Performance Evaluation Template: Effective Assessments

CEO & Product Owner at Amoeboids, Anand Inamdar, says that the continuous assessment of an employee's behavior, strengths and weaknesses “irons out the kinks in communication, and it is what employees are asking for, too”.

The foundation of a successful employee evaluation process is the performance review template. It can look different depending on what you want to achieve. However, all types ultimately provide a structured way for managers to communicate with their subordinates about what exactly they expect from them – and what they value in their current work.

As it turns out, recognition alone can motivate employees to be up to 69% more productive and engaged. Yet, according to Gallup, only 31% of surveyed U.S. employees state to have received it within the past week of their work.

Keep reading to discover how to elevate your employee recognition game and promote a friendly, impressively productive work environment.

Simple performance review template

Employee information

• Employee name:
• Department:
• Job title:
• Date of evaluation:

Evaluator information

• Evaluator name:
• Evaluator title:

Performance evaluation criteria

1. Job knowledge and skills

• Demonstrates a strong understanding of job responsibilities and required skills.
• Regularly seeks opportunities to improve skills and knowledge.
• Effectively applies learned knowledge to tasks and projects.

[Include a rating scale for each aspect, including the ones listed below. A rating scale example could be: Below expectations / Meets expectations / Average / Exceeds expectations / Outstanding.]

2. Quality of work

• Consistently produces high-quality, accurate, error-free work.
• Pays attention to detail and ensures work meets or exceeds established standards.
• Take the initiative to correct errors and improve work quality.

3. Communication skills

• Demonstrates clear and effective communication, both verbal and written.
• Listens actively and responds appropriately to colleagues and supervisors.
• Share information and updates with team members in a timely manner.

4. Team collaboration

• Works well with colleagues, contributing positively to team dynamics.
• Shares knowledge, assists others and actively participates in team projects.
• Resolves conflict constructively and contributes to a supportive work environment.

5. Initiative and problem-solving

• Proactively identifies and addresses challenges and opportunities.
• Takes the initiative to propose innovative ideas and solutions.
• Effectively troubleshoots and resolves issues independently or as part of a team.

6. Time management

• Manages time effectively and prioritizes tasks to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrates the ability to balance multiple projects and responsibilities.
• Seeks guidance or delegates when necessary to optimize time usage.

7. Professionalism and attitude

• Maintains a positive and respectful attitude toward colleagues and supervisors.
• Upholds company values and demonstrates a strong work ethic.
• Handles challenging situations professionally and seeks solutions.

8. Goal achievement

• Sets and works towards achieving individual and team goals.
• Regularly reviews progress and adjusts strategies as needed.
• Achieves or surpasses established performance targets.

Overall performance rating

[Provide a numerical or descriptive rating to summarize the entire performance review.]

Comments and feedback

[Highlight strengths and areas for improvement. Ideally, include specific examples wherever applicable.]

Employee's self-assessment

[Opportunity for the employee to rate their own performance.]

Development plan

• [Identify areas for improvement and professional growth.]
• [Suggest relevant training, workshops or any other learning opportunities.]
• [Set specific future goals to be achieved by the upcoming performance period.]

Signatures

• [Employee's signature] [Date]
• [Evaluator's signature] [Date]
• [Supervisor's signature (if applicable)] [Date]

You can also check out our other templates, e.g., for a remote one-on-one meeting or a team meeting agenda.

How to create a performance evaluation template?

You can use our free annual performance review template or easily create your own if this one doesn't fit your needs. However, consider implementing more frequent team member evaluations than yearly ones. There's a lot of criticism that performance reviews aren't frequent enough.

Here's what to consider when making an employee evaluation form:

• Understand the goals and objectives: Identify the specific goals and objectives that the evaluation will assess – these could be different for a one-on-one review of past performance, an individual's 360 performance review or as a preparation for a staff meeting about upcoming performance expectations
• Determine the evaluation criteria: Define the criteria that will be used to evaluate performance, such as job-specific competencies, accomplishments and contributions
• Structure the template: Create a standardized format for the evaluation template, including sections for different evaluation criteria and areas for comments and performance ratings (either numerical ratings or a descriptive rating system like the one in our performance review template) – find ways to amplify recognition, not criticism, if you want to see an improvement in productivity

• Tailor the template: Customize the template to align with the goals and objectives of the team and the core values of your organization as a whole
• Share the template in advance: Provide team members with the evaluation template beforehand to allow them to prepare, initiate collaborative conversations and stimulate a conscientious self-evaluation (if you're opting for a 360-degree review with peer feedback)
• Use goal-setting software: Pair the performance evaluation template with goal-setting software to support the growth and development of team members

Here are some common mistakes to watch out for in your performance review process, if you want to get the most out of your employee evaluations: Top 7 mistakes to avoid during performance reviews.

Performance evaluation software

If you want to make gathering detailed feedback even easier, it's time to say goodbye to manual job performance form writing, printing and handing out. You'll find that digital performance assessment and management tools like Plai make things much simpler, faster and more pleasant.

Here's exactly what you can expect from our flexible HR software:

• Customizable performance evaluations: Different teams in an organization measure their success, growth and challenges differently. A digital performance review form creator allows organizations to modify their employee performance review templates with specific questions. Plai lets you schedule gathering employee feedback and sending out self-assessment forms to fit your custom review period. You can create a custom employee evaluation form for different departments and job duties.
• Automated reminders: Our performance review software sends automated emails to remind raters always to provide timely feedback, ensuring every employee gets all the evaluations that boost their personal and professional development.
• Data analysis and visualization: Performance review software helps users identify biases, compare performances and present the collected data in visually appealing reports, boosting readability.

• Goal-setting integration: Pairing performance evaluation software with goal-setting software can support the growth and development of team members, aligning their personal goals with company OKRs.
• AI-powered performance feedback summaries: With the recent explosion of AI technology popularity, you know how helpful it can be. At Plai one of the ways we use it is to generate concise performance review feedback summaries. This creates a digestible overview, highlighting the most important strengths and areas where you can improve performance.

When choosing performance evaluation software, it's essential to investigate which system will help you easily and efficiently manage performance while having the most significant impact.

Plai is a robust performance management tool for facilitating a high-performing culture that offers much more than just performance review templates. In our offer, you'll find meeting agenda templates, public praise options, growth plans, employee surveys, data analytics and seamless integrations with the tools you're already using.

Conclusion

A wisely structured performance evaluation template is a valuable tool for managers and employees to gather necessary feedback to assess their goal attainment and make informed administrative decisions. Analyzing the core competencies, both soft and technical skills and the overall productivity of each team member is great for tracking their success within the company and aiding in their career development.

Ready to excel in your next performance review? Pair our performance review template with a self-assessment form and a compensation check-in to motivate employees toward constant improvement and, consequently – drive your company forward.

Sign up for a free Plai demo to see how you can improve your employee satisfaction rate and overall company success by the next review period.