Giving feedback to employees can be tough. Especially when it is negative.
Managers often go wrong with this, leading to employees walking out of their performance appraisal meetings confused.
It is important to communicate clearly and effectively to help your workforce understand their plus points and where they need to improve.
Several employees also find performance reviews very off-putting. Why is that so, you ask?
Infrequent and vague feedbacks are to be blamed.
As per Fast Company’s survey, a whopping 74% of employees have no clue about what their managers think of their performance.
How can employees improve when they don’t know where they lack? Or think of it this way- How will your workforce know which skills to polish further?
Moreover, sometimes what managers say and what they mean can be totally different.
The performance review comments listed below are simple, descriptive and effective to help in putting the right message across in every situation.
Recommended Read:- 101+ Effective Self-Appraisal Comments with Examples
Communication Comments
Communication is a vital aspect of every relationship.
A professional setup has similar rules to follow.
Healthy group discussions and even on-on-one conversations greatly help in working with each other, with no room for miscommunications.
Positive
1. You clearly communicate your thoughts & ideas in team meetings and conferences
2. You have a remarkable capability of discussing difficult issues effectively and to the point
3. You never shy away from any conversation and speak with confidence
Scope for improvement
4. You choose not to listen to your peers during discussions and instead put your point across first. Debates are good, but during healthy conversations, this wouldn’t be the most respectable way to talk
5. You opt for messages/emails only even when calls are vital to understand a certain task or perspective
6. We often find you very quiet and reserved during meetings and group discussions. Although there is nothing wrong with it as such, we would love to listen to your ideas too, even if that means sharing them through emails.
7. Due to our collaborative culture, you are expected to engage in constructive conversation with colleagues who own a different opinion from you
Attendance Comments
Being late to the office on a handful of occasions is excusable.
However, regular late logins, uninformed leaves, and long breaks can hint at an employee’s lack of responsibility and concern about the company rules.
Time to time feedback is important to get workers’ attendance on track.
Positive
8. You have a remarkable attendance record with no leaves taken in the month of X
9. We have never found you abusing paid leaves
10. You inspire others to improve their attendance. You set an example for everyone else!
11. You are always on time for all meetings, calls and conferences
12. You reply to messages and emails promptly
13. You willingly adjust your schedule to be available when ever needed. That’s a trait we love about you!
Scope for improvement
14. You are often late to meetings and important events. All attendees’ time is also wasted in the process as the meetings are hence forced to start late. Please be considerate towards others’ work schedules as many have other calls too lined up during the day.
15. Your attendance record shows that you took 5 consecutive leaves without prior intimation to your manager. Though we do have a relaxed leave policy, we encourage you to inform your superiors before taking a leave, unless it for emergency/medical purposes.
16. We found that you have taken designated medical leaves for extracurricular activities
17. You often take long lunch breaks/several personal calls during working hours. This is delaying your submission of work. If you have any important call that is taking time, we would want you to let your manager know later.
Teamwork Comments
Most departments of organizations work in a team, where people collaborate to accomplish a set of goals.
However, not every employee is well-versed with working in a team.
These performance appraisal comments are also helpful for freshers or introverts who have to be taught the basics of teamwork.
Positive
18. Your teammates consider you to be reliable, loyal and a huge support.
19. You are a great addition to the team!
20. You are one of the most dependable people on the team.
21. Your ability to build good relations with the team members has made your team strong.
22. You promote cooperation and work with your teammates well to ensure deadlines are met.
Scope for improvement
23. The knowledge you possess might be different from your teammates. Sharing it will only make you wiser. We suggest you do it, especially with juniors & new joinees, instead of refusing to be of help
24. Being strong-headed isn’t bad, but trying to dominate in a team is.
25. You submit shared tasks late, resulting in your colleague’s bad name too and the overall task getting delayed.
26. You tend to pick fights with your team members often.
Accountability Comments
When things go south, some employees start the blame-game, while others face the situation to cross the hurdle.
Taking ownership of work is a quality not many possess.
However, with regular feedback, you can help workers understand the concept and be vary of their actions.
