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 ExamplesCommunication CommentsCommunication 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. Positive1. 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 CommentsBeing 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. Positive8. 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 CommentsMost 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 Your ability to build good relations with the team members has made your team You promote cooperation and work with your teammates well to ensure deadlines are 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 You tend to pick fights with your team members CommentsWhen 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 improvement30. 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 CommentsIf 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 CommentsCreative 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. Positive46. 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 improvement51. 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 CommentsReviving 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 CommentsAny 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 CommentsIf 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 CommentsLeaders 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 CommentsInterpersonal 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 teammatesThere 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.