According to a survey from Gartner, organizations that align their performance management initiatives with employee and business goals see a 24% boost in employee performance.
One important element of performance management is performance evaluation. These reviews provide the opportunity to both praise and reinforce good performance with positive feedback and correct poor work performance with constructive criticism.
Knowing what to say to your team members and how to say it is the biggest key to an effective performance review. Ready to provide better feedback in your performance appraisals?
Check out these 20 specific examples of powerful performance appraisal phrases.
Performance evaluation phrases that emphasize strengths
Thirty-six percent of employees say that a lack of recognition is the top reason they choose to leave their job. This is one reason why positive feedback is such an important part of employee performance reviews.
Along with providing recognition, praising team members for high-quality work also reinforces their strengths. It encourages them to continue exhibiting the same positive actions and attitudes that earned your praise. Here are 10 great performance review phrases to emphasize and praise a team member's strengths:
1) Has a positive attitude that benefits their teammates
A positive attitude might not be required in a job description, but it's one of the most beneficial qualities of a good team player — making it well worth praising and reinforcing!
Why we love this phrase
Not only does this phrase praise team members for having a positive attitude, but it also highlights that their positive attitude benefits the entire team.
2) Does not let difficult/negative experiences get them down
It's easy to have a positive attitude when everything is going right. Still, the ability of a team member to handle a difficult or negative experience without letting it impact their mood or performance is a quality worth recognizing.
Why we love this phrase
Even the best team members will encounter difficult or negative experiences in the workplace. By praising a team member's ability to handle these experiences with a positive attitude, you can bolster their fortitude even further.
3) Excellent with client relationship management
A team member who can form great working relationships with clients will offer a lot of value to the organization. If your team member excels at client relationship management, this is undoubtedly a competency you want to reinforce.
Why we love this phrase
How your team members interact with their colleagues is important, but how they interact with clients is even more critical. This phrase reinforces that great client relationship management is key to the organization's success.
4) Provides and welcomes feedback
Not everyone welcomes feedback — and not everyone is comfortable providing it. Having team members that are willing to both provide and receive feedback benefits the entire organization is something that you should always encourage.
Why we love this phrase
Creating a company culture that encourages team members to accept and provide feedback is essential. Along with ensuring that you give plenty of feedback and remain open to feedback yourself, you should take the opportunity to acknowledge team members who do the same.
5) One of our most dependable team members
Dependability is an essential attribute for every team member to possess, no matter what their role is. From showing initiative to showing up on time, there are plenty of ways that team members can demonstrate dependability — and all of them are worth recognizing.
Why we love this phrase
Being dependable as a team member often requires a degree of sacrifice. For this reason, most team members will appreciate recognition for their dependability and commitment to the organization.
6) Able to come up with creative solutions to ordinary problems
Every company can benefit from team members who can come up with innovative solutions, and this is an ability that you will certainly want to encourage.
Why we love this phrase
Creative ideas are a valuable resource for any organization. By praising team members for their innovation and creativity, you can encourage them to continue thinking outside the box and create a company culture that rewards innovation.
7) Handles change well
The only constant is that everything changes. As your organization grows and scales, your team members may often be required to exhibit adaptability and a willingness to embrace change.
Why we love this phrase
Change is something that almost everyone finds uncomfortable. By phrasing a team member's ability to handle change well, you can ease the stress of adjusting to new roles and responsibilities.
8) Calm under pressure
Speaking of stress, staying calm and focused when the pressure starts to rise is a highly beneficial attribute. If you have noticed that a team member can excel in high-pressure situations, let them know that you appreciate their poise!
Why we love this phrase
This phrase lets team members know that they are handling pressure well, which can further calm and reassure them the next time a stressful situation arises.
9) Makes team members feel important
Making others feel valued and important is a key leadership skill. Even if a team member isn't in a leadership position, making the team members around them feel important encourages effective teamwork and improves the work environment.
Why we love this phrase
This phrase encourages team members to realize how they interact with their colleagues is important. This makes it a phrase that can dramatically improve company culture if every team member takes it to heart.
10) Can work with a variety of other personalities
There are a lot of attributes that make up great interpersonal skills, but the ability to work with a variety of other personalities is a crucial one. When a team member can work well with others, no matter their personality, you don't have to worry about conflicts or differing points of view affecting team performance.
Why we love this phrase
The ability to work with various personalities is a skill most team members will never realize they possess unless it's pointed out. By recognizing this skill, you can encourage team members to continue bringing out the best in themselves and others.
Performance evaluation phrases that show room for improvement
One of the top reasons for conducting performance evaluations is to give constructive feedback designed to help team members improve on their weaknesses.