Positive
27. It takes strength to admit one’s mistakes and you have that strength. You are cognizant of your mistakes & errors and also inform others when you are unable to keep a commitment
28. You accept responsibilities and complete them on time
29. Your trait of taking complete ownership of your work is commendable
Scope for improvement
30. You tend to dump your mistakes on others. This only brings you a bad name
31. Mistakes only make you human. You do not need to lie and blame the situation every time something goes wrong from your side
32. You detach/distance yourself from a team event that isn’t going as planned and quickly switch sides to become a spectator
Performance Comments
If there is one thing that truly reflects the value of an employee in a company, it is through his/her performance.
Well-performing workers are assets for any organization that help in realizing its vision and mission.
Tracking their performance and giving frequent feedbacks is key to improve the company’s overall health.
Positive
33. You achieved most of your goals this quarter. Bravo!
34. You deliver quality work before the deadline every time. You rock!
35. You continuously strive to increase profits, improve productivity and reach the organization’s performance targets
36. You positively contribute to the overall performance of the company. We are glad to have you with us!
37. Your work is always well-researched and evidence-backed, making it very valuable and factual.
38. We love how you consistently seek opportunities to be better at what you do
Scope for improvement
39. You tend to miss your deadlines often. We would like to talk if there’s something affecting your work
40. Your work doesn’t meet the company standards. We expect more from you
41. Your work lacks detail. It is quite superficial and generic
42. We suggest you attend more training and development programs to improve your skills
43. We have noticed that you cherry-pick the easy tasks and keep postponing the difficult/urgent ones till the last moment when you can no longer deliver on time
44. You haven’t achieved most of your goals this quarter
45. Your efforts don’t seem to be aligned with the assigned tasks or even the company goals. Is there something wrong?
Creativity Comments
Creative minds bring the most impact. Innovation and creativity can fuel the desired results.
However, an unhealthy and restricted work environment can negatively affect employees.
While feedback can help the employees who shy away from using creative thinking, employers have a role to play too in ensuring the company gives enough freedom to them.
Positive
46. You bring a heap of creativity and innovation to the table. This positively impacts our growth chart
47. You actively participate in developing new ways of thinking to improve projects/ company performance
48. Your out-of-the-box thinking has helped crack some pretty tough nuts
49. You come up with some of the most creative ideas we have ever come across. Great imagination!
50. You bring a uniqueness to the team that no one else owns
Scope for improvement
51. You tend to follow tried and tested methods only instead of going out of the way to find innovative solutions
52. We notice you remain silent during meetings/discussions that put your creative mind at work
53. You back off from projects that require creative thinking
54. We find you too afraid to take risky projects/routes. They might seem scary momentarily and you might fail too. But we encourage you to take the leap if you have faith in it
Problem-solving skills Comments
Reviving lost opportunities and relationships is a highly sought-after skill.
It translates a person’s ability to solve problems through innovative strategies and mindful thinking.
You want to encourage employees to at least face their problems instead of running away from them.
Positive
55. Your unique yet practical solutions have helped the company multiple times
56. You make solving difficult problems seem so easy!
57. You always get your facts together, do a thorough research and find the solution to problems that most couldn’t solve
58. You are never afraid to face a challenge
59. You think of problems as opportunities to prove yourself. Love your perspective!
Scope for improvement
60. Everyone faces challenges. However, putting it on the back burner and refusing to attend to it won’t magically solve the situation
61. We see you doing great things. But running away from problems isn’t one
62. Sometimes teamwork works best in solving problems. We suggest you do so rather than refusing to collaborate
63. You try to hurriedly find solutions without understanding the problem completely.
Attitude/Behaviour Comments
Any person is defined by his/her attitude towards people and things in general.
A rule-abiding, respectful and optimistic employee can help create a positive work environment. People like working with such colleagues as they also motivate others to do better.
