Work Tools and Templates 10 Free Performance Review Templates for 2024
Conducting performance reviews is an integral part of running a business, and it’s something you definitely shouldn’t skip.
To help make the performance review process easier for you, we have created 10 types of job performance review templates.
Here, you will find templates in the form of Google Docs, Word, Google Sheets, and Excel. And if you are an advocate of paper and pencil, you can download the PDF versions of our templates and print them out.
Table of Contents
What is a performance review template?
A performance review template, also called a performance appraisal template, is a document that is used to assess an employee’s performance at a company.
It can be filled out by an employee’s supervisors, colleagues, or by the employees themselves.
The 2 most common types of performance review templates are:
- Numerical performance review templates, which contain statements and a rating system. The reviewer must rate the statements based on how true they are.
- Question-based performance review templates, which contain open-ended questions to which the reviewer gives answers in their own words.
Free performance review templates
Here are the 10 free employee performance review templates we created. They are all printable and easy to use, so choose the best performance review templates for you.
#1: Annual performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | Google Sheets | Excel | PDF
This annual performance template contains:
- Goals set for the reviewed year, marked as achieved or not achieved,
- Employee’s biggest strengths, and
- Areas for improvement.
Annual performance reviews are distributed at the end of each year to determine what the employee achieved during the year and what could be improved.
#2: Quarterly performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
This quarterly performance review template focuses on:
- Achieved and not achieved goals,
- Organizational and problem-solving skills, and
- Teamwork.
Conducting quarterly reviews helps you keep track of your employees’ performance so that neither you nor your employees are blindsided when annual reviews come.
#3: Monthly performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
This simple monthly performance review template includes sections for achieved goals, areas of improvement, as well as examples of taking initiative and being creative.
While long-term workers would benefit more from a quarterly or yearly performance review, a monthly performance review is better suited for new employees and those who have started a new position or project in the company.
#4: Numerical performance review template
Download: Google Sheets | Excel
This numerical performance review template offers a way to calculate someone’s job performance and express it in numbers.
It consists of criteria for assessment ranging from teamwork and leadership skills to creativity and willingness to learn. Each of these criteria is graded from 1 to 5 depending on how successful the employee is at them.
A numerical performance review is perfect for a quick and all-encompassing review. Moreover, since the result can be expressed in numbers, it offers an easy way to compare several employees’ performances at once.
#5: Self-evaluation performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
This self-evaluation review template will give you a unique insight into how your employees see themselves and their contribution to the business. The template contains open-ended questions about an employee’s:
- Accomplishments,
- Goals,
- Challenges, and
- Job satisfaction.
This information merged with performance reviews by their superiors will give an all-round understanding of an employee’s performance in the organization.
#6: Manager performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
The manager performance review template consists of open-ended questions about the manager’s leadership and management skills, including:
- Giving feedback,
- Providing support,
- Handling conflict,
- Organizing work, etc.
This performance review is anonymous so that team members can express their opinions on their superiors freely, without worry of repercussions.
A manager performance review is a great way to ensure that the people leading your teams are up to the challenge and handle their responsibilities well.
#7: Customer service performance review template
Download: Google Sheets | Excel | Google Docs | Word | PDF
This customer service performance review template focuses on people working with customers and rates their interaction with them.
It consists of criteria such as the ability to handle difficult clients and treating clients with respect. Each criterion is graded from 1 to 5. At the end of the review, there is space where the reviewer can leave any additional comments or observations they may have.
Using a customer service performance review template is a great way to evaluate customer support teams, sales teams, and customer satisfaction teams.
Free customer service software
Create your own custom templates or make use of Plaky’s library of free premade templates to enhance customer support.
#8: New employee performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
It can be difficult to assess a new employee since you don’t have too much to go on, but it’s vital to try to understand from the start how the employee fits into your company.
The new employee performance template evaluates:
- How well the employee finished the onboarding process,
- How they fit into their new team,
- Whether they respect deadlines,
- If they are willing to learn and develop new skills, and more.
💡 Plaky Pro Tip
Find all you need to know about the employee onboarding process in our guide:
#9: 90-day performance review template
Download: Google Sheets | Excel | Google Docs | Word | PDF
This 90-day performance review template is based on the 30-60-90 day plan that every employee gets when they start their job. The idea is that when you hire a new employee, you set goals for their first 30, 60, and 90 days at the job. Then, you use this performance review template to keep track of these goals.
The template consists of 3 groups of goals, with a 1–5 score and reviewer’s comments next to each goal.
#10: Simple performance review template
Download: Google Docs | Word | PDF
This simple performance review template helps you evaluate the employee’s overall performance. It includes:
- Questions about the employee’s skills, teamwork, and potential,
- Areas of work where the employee excels, and
- Areas for the employee’s improvement.
💡 Plaky Pro Tip
If you are interested in learning more about employee experience, check out our blog post on the subject:
Benefits of a performance review
Some of the biggest benefits of using a performance review are:
- Getting feedback on employee performance,
- Having useful information when deciding on promotion,
- Helping you understand in which direction an employee wants to go,
- Identifying space for improvement, and
- Understanding how employees see each other and how they see themselves.
What to write in a performance review
Regardless of the performance review type, there are some general elements every performance review should have.
We had a chance to talk to Isidora Mirosavljevic, Human Resources Generalist at CAKE.com. She has shared some of her advice on how to create a high-quality performance review:
“A performance review should contain clearly defined and measurable goals, criteria, and categories. The employee should be told where they are now compared to expectations and what they should do to fulfill these expectations.”
Isidora also emphasizes the importance of communication:
“It should include an open, two-way communication. Open communication and dialogue create a space of trust where employees can express their needs and wishes for the future.”
FAQ about performance reviews
Conducting reviews can be challenging, so here are some of the most frequent questions about performance reviews.
What must you pay attention to when writing a performance review?
When writing a performance review, you must first understand what it is you are trying to accomplish. As Isidora points out, everything must be clear:
“When creating a performance review, it is important to make sure that every element, criteria, expectation, and goal is clearly defined. Precise and clear guidelines contribute to the overall objectivity of the review and therefore lessen the possibility of misunderstanding in communication with employees.”
How often should you conduct a performance review?
Performance reviews can be conducted:
- Monthly,
- Quarterly, or
- Annually.
The review period depends on the situation. The performance of new employees or those starting a new position should be reviewed more often.
What to do after the performance review has been completed?
After the performance review has been completed, you should organize a one-on-one talk with your employee where you discuss the results of the review and decide on the future steps.
How to organize performance reviews in Plaky for free
Keeping track of all these types of performance reviews can be complicated.
Luckily, there are project management tools like Plaky to help you.
In Plaky, you can create a clear overview of all your employees and their performance reviews.
First, you need to create a new board and give it a name.
Then, you can create a group within the board for each team in the company, for example, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Product, QA, etc.
Now, within each group, you can add items with the namse of the employees.
Once you have made a grid of your company’s employees, you can add fields. Plaky offers a wide range of field types to choose from (status, date, number, tag, timeline, etc.), but for this purpose, the text and link fields will be most suitable.
Add a text field for the position in the company and then add a link field for each performance review you’ve conducted. Optionally, you can add another text field at the end, for any notes you might have.
Finally, you can add links to templates in the fields, and you will have all the reviews in one place clearly presented and organized.
This is just the beginning. You can also:
- Assign each item to someone from HR,
- Communicate with teammates through comments and mentions,
- Add files to an item,
- See the activity log, and much more.
Want to organize your performance review processes in Plaky? Sign up for a free Plaky account today and see how simple it is to organize projects.
