If a manager or a person on a senior level has a good stock of precise, clear, and constructive performance appraisal phrases, it not only aids the identification of strengths and weaknesses of people who work in the organization but also helps to ascertain and give every employee what he/she truly deserves. In case you could use some help in this department, here is a list of such phrases that will put your point across firmly and clearly.
Mull over, mug up words, spend the entire night thinking, and reach office the next day dreading a performance appraisal you have to conduct. It’s not an uncommon scenario for managers and supervisors who are on a constant lookout for words for appraisal that they need to conduct clearly and confidently. Too often, you run out of words to fill up a performance review for an employee and end up beating around the bush.
Well, the following appraisal comment wording examples not only depict your truthfulness towards your employees but will also reflect the pluses and minuses they have. They are crisp, to-the-point, and help in effectively performing the appraisal for employees who have met and exceeded expectations. On the other hand, a few examples depicting negative performance evaluation have been brought up too so that your purpose of nudging an employee into the right direction is fulfilled without sounding rude. Either you could use them word to word, or you could tweak them in accordance with the kind of employee you are carrying out a performance appraisal for. Let’s take a look at the following examples of performance evaluation phrases.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- Always looks out for continual improvement.
- Uses constructive criticism effectively and appropriately.
- Always tries to improve in his or her arena of work.
- Generates and fulfills goals to improve profits, productivity, and performance targets.
- Excels in detecting glitches, flaws, or imperfections at the earliest possible chance.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Has constantly shown a diminishing graph of potential for progress and using skills and capabilities.
- Does not encourage creative solutions from her team.
- Rarely takes initiative without being coerced.
- Shirks away from shouldering responsibility and shifts blame on others or external factors readily.
- Is excellent at accomplishing individual tasks but is not much of a team player.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- Is a very attentive and emphatic listener.
- Effective, precise, articulative, and positive communication is a plus-point.
- Excels in constructive communication skills and is able to interact without deviating from the issue at hand.
- Indulges in effective communication with colleagues, seniors, supervisors, clients, and media.
- Makes sure that meetings are action-oriented and encourages cooperation, open communication, and sharing of knowledge.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Needs to work on his communication skills.
- Communicates in a condescending manner with others when asked for help or support.
- Avoids necessary and constructive confrontation at all times.
- Refrains from asking questions even when issues need to be clarified.
- Uses libelous, derogative language to humiliate co-workers.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- The method of verbal and written communication reflects thorough professionalism.
- Portrays an air of proper professionalism with regards to most of the business relationships.
- Is extremely tactful and composed in confrontational situations.
- Develops and maintains professional relationships.
- Constantly updates personal skill set and knowledge bank to maintain the highest standards of professional excellence.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Has to work a lot on developing and maintaining professional relationships.
- Behaves in an overtly friendly manner with everybody even at the risk of crossing personal boundaries of other people.
- Indulges in unethical and unscrupulous behavior within the work premises.
- Does not display any interest in taking responsibility for personal career development.
- Lets personal prejudices interfere with the functioning of the team and the work environment.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- Is a natural leader and takes everyone along on the path of progress and is a capable leader.
- Attains the support of colleagues, clients, investors, subordinates, and seniors with ease.
- Encourages the co-workers and subordinates to give their best.
- Has undoubtedly proved himself to be an asset to the firm.
- Exemplifies through constructive action.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Does not portray mention-worthy leadership qualities.
- Uses professional position to impose authority and control on others.
- Is unable to accept constructive criticism and build on it.
- Keeps from appreciating or rewarding the achievements of those working under him.
- Is not viewed as a source of inspiration or enthusiasm by his peers or subordinates.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- Is very detail-minded, and has the ability to think out-of-the-box.
- Transubstantiates creative recommendations and ideas into practical applications.
- Ideas are original, inventive, and dynamic.
- Always eager to learn new things.
- Is not afraid to start from the scratch and alter plans along the way.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Is not receptive to others’ ideas and thoughts.
- Shows a natural hesitation to tread upon unconventional paths to seek solutions.
- Work habits are extremely templatized and seldom has new things to offer.
- Is never receptive to new ideas.
- Does not understand “ambiguity and change” or how these vital concepts impact the organization.
Expectations Met or Exceeded!
- Sets personal goals, and makes sure he meets them.
- Motivates co-workers to attain their goals.
- Has the ability to turn weaknesses into strength.
- Communicates goals and objectives in an efficient, coherent, precise, and logically-sequenced manner.
- Strives to present error-free deliverables.
There’s Room for Improvement…
- Works efficiently only in a stress-free environment.
- Does not establish concrete personal performance standards.
- Does not take the effort or initiative to test personal or team limits.
- Is unable to formulate clear, achievable, and measurable personal and team performance goals and objectives.
- Seldom reviews past performance to learn from mistakes of yesterday.
- We start off with one of the most basic things to keep in mind while giving a performance appraisal and that is to be objective. It is recommended not to let your feelings interfere with an objective appraisal, though it is the easiest thing to happen.
- The phrases have to be specific – it is better not to beat around the bush! To give an example, XYZ failed to complete five of the six projects in the agreed due date, which resulted in a USD 1000 loss to the department is a very specific and to-the-point observation.
- Let the employee get to know where he went wrong, but not in very harsh words.
- Be truthful and base the appraisal on facts. There should be no ambiguity in that regard.
- It is a good practice to not mull over the employee’s failure or give advice uncalled-for. While mentioning drawbacks, describing them in a positive light is what is expected in an ideal performance appraisal.
It is always advisable to mention negatives, if any, to an employee and at the same time, helping him or her to overcome them. A true evaluator will always perform the appraisal without sounding harsh and rude, and will be eager to contribute to the individual development of an employee, thus, fulfilling the purpose of a performance appraisal.