Performance Review Template

Lay out all the necessary talking points and aspects to evaluate an employee or team member accurately.
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performance review template

About the performance review template

What is a performance review template?

You might have heard of debates concerning employee evaluations, and a few are saying it is time to abandon the process. Some bigger companies have abolished the traditional way of rating employees; more than fifty percent of companies still hold annual, quarterly, or semi-annual employee assessments.
A performance review is an annual or bi-annual exercise in which employees are rated based on their performance. Performance review templates are valuable mediums to help human resources and managers assess an employee's work performance objectively. They can also get information on the employee's areas of strengths and weaknesses. Most templates strategically guide managers on performance evaluations by highlighting specific elements to discuss during the assessment.
Companies must have an instrument to evaluate and improve a member's work performance. A standard tool that companies usually use is the evaluation form, which can also be referred to as a performance review template.

When should a performance review template be used?

The personal, team, and company goals must be aligned, so when there is a good performance by the employee, it boosts team performance and eventually affects the progress and performance of the organization.
By the time the goals are set, the employees will be monitored, developed, and coached. The performance is then assessed and rewarded.
Performance evaluations are also essential sources of feedback for management. They provide vital insights on how well the business or organization is doing from the employees' perspectives.
While most companies conduct performance reviews annually or twice a year, the evaluation frequency will still depend on the organization.
Here are some essential factors why performance review templates are necessary for an organization.
  • A well-designed performance review template can provide essential and helpful feedback on job performance.
  • Performance reviews allow a better understanding of an employee's strengths and weaknesses.
  • Managers can set and impose performance standards and goals.
  • The template will also help organizations determine highly proficient and skilled employees with leadership potential.
  • Inform reward and recognition.

Tips to successful creating a performance review

Performance review templates can vary from organization to organization, but you can refer to the following points for an effective and successful template:
    • Set expectations early. From day one of employment, it is essential to lay out all the review process details, including company expectations. It must be in the employee handbook or the employee's code of conduct if the company has.

      This way, business owners and managers can set and communicate expectations well concerning job functions and competencies as the employee joins the company. More importantly, all the information presented in the performance review must align with job expectations. By setting expectations early on, you eliminate any possible confusions that could arise along the way.
    • Do not make it personal. Feedback must be based on behaviors and actions, not an individual. Managers must be professional and avoid personal feelings affecting the way they will handle performance reviews. It will help to look into the situation and the issues and act objectively rather than evaluate based on employees' attributes.

      After all, you evaluate employees' performance for the employees and administration's sake and the company as a whole. This will help regulate all the information discussed in the performance review, ensuring that the details are accurate and relevant.
    • Be specific. People can sometimes be vague, especially when they are not confident of their decisions and judgment. General comments will leave employees second-guessing and confused about what aspect of their job needs to be corrected or what areas in their working routine need improvement.

      The information the manager presents in the review must be task-focused, concise, and on point. Failure to be straightforward in your messages will significantly impact the employees concerned and the company as a whole. Remember that one of the essential resources in an organization is human resources. If the human workforce is doubtful and unsure of their situation, it can affect their performance in the workplace, resulting in bad results for the company.
    • Offer guidance. A manager's role apart from overseeing operations is to ensure that they understand employees' career goals and design opportunities for development to help them be better employees for the company.

      Besides company-initiated developmental programs, a manager also can give advice and inputs to employees to further their development. Also, learning is a two-way process; maybe the manager can also learn some insights from their employees.

      It is also essential to utilize a performance review template to identify employees' strengths that have to be praised and their limitations that require improvement.

Performance Review Templates

Every company has its versions of performance review templates and uses them based on company terms. Here are some examples of performance review forms:

Quarterly Performance Review Template

Quarterly evaluations are essential since they provide opportunities for employees to receive vital and helpful feedback on how to improve themselves in the workplace as years progress. This kind of performance review reflects certain areas for improvement, like developing content partnerships and scaling employees' experiments.
When you look at the quarterly performance review example, it shows a documented and monitored record of every employee's progress for the whole year. This means that every quarter must be evaluated using similar criteria for the entire year. This will guide in ensuring that employees' development is recorded accurately.

Annual Performance Review Template

Large companies might find it hard to conduct quarterly performance reviews for every employee. Such a process can be time-consuming for them. This can also be true for supervisors and managers who handle several direct reports working for them.
In most cases, if a quarterly performance review is not feasible, most companies turn to annual performance reviews. This kind of assessment works best if the employee has been with the company for many years. Yearly evaluations are generally geared towards identifying employee raises and bonuses.
The second example shows different criteria where the manager can provide scores in each box or write notes in each category to justify the overall performance score.

Simple Performance Review Example

Some companies would form a basic and straightforward performance review template for their employees. While you can always do that, it is essential to include the components of an employee's strengths, the areas where employees can improve, and how the employee contributes or can contribute to the company's culture and core values through actions and performance.
The performance review mind map below illustrates the fundamentals of setting up a simple yet effective assessment form - from specifying goals to gathering employee feedback. Remember that no matter how simple the performance review can be, it must still reflect your company's goals.

EdrawMind makes performance reviews easier.

You might be with the company for a long time and have undergone performance evaluations for years. As time passes, you may have discovered how they evolve. It is not only about the technology that performance evaluations are also upgraded; it also has to do with companies updating their goals, targets, and employee expectations.
The same goes for how performance evaluations are created. Today, several templates are available on the web for companies to base their forms. There is even mind mapping now that is capable of creating forms and templates according to your preferences. EdrawMind's interface is user-friendly enough that even beginners on mind mapping and charting can easily navigate different tools. You edit and make templates in your browser or download the software and create a performance review template on your computer. When formulating your templates, you can customize them by inserting stickers and images, and changing the colors to put more life on your performance evaluation forms.
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