Are you in a rush to create an employee performance review, but don’t know how to approach the task?

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Then you’re in the best place possible!

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You're going to get a popup on this page to download our employee performance review template. Use it as inspiration to make your own, tinker with fields, or just fill it in as it is.

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Pro Tip: Use data provided by employee web monitoring software to back up your performance reviews with data-driven action and insights. Computer monitoring software aren’t just for measuring performance of remote workers; use an employee tracking program with both in-office and remote employees to ensure fair, accurate, and data-backed performance reviews.

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Employee Performance Review Contents — A Step-by-Step Guide

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This template contains all the essential employee performance review sections. You can make them as detailed as you like, use the template as a guide, or use it as it is.

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Below are the explanations for each field, how to fill them in, and what you can include:

1. Previous Employee Performance Review Conclusions — To tie the two consecutive performance reviews together, you need to have the findings from the first one. You can rewrite them word for word, or write a quick summary of the last review’s positives and negatives. This field aims to show how performance has improved (or worsened) since the last time they were assessed.
2. Job Responsibilities — In this section, the reviewer should outline the scope of the employee’s work. A concise job description should clearly state their tasks, responsibilities, and expectations. Putting a job description in a performance review may seem counterintuitive, but it has an important purpose: employees, managers, and the HR department need to be on the same page to give a fair review. If an employee gets criticized for something that falls outside of their job description, the performance review is the opportunity to address that issue.
3. Goals Met During Q1 — Here you need to define the goals they have met during the quarter you’re assessing, how they did it, and add any goal-related details you consider important. Additionally, you can add the information from employee web monitoring software as firm proof of their success, or show the workflow management data.
4. Areas of Improvement — This section will address all the positive changes employees have made recently. To put their progress into perspective, refer to the performance tracking system you use, and demonstrate their improvement by comparing it to the problematic period.
5. Areas Which Need Improvement — The purpose of a performance review is to reveal weak spots as well. In this field, describe any weak spots and mistakes employees have made. Remember — employee performance reviews are strategic and goal-oriented tools. A manager’s criticism should be constructive and evidence-based, objective, yet gently worded. It would be productive to briefly describe the strategies recommended for the employee’s improvement.
6. Goals for the Next Quarter — The main goal for employees is to correct their mistakes, and deliver high-quality work consistently. Translate these goals into measurable projects and track them with a screen monitoring app, so you have tangible information to work with for the next employee performance review.

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Additional Details to Include in Employee Performance Reviews

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The template above is brief enough for quick needs, and adaptable if you want it to include more talking points. 

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There are tons of additional elements you can add to a performance review, depending on how detailed and analytical you want them to be:

• Accountability — How ready they are to own up to their mistakes and commit to improving themselves
• Achievements — Describe the things they’ve achieved in the set period
• Adaptability — How quickly they can adjust to new circumstances and tasks and does it bother them to do so
• Attendance — Whether they come to work in time, and follow through with the previously-arranged breaks 
• Attitude — Measuring their mood and stance in different situations
• Creativity and Out-of-the-box Thinking — The ability to come up with fresh ideas and offer a unique perspective
• Critical Thinking Skills — The ability to challenge popular opinions and think things through, considering every viewpoint
• Cooperation and Team-Work Abilities — How well they collaborate and work within a team
• Commitment — How invested they are in their work and delivering the best possible results on a daily basis
• Communication Skills — How well do they communicate in a professional setting, their office, and digital communication etiquette, the ability to deliver the message briefly and timely
• Customer Focus — How committed they are to making customers happy, and the lengths they’re ready to go to alleviate their pain points
• Engagement — Tell how active and engaged they are with the workplace
• Independent Work Capabilities — How ready and equipped they are to work without supervision and external input
• Management Style and Leadership Skills — The way they set the path and lead the way for others: how well they lead and manage their teams 
• Mentorship Skills — How well do they teach others and help them improve
• Reliability and Consistency — How predictable their output is (in a positive way), and whether their coworkers can rely on them
• Time Management Skills — Do they meet their deadlines regularly, and how well do they predict the amount of time needed to accomplish work-related tasks
• Work Ethic — Their contribution – positive or negative – to  workplace culture, levels of honesty, and professional integrity

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As you can tell, this is an exhaustive list of things that might be relevant for a performance review. You don’t need (and probably shouldn’t) include all of them; just mention the ones relevant to your business, and the ones where you’ve noticed a positive or negative shift. 

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