Performance reviews are a key step in the employee evaluation process. They provide a valuable opportunity for managers and employees to:
But without a proper framework, performance reviews can become bureaucratic, ineffective, and disengaging. That's where performance review templates come in. Using performance review templates, organizations can streamline the employee review process. HR leaders can ensure consistency and help managers create a constructive feedback culture that supports employee development and employee engagement.
In this blog, we'll explore:
Before we dive into performance review templates, let's discuss the role of performance reviews in performance management. Performance reviews—when implemented well—enable employees to grow and develop. They help employees contribute to the success of your organization. Performance reviews:
Perhaps the most essential component of performance reviews is constructive feedback. Performance feedback plays a vital role in boosting employee performance and expediting growth. It helps managers help employees grow, develop, and improve. Great feedback is:
Quantum Workplace research shows that employees who receive more frequent feedback are 2X more engaged, 3X less likely to apply or seek other jobs, and 1.4X more likely to stay at your organization. Helpful feedback isn't just a soft suggestion—it's key to engagement and retention!
Check out our 170+ performance review examples, comments, and phrases to inspire your next employee review.
Performance reviews can help align teams around your organization's strategic initiatives and goals. These conversations are paramount for driving employee and business success. Reviews can also boost employee engagement and improve your culture. By emphasizing the value of feedback, you can position reviews as catalysts for development and career growth.
Simple performance review templates help HR and managers:
Streamline the performance review process. You'll need to put some work in up front to develop your templates. But once you've created them, it's easy for everyone to launch and complete reviews. Spending less time on manual and clunky processes helps everyone stay focused on the most important work.
Create consistency. Implementing performance review templates is a good way to level the playing field. It helps ensure reviewers across your teams evaluate and discuss performance similarly. It helps managers review objectively. And it helps employees see the review process as clear and fair.
Do feedback better. Feedback is not an inherent skill—it's a practiced one. Performance review templates give managers guardrails for giving feedback. You can help ensure feedback is clear and actionable, ultimately helping employees grow and improve.
A best practices performance review form includes clear and specific performance criteria. It includes examples of employee accomplishments and areas for improvement, taking a balanced approach. It should include a rating system—but don't make the rating the central focus. It should have plenty of space for comments and feedback for the reviewer and the employee. And it should be focused on the future, helping fuel employee growth with goals and development plans.
An effective performance review process involves several key components. Each component helps ensure review conversations are meaningful, transparent, and fair. A well-designed performance appraisal template provides consistent structure across the organization. It also reduces the administrative burden on managers. Managers can launch effective conversations with ease.
There are a few things to avoid in your performance reviews. Your performance review templates can help address some of these performance review pitfalls:
Your teams should have a variety of performance conversations outside the annual review. Research shows employees prefer weekly 1-on-1s to check in on performance. Incorporate a few of the templates below into your performance management cycle. The templates will help bring structure to your process that benefits everyone in your organization.
The GOOD template is a special template to us! Quantum Workplace uses this very template for our own monthly manager-employee performance conversations. It's a staple in our company culture (learn more about that here!).
A GOOD stands for Goals, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Decisions. This template is great for monthly 1-on-1s. It helps managers and employees zoom out and revisit the big picture.
Goals:
Obstacles:
Opportunities:
Decisions:
Pros: Encourages conversation, reflection, and future planning
Cons: Doesn't include metrics by which to measure or compare employees (we don't encourage that anyway)
If monthly performance conversations aren't feasible, we recommend having them at least quarterly. Managers and direct reports should collaboratively review an employee's performance, discuss action plans, and look to the future. This worksheet will guide you through topics of discussion for quarterly performance conversations.
Reflect on the past:
Make a plan:
Look to the future:
Pros: Employees and managers can act on findings more quickly
Cons: Isn't always focused on long-term goals of the company and employee
A mid-year performance review is a prime opportunity to check on goals and adjust them as needed. It should focus on key highlights, obstacles, and a plan for the future.
Reflect on the past:
Make a plan:
Look to the future:
Pros: Allows managers and employees to recalibrate before the year is over
Cons: Leaves a long gap between performance reviews if this is all you do
The annual performance review is for summarizing performance across the year. It's also a good opportunity to discover what goals employees would like to prioritize before the next performance review.
Reflect on the past:
Make a plan:
Look to the future:
Pros: Allows managers and employees to look at the big picture of an employee's performance
Cons: It's tough to review an entire year of performance in one conversation
If you're looking for the absolute basics, check out this one-page employee evaluation form from Seismic.
Pros: Quick and straightforward—has a defined rating scale
Cons: Leaves little room for additional information; doesn't encourage two-way discussion
A self-assessment review helps employees reflect on their own performance. They can identify barriers and opportunities to discuss with their managers. It helps employees have a voice in their own development path—and provides managers with valuable coaching insight.
Questions to ask:
Share examples of good performance:
1.
2.
3.
Share examples where you could improve:
1.
2.
3.
Pros: Instills reflective habits in employees and encourages them to own their own performance
Cons: Doesn't account for feedback from peers and managers
It's important for managers to gather feedback on their own performance as well. Upward feedback allows employees to share feedback on their manager with their manager's boss. After receiving this feedback, managers can discuss areas of opportunity and collaborate with their team to grow and improve.
Level set on support needed:
Ask for feedback:
Pros: Opens up the door for a two-way conversation about manager effectiveness
Cons: Employees might be worried about the consequences of providing feedback
High-performing teams are the key to organizational success. Use this template to build trust by creating an open feedback culture among teams. Ideally, teams can discuss performance openly, sharing roadblocks and hardships and developing solutions.
Reflect on the past:
Review team goals and objectives (monthly, quarterly, annually):
Make a plan:
Look to the future:
Pros: Gives a sense of how an overall team, not just individuals, is performing
Cons: Extremely high or low scores by a few individuals can skew results
A 360 review helps managers get feedback from an employee's team. Managers can develop a broader perspective of an employee's performance, shedding light on strengths or challenges that might not be obvious. Use this sample template to gather feedback from the people that your employees work with every day for a diverse set of data.
Note: A 360 typically looks at several core concepts such as those related to performance, accountability, trust and respect, upholding company values, and more. This is example content to get you started.
Performance Self: On a scale of 1-5, rate your ability to hold others accountable.
Accountability Self: On a scale of 1-5, rate your ability to bring energy to the workplace.
Pros: Shines a light on the entirely of an employee's actions, not just what the manager witnesses
Cons: Could be difficult for some employees to judge accurately
Professional development and career growth are key drivers of employee engagement and performance. Use this template to check on the alignment of employee strengths, skills, goals, and job role. Then discuss their goals and what steps they will need to take to reach their goals. Focus on career development and growth over the next 3-5 years.
Address alignment:
Discuss development:
Talk through training and goals:
Pros: Allows aligned expectations to be compared pre- and post-performance cycle
Cons: Can be fairly general
If an employee isn't meeting expectations, it might be time for performance improvement plan. Use this template to discover what's hindering performance and to create a plan to improve it. Managers and employees can discuss opportunities and work toward success together.
Address accountability:
Make a plan:
Reflect:
Pros: Can course-correct declining performance and give employees a fair chance to improve
Cons: Can be disengaging
Employee behaviors can have a big impact on individual and team success. Use this template to understand and address behaviors that are helping or hindering performance.
Questions to ask:
Pros: Helps managers and employees identify issues, needs and barriers together
Cons: An effective conversation can only be had with a self-driven employee
It's important for managers and employees to talk openly about an employee's compensation. Use this template to talk about compensation, benefits, bonuses, and pay with employees. Managers and employees can get on the same page, answer questions, and keep an open door.
Check in:
Follow up:
Pros: Encourages pay transparency among organizations, managers, and employees
Cons: Employee expectations can't be met all the time
New hires deserve to know how they're doing. Use this template to review an employee's first 90 days at an organization after employee onboarding. It will help you set short-term goals and a shared vision for the future and align on role, resources, and goals.
Role clarity:
Training, tools, and resources:
Goal setting and alignment:
Pros: Helps provide clarity and early performance feedback for new hires
Cons: Limited to manual labor employees
Goal-setting conversations are an important piece of your performance management puzzle. Your employees need measurable, aligned goals to work toward. Use this template to develop an employee's monthly, quarterly, or annual goals.
Reflect on the past:
Make a plan:
Address alignment:
Pros: Helps managers and employees set aligned, measurable goals
Cons: Will not be effective if not discussed regularly throughout the performance cycle
Formal performance conversations are important. But it's also important managers and employees keep in touch with weekly check-ins. These quick conversations allow managers and employees to address obstacles in real-time. Use this template to facilitate a weekly check in on performance and progress.
Pros: Quick and frequent check-ins allow for better communication and agility
Cons: Managers need to set dedicated time aside for each employee
Make your performance review process more effective, efficient, and engaging. Quantum Workplace's performance management platform helps your managers and teams prepare for, facilitate, and follow up for better reviews and better performance.
Published March 13, 2024 | Written By Kristin Ryba
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