Positive
64. You talk to everyone cheerfully and with respect
65. You follow all company rules and set a good example for everyone
66. You look for the positive in every situation
67. You always wear a smile and are great at lightening everyone’s mood during stressful times
68. You create an atmosphere of trust and oneness with colleagues
69. Your positive attitude helps others stay motivated
Scope for improvement
70. We have seen you loitering around the office building during work hours
71. We don’t have the Sir/Madam tags at our company but expect a certain amount of respect for superiors
72. You don’t think about others involved in a situation before making decisions about it
73. You can have friends at work, but cannot be partial towards them
74. We have received complaints against you over your ill behaviour with people
75. We have witnessed incidents where you used a language/tone that isn’t tolerated at our company
76. We found that you have broken company protocols/rules. We don’t take this lightly
77. You regularly interrupt people in meetings
Customer service Comments
If leadership is the foundation of an organization, then customers are its building blocks. Keeping clients happy is paramount to any business. Enhancing customer experience can boost profits, increase sales and improve brand value.
Positive
78. Your work consistently exceeds our expectations with your clear focus on customer needs
79. You effectively communicate with customers, understand their concerns and attend to them as your own
80. You juggle multiple conversations between customers very well
81. You easily deal with all types of customers
82. You never let a customer’s negative attitude get you down. That’s the way to go!
83. You remain calm and rational even while talking to an angry customer
Scope for improvement
84. Your report shows that your customer satisfaction rate is low. Joining training programs to understand solutions to customer problems is vital for you.
85. You find it hard to deal with a difficult client
86. You don’t listen to customers properly. It always seems like you do not care about their problems/queries and that they have done a mistake by talking to you. You must realize the company’s image that your attitude reflects.
87. You were hardly able to solve any customer problems in the last quarter, as per the client surveys
Management & leadership Comments
Leaders need compliments too! But a wake-up call as well when they are going off the rail. As they become a company’s backbone, guiding them to achieve their own goals too is crucial.
Positive
88. You treat everyone equally
89. You lead by example
90. You always make your team members feel comfortable in voicing their opinions and ideas without the fear of being judged or ignored
91. You foster a culture of learning, understanding and sharing knowledge
92. You actively listen, understand and work on solving your co-workers’/team’s problems
93. You go above and beyond to help your team members
94. You are always a call/message away when anyone needs you
95. You are an asset to our company with your leadership skills
96. You excel in motivating employees to do their best and work hard to achieve their goals
97. You ensure the mental health of employees is not affected even during heavy workload days
98. You always appreciate your co-workers whenever they accomplish something at work
99. You are great at giving feedback and praises
100. You keep your team happy and engaged. They love you
Scope for improvement
101. You are biased towards some of your team members. We have also received complaints regarding this. Appreciating one employee’s work and giving a blind eye to the other’s achievements will only make you a bad leader
102. You dominate everyone in the team. You need to understand that leadership isn’t about dominating or demanding or giving orders around
103. You try to rub your position in people’s faces when you find yourself losing in an argument/conversation
104. You do not think long-term or plan for the future
105. You do not understand the strength and weaknesses of your team members and hence do not assign tasks correctly
106. You rarely appreciate anyone’s work
107. Your team finds you intimidating due to your tone and way of talking
108. One of the most important tasks of a leader is to secure confidential information. However, we have found that you fail to do that. You should know how much it can affect our company
Interpersonal Skills Comments
Interpersonal skills form an integral part of an employee’s professional toolbox.
These combine the skills individuals possess while carrying out their everyday interactive, conversational and collaborative tasks effectively.
Some people are born with them but they can be learned too.
Positive
109. You actively engage in conversations with colleagues and talk about their work & life in general
110. You are very easy to talk to
111. You make people feel important and appreciated
112. You encourage others to do better
113. You know how to put your point across in the right way without sounding rude or disrespectful
114. You can easily adapt to various situations
Scope for improvement
115. You rarely sign up for any new training that might benefit you and your knowledge of your position
116. You don’t take any feedback in a positive way
117. You don’t consider others’ opinions during any event or discussion
118. We have found that you choose not to spend time in building meaningful relationships with your teammates
There is a right way of doing everything. Performance review comments are no different.
When delivered in the correct manner, they can bring the desired impact.
Timely performance reviews add to this as they have the potential to transform employees’ productivity.
However, regularly monitoring and keeping track of it is difficult.
Keka’s performance review feature empowers managers to conduct performance reviews accurately and efficiently, ensuring miscommunication doesn’t hamper an employee’s growth chart.