While no one enjoys criticism, a true team player will realize the value of constructive criticism. If you want to encourage your team members to improve in certain areas, try these 10 useful phrases.
11) Did not meet performance goals set in the last review
The opportunity to set goals for team members is another key benefit of conducting performance evaluations. But when team members miss these goals, it's important to let team members know that they have fallen short of expectations.
Why we love this phrase
The value of goal setting will be limited if there is no consequence for failing to meet them. If you have given a team member instructions for how to improve their performance and those instructions are not followed, then this phrase will reinforce the importance of those past criticisms.
12) Needs to improve teamwork skills
If an employee isn't working well with their fellow team members, then that's an important issue to address. Even if their individual performance is adequate, having an employee that isn't a good team player can bring the entire team's performance down.
Why we love this phrase
Teamwork skills can mean many different things, so it may be best to follow this evaluation with a separate one-on-one meeting to get more specific. Nevertheless, it's still a great phrase for getting the conversation started.
13) Did not meet attendance standards
Showing up is the bare minimum expectation for a team member. If you have a team member who isn't meeting the attendance standards, then this is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed.
Pro Tip: If you're citing specific attendance policies, it's good to have them on hand for reference.
Why we love this phrase
Attendance may be an easily correctable issue once you bring it to the team member's attention. This phrase ensures that they know your concern, the company's policies, and expectations.
14) Has a difficult time following through with tasks
It's great for a team member to show initiative and take on new tasks. An inability to follow through with the tasks they take on, though, makes a team member unreliable and causes the entire team's performance to suffer.
Why we love this phrase
The ability to promptly complete tasks is required for every role and position within an organization. If a team member has difficulty following through with their tasks, it's important to let them know that their time management skills need improvement.
15) Has trouble staying organized
Good organization improves productivity and helps eliminate the frequency of costly errors. In many cases, helping a team member improve their organizational skills will greatly boost their overall performance.
Why we love this phrase
If a team member has grown accustomed to poor organizational habits, they might not realize that their lack of organization is dragging down their performance. This phrase brings the issue to light so that they can work on being more organized.
16) Does not view the workplace as a team environment
This is similar to the issue of not having good teamwork skills, but it's more of a mindset that needs correcting than a skill set. If employees don't have a "team first" mentality, they are likely harming the team more than helping it.
Why we love this phrase
This phrase lets employees know they need to be more of a team player. However, it's also an evaluation that will likely necessitate a one-on-one follow-up to explain the specific workplace behaviors that need to be corrected.
17) Frequently misses deadlines
Time management is an essential skill for every team member to possess. If team members frequently miss deadlines, this issue needs to be corrected.
Why we love this phrase
Team members sometimes have good reasons for why they aren't able to complete tasks on time. When it becomes a habit, though, then it needs to be addressed. Calling attention to the fact that a team member frequently misses deadlines will let them know that they need to improve their time management skills.
18) Does not show a desire to grow in the organization
You expect more from your team members than just the bare minimum. If a team member doesn't want to improve their skills and grow within the organization, then they probably aren't a good long-term investment for your company.
Why we love this phrase
Hopefully, this phrase will motivate team members to grow and improve rather than settle for the path of least resistance. If a team member wants to improve their skills and advance their career, this phrase will serve as a wake-up call that they need to put in more effort.
19) Has trouble communicating effectively in groups
Difficulties communicating effectively in groups is something that many people struggle with, especially those who are introverted. However, it's also an important skill for team members to possess if they are going to actually contribute to the team.
Why we love this phrase
If this is an issue that a team member has, it's probably one they are already aware of. However, letting them know that it is indeed a problem and one that is impacting their performance will ideally encourage them to improve their communication skills.
20) Frequently late to meetings
Punctuality is important for more reasons than one. If a team member is frequently late to team meetings, it can both impact their individual performance and send a bad message to the entire team.
Why we love this phrase
You can easily correct this issue once bringing it to a team member's attention. This phrase lets team members who are frequently late to meetings know that it is a recurring issue and one that you take seriously.
Host more performance reviews with Range
When properly conducted, employee performance reviews can offer a lot of value. They provide the opportunity to reinforce positive behavior and correct the behaviors dragging down individual and team performance. By utilizing these 20 powerful performance evaluation phrases, you can ensure that you are hammering home the messages your team members need to hear.
Want to improve performance by hosting better performance reviews? Range's industry-leading team collaboration and project management platform is the perfect tool to leverage.
Start organizing and hosting performance reviews easily by signing up for Range today.
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