A strong performance review template is more than a form — it’s a tool that builds clarity, trust, and real growth. When your performance review form is structured well, managers and employees stay aligned on expectations, focus on meaningful behaviors and results, and have fair, productive conversations. With consistency and space for honest feedback, a good employee review template creates transparency and drives better development and engagement across your organization.
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.
A performance review template is a structured form used to guide employee evaluation conversations. It helps managers stay consistent, outline expectations, assess performance fairly, and document progress using clear criteria. A strong template also ensures employees understand how they’re being evaluated, what they’re doing well, and where they can grow.
Using a performance review template, employee review template, or employee review form keeps the process focused, organized, and easier for both managers and employees.
For HR teams, this consistency is key. Templates reduce bias, standardize performance conversations across the organization, strengthen compliance documentation, and generate clean, comparable performance data—making it easier to identify trends, support managers, and improve the overall performance management process.
Using a performance review template makes it easier for managers to understand the role of performance reviews and deliver feedback that actually helps employees grow. A structured employee review template or employee review form ensures conversations stay focused, fair, and consistent.
Templates also help managers provide constructive feedback, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement in a way that motivates employees. For HR, this consistency is crucial—it ensures every employee receives clear, actionable guidance, supports fair evaluation, and makes performance data easier to track and analyze across the organization.
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:
Employee review templates bring consistency, clarity, and structure to your performance conversations. They support managers and employees with guided questions, aligned goals, and thoughtful reflection. Use the following employee review templates throughout your performance cycle to create a rhythm of meaningful, growth-focused conversations.
16 Types of Performance Review Templates:
Good Performance Review Template
Quarterly Check-In Template
Mid-Year Performance Review Template
Annual Performance Review Template
One-Page Performance Review Template
Self-Assessment Template
Upward Feedback Template
Team Performance Review Template
360 Performance Review Template
Professional Development Template
Performance Improvement Template
Behavior Change Template
Compensation Check-In Template
90-Day Review Template
Goal Setting Conversation Template
Simple 1-on-1 Progress Check Template
The GOOD template is a special template to us! Quantum Workplace uses this template for our own monthly manager-employee performance conversations. It's a staple of 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 they be 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 the long-term goals of the company and the 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 career pathing—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 that 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
Performance reviews help align teams with your organization’s goals, drive employee and business success, and boost engagement and culture. By highlighting the value of feedback, reviews can become tools for development and career growth.
Simple performance review templates help HR and managers:
Performance conversations don’t need to be hard. Keep your managers and employees on the same page with engaging performance reviews. Our performance review software gives your teams reliable context to help them have more objective and engaging conversations.
|
|
1. Customize reviews to fit your needs.Easily measure what you want, when you want with flexible review modules that you can tailor to fit the needs of your culture and the various groups within it. |
2. Help your managers build positive performance habits.Make it easy for manager to coach to performance by integrating your process into their existing workflows. Set up formal conversation cycles to create the right frequency and consistency of touch points. |
|
|
3. Easily track review response rates.See the status of each review cycle to help your teams stay accountable and monitor performance ratings in real-time. |
4. Embed performance goals directly into reviews.Our platform makes it easy to include goals as part of performance evaluations—and helps coach managers have objective, effective, and growth-oriented conversations. |
|
|
5. Orient reviews around multi-rater feedback.Incorporate feedback into your review cycles to gain valuable insight from the individuals your people work with most, and better orient performance conversations around development. |
6. Visualize and align on performance data across teams.Get a comprehensive view of your organization’s talent with our talent dashboard. Zoom out and see the big picture, to help you make more informed decisions on how to keep and develop your best talent. |
These sections ensure consistency, fairness, and alignment across teams, while giving HR visibility into performance trends.
To write a good performance review template, HR leaders should build a framework that drives clarity, alignment, and action. Start by defining what great performance looks like in your organization, then create prompts that encourage reflection and future-focused planning. An effective employee review form includes:
The best performance review templates balance structure with flexibility, supporting both strategic evaluation and human-centered conversation.
A good performance review highlights achievements, evaluates progress toward goals, and sets clear expectations for the future. For example, Quantum Workplace’s GOOD Performance Review Template uses four pillars—Goals, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Decisions—to create a holistic and two-way conversation.
A strong example includes:
This type of review strengthens trust, improves clarity, and supports both employee engagement and organizational performance.
The “5 words performance review” approach summarizes performance using concise descriptors. Common examples include:
Consistent
Collaborative
Accountable
Adaptable
Results-driven
While useful for quick sentiment snapshots, these should supplement—not replace—a full employee review template with detailed feedback.
HR teams can create effective performance review templates by designing them to support fairness, clarity, and strategic alignment.
Key steps include:
Standardize evaluation criteria across roles
Align templates with company values and competencies
Use clear language that managers and employees understand
Balance ratings with open-ended feedback questions
Test and refine templates based on manager and employee input
An effective employee review form should make performance conversations easier, not more time-consuming.
Make your performance review process more effective, efficient, and engaging. Quantum Workplace's performance review software helps your managers and teams prepare for, facilitate, and follow up for better reviews and better performance.