocratic" attitude about it. Diversity and Inclusion skills development is recommended so she can recognise that people have different strengths, and that she herself might have certain weaknesses that others are stronger on.

Work quality and productivity appraisal examples — weaknesses

• They neglect key details of important projects, indicating a need for better problem solving and project planning skills.
• He often does not meet performance targets. A skills assessment should be done to establish any knowledge gaps that need to be filled.
• Her sales statistics are below the team average. She should sign up for the company’s sales enablement program.
• They regularly produce work that does not match company standards. A review of those standards is recommended.
• He tends to avoid taking on additional work or responsibilities, even when these offer bonuses or higher pay. He should be interviewed to establish what incentive might work as motivation for taking on more.
• She struggles to concentrate on the task at hand, causing it to suffer. Focus training is recommended.
• Their production reliability is low. Please conduct an interview to discover any difficulties they might be having.
• He does not double-check work done, which results in flaws.
• Her work often needs to be inspected for quality. She should be interviewed to help discover difficulties she might have in creating consistently high-quality products.
• They do not concentrate sufficiently to do their job and should make an effort to do so.
• His lack of concentration has resulted in some errors, but fortunately no injuries. Disciplinary action might be required as these errors could indeed have resulted in injuries.
• She skims over project requirements, resulting in projects needing to be reviewed and touched up by a senior.

Communication examples of performance appraisals — weaknesses

• Although they do have the ability to communicate well, their interpersonal skills often lead them to choose to remain silent during team discussions. This leads to slower-than-expected progress.
• He needs to spend more time honing the foreign-language skills required for his profession.
• She fails to get her point across well in written communications. A basic course on written communication might help.
• They fail to communicate their ideas clearly enough for all team members to be on the same page. Team-building exercises might help improve this.
• He struggles to keep project leads in the loop on long-term projects. Better coordination is required.
• Her aggressive attitude makes her difficult to communicate with. Team-building and trust exercises might help.
• They could improve their listening skills by being more patient with colleagues’ communication.

Time management performance review examples — weaknesses

• His projects unfortunately often go overdue. He should do a time-management course.
• She often misses deadlines and should try to improve her organisational skills.
• Their tasks are often left incomplete.
• He unfortunately cannot be counted on to get projects completed on time. He needs to work under close supervision.
• She should do a time management course.

Improve employee performance

Excellent scheduling can improve overall team performance and morale. Encouraging new and innovative solutions can further enhance performance by fostering a creative work environment where employees feel valued and motivated. And managers are able to plan effectively because they know who will be there and who won’t, leading to higher productivity.

Useful Read: The 6 top Employee Performance Management Trends